Arizona Reefer Review

The Arizona Reefer Review is a project of The Arizona Desert Lamp, an independent student publication at the University of Arizona. The Review chronicles victimless drug arrests and incidents on the UA campus, as reported by the "Police Beat" section of the Arizona Daily Wildcat.

[reeferreview]

Rollin’ J’s at Spring Fling

A UAPD officer was checking the parking lot at the Rillito Downs at 4502 N. First Ave. while working at UA Spring Fling when he noticed a strong odor of marijuana coming from a section of cars parked in the southeast part of the lot.

The officer found two men sitting in a white Acura that was in the same area as the marijuana smell. Both were identified by their Arizona driver’s licenses.

While speaking with the driver, the officer could immediately smell marijuana coming from inside the car and noticed the driver’s eyes were watery and bloodshot. He was also moving very slowly.

Both men were asked to get out of the car and stand in front of the Acura.

When asked what they were doing inside the car, the driver said they were just talking and were waiting to go back inside the event. He said that he did not know why there was an odor of marijuana coming from his car and that he had only been smoking a cigarette in the car.

When the officer searched the car, he found a small plastic baggie with marijuana inside the glove box and a package of rolling papers in the center console. There was also a lighter behind the drivers’s seat.

The driver told the officer that the baggie and wrapping papers were his and that he had smoked the marijuana before picking up his friend. He also said that he did not use pipes to smoke, and he didn’t have any other paraphernalia.

The officer then spoke with the passenger of the car. He said that he had not smoked any marijuana that night, and they had only been talking while in the car.

The officer did not see any symptoms of marijuana use coming from the passenger.

The driver was cited and released for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The bag of marijuana, the rolling papers and the lighter were all placed into property as evidence. The driver was also told not to drive his car.

[reeferreview]

‘Smelly Proof’ earns man a ticket

A University of Arizona Police Department officer was on patrol at the intersection of Fourth Street and Highland Avenue Sunday at 11:20 a.m. when he performed a traffic stop on a driver who failed to stop at a stop sign.

As the officer asked the man for his license, insurance and registration, he told the man the reason for the stop, and the man said, “Oh, the stop sign — I didn’t see that.”

While talking with the man, the officer could smell an odor of marijuana coming from the car.

The man told the officer, “No, I don’t carry that stuff in the car anymore since the last time I got a ticket for it.”

He also told the officer that the last time he had smoked was three or four days prior.

The man told the officer that he could search his car, and the officer found a small plastic baggie labeled, “Smelly Proof.” When the officer opened the bag, he could smell marijuana.

The officer asked the man if the car was his and if he knew the plastic baggie was inside.

The man said that he thought he had cleaned his car out completely after he got his last ticket and that he must have missed the baggie that was stuffed in the pocket behind the passenger seat.

He also stated that the bag was his and that there used to be a smoking pipe inside the bag. The man told the officer that even though he knows marijuana is illegal, he smokes it anyway.

The man asked the officer not to arrest him because he had just lost his job and was worried about paying fines and having to be on probation.

The officer said, “What you’re doing is illegal, and I can’t let you go without arresting you.”

The man was cited and released on scene for possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to stop at a stop sign.

[reeferreview]

Night turns to day for disoriented dude

A UAPD officer was called to East Coast Subs at the intersection of Ninth Street and Park Avenue after an employee reported finding a man passed out next to the wall of the restaurant Saturday at 9:07 a.m.

The employee told the officer he had seen the man smoking a “joint” and when he told the man to leave, he refused. He said he was waiting for a concert across the street at The Rock and thought it was Friday night.

When the officer went to speak to the man, he tried to stand up but could not keep his balance.

A partially smoked marijuana joint fell out of the man’s pocket when he went to sit down. The officer asked for identification, and when the man stood up to take out his wallet, he almost fell over. He then sat on the joint and would not move when the officer asked him to.

When the officer got a hold of the marijuana the man denied that it fell from his pocket and said he didn’t know what it was.

The man was searched and the officer found a brown cigar and a silver flask in his pocket.

A records check showed the man was 18.

He was cited and released for possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and for being a minor in possession of alcohol.

[reeferreview]

Men found with ‘medicinal’ marijuana

A University of Arizona Police Department officer responded to the Tyndall Avenue Parking Garage on Friday at 11:34 p.m. after someone reported that the smell of marijuana was coming from the top level.

The officer found five men standing near the southeast staircase on the top level of the garage and could smell burning marijuana.

The officer had the men sit against a wall while he searched the area. He found three small cigars with burnt marijuana inside.

The men admitted to the officer that had been smoking the cigars before the officer arrived and that the marijuana was owned by all five of them.

The officer also found an empty prescription pill bottle near the men, in which the marijuana had been. The bottle had a label from California that read for medicinal use only.

All five men were arrested for unlawful possession of marijuana and were cited and released. The officer also filled out Code of Conduct referrals for the Dean of Students for each of the students.

The 2.5 grams of marijuana and pill bottle were placed into UAPD property as evidence.

[reeferreview]

Man confesses to wrong crime

A University of Arizona Police Department officer arrived to the Pueblo de la Cienga Residence Hall on March 29 at 1:53 a.m. after a student reported a theft.

The man told the officer that between nine and 12 books were taken from his desk along with a picture frame, two pictures and two envelopes. He said that he left the room on March 28 at 3 p.m. and when he returned on the next day at 1:15 a.m. he saw that the items were gone.

The man said that the items were all gifts from his ex-girlfriend and that she is in Tucson visiting from Yuma. He stated that his ex-girlfriend had recently met his roommate and thought maybe his roommate took the items and gave them to the woman.

When the officer got into the dorm room, he woke up the roommate. The officer asked him if he knew why he was there and the man stated, “I think so.”

The officer told him to say what he thought he was there for and the man said, “I have something illegal in my room.” The man told the officer that he had marijuana in the room.

The officer asked the man to get the marijuana and turn it over. The man pulled a prescription bottle out from a storage container beneath his bag and handed it to the officer.

The man told the officer that he smokes marijuana occasionally, but never on campus. He said he bought it for $80 from a man beneath Arizona Stadium. He was cited and released for possession of marijuana.

When asked about the ex-girlfriend of his roommate and the stolen items, the man said that he let the woman into the room because she said she wanted to return a baseball hat and get some of her belongings.

He said that he did not think the woman was doing anything wrong because she said the items were hers.

The officer told the man whose belongings were stolen that the woman took the items. The man said he would have to think about whether or not he wanted to press charges.

The prescription bottle with the marijuana inside was placed into UAPD property as evidence and the total weight of the marijuana was 12.5 grams.

A Dean of Students Code of Conduct referral was also completed for the man with the marijuana.

[reeferreview]

Man smokes marijuana to avoid Xanax

A UAPD officer arrived at the Tyndall parking garage on Monday at 5:04 p.m. after getting a report that there were people smoking marijuana in a beige Ford Explorer.

The officer found the car there, and when he walked up the passenger side door of the car, he could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from the open window.

Both the passenger and the driver were taken from the car and read their rights.

The passenger told the officer, “I smoked a ‘J’ with my friend just briefly. I smoke because of my anxiety and I don’t want to take Xanax.”

The man said there was also a metal grinder in the center console of the car; the grinder and the marijuana were not his.

While the officer was speaking with the man who had been in the driver’s seat, the man said, “My friend and I were just having a smoke.”

The man told the officer that he did not know of a baggie of marijuana that was found in the car and thought that it was in his dorm room. He admitted that the marijuana was his. The metal grinder and pipe found in the car, were also his.

A digital scale, an 8-inch hunting knife and a 4-inch knife were also found in the car.

The passenger admitted to providing rolling papers for the marijuana and he was cited and released for unlawful use of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The officer asked the driver if he had any other marijuana in his dorm room and the man gave consent to the officer the search the room.

In the room, the officer found a marijuana bud in a plastic baggie and a pair of brass knuckles.

The man was arrested for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The knives and brass knuckles were placed into property for safekeeping. The marijuana and all paraphernalia were placed into property as evidence.

The officer sent Code of Conduct referrals to the Dean of Students for both men.

[reeferreview]

Smokin’ and walkin’

Two UAPD officers were on patrol on Euclid Avenue and Fifth Street on Thursday at 9:10 p.m. when the officer driving could smell marijuana outside of his opened window.

The officers turned around and circled the area until they found the place where the odor smelled the strongest.

The officer saw two women walking east toward Euclid Avenue on Fifth Street. As they passed the women, the officer could see they were smoking.

When the officer parked the car, he could see a plume of smoke trailing the women and one of the women threw an object on the ground and stomped it.

The officer reported that both of the women smelled strongly of marijuana. They both identified themselves with Illinois identification cards.

The woman who had thrown the marijuana cigarette on the ground told the officer that she was visiting a friend and got the marijuana from an unknown man. She walked with the other woman up Fifth Street so they could smoke it.

The other woman said that the woman with whom she was walking was a friend of her roommate and she did not want the woman to walk alone, so she walked with her while she smoked. She told the officer that she had only had “one puff” of the cigarette.

Both of the women were cited and released for possession of marijuana. A one-inch long marijuana cigarette was placed into property as evidence.

[reeferreview]

He just ‘had to pick up his lady’ … and get high

A UAPD officer on patrol Monday at 8:24 p.m. noticed a green van with an expired registration and an exposed back brake light. The officer stopped the van near the intersection of Euclid Avenue and Broadway Boulevard and identified the driver by an Arizona Identification Card. The officer could smell marijuana coming from the car as the driver told the officer that he did not have a driver’s license. A records check showed the man’s license had been suspended since 1998. While one officer searched the van, the man told another UAPD officer he had smoked a joint 30 minutes before being pulled over and had marijuana in the car. The man said he bought “two dime bags of weed from a man in his teens near 22nd Street and Park Avenue, near a school.” The man also told the officer he knew his license was not valid, but he “had to pick up his lady.” While the man was answering questions, the officer searching the van found two bags of marijuana between the driver’s seat and door. The man was arrested for possession of marijuana and driving with a suspended license. He was cited and released on scene. The bags of marijuana were put into UAPD property as evidence and sent to the Department of Public Safety for testing. The van was also towed for a 30-day mandatory impound.

[reeferreview]

Skateboarder found with marijuana

A UAPD officer assisted a community service officer on Friday at 5:50 p.m. after a man was reportedly caught doing skateboard tricks on UA property.

The community officer told the UAPD officer the name the man had given him, but the man told the officer that he had lied about his name because he did not think the community officer was a real cop.

Once he got the man’s real name, the officer ran a records check and saw the man had a warrant for arrest from Tucson Police Department for possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.

The man was placed under arrest for false reporting to law enforcement and for the warrant.

While the officer was searching the man, he found a small wooden case in the man’s shirt pocket.

The man told the officer that inside the case was marijuana and a small metal smoking pipe. The metal pipe had burnt marijuana residue on it. The man had 1.2 grams of marijuana.

After the officer found the items, the man was additionally charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

The man said that he was given the marijuana and the case by a friend but would not say by whom.

The marijuana, case and pipe were placed into UAPD property as evidence. The man was transported to and booked into the Pima County Jail.

[reeferreview]

Smokers burned during purse return

A University of Arizona Police Department officer went to the UA Main Library on March 10 at 9:20 a.m. to pick up a purse that belonged to a UA student an employee had found. After checking records for the woman to whom the purse belonged, an address was found and the officer drove to her Campus Crossings apartment to let her know she could pick the purse up from UAPD. When the officer got to the hallway the room was in he could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from either the woman’s room or the one across from hers. After the officer knocked on the woman’s apartment door, a man answered and told the officer that the woman who owned the purse did not live there, and it was only himself and his girlfriend that had been living there for two months. The officer could tell that he had just woken the man up. He asked if the man had any marijuana in the room and he said, “Yeah, a little.” The man went back into the room and got two small bags with marijuana inside and gave them to the officer. The man was then told the man to put on a shirt and shoes and get his identification. The man was identified by an Arizona driver’s license and cited and released for possession of marijuana. At the UAPD main station, the officer weighed the marijuana. The first bag had 1.4 grams and the second bag had 3.3 grams. The marijuana was placed into property as evidence and a Code of Conduct referral was sent to the Dean of Students for the man.

[reeferreview]

Man runs from police because of mushrooms

A UAPD officer went to the Cherry Street Parking Garage on Monday at 12:32 a.m. because another officer reported a suspicious person in the garage. The other officer already at the garage said the man was running across the third level of the garage towards the north stairwell. While the officers were trying to position themselves at the exits of the garage, the man was seen running up the stairs to the Optical Sciences building. The officer saw the man run through a planter and jump down behind a wall to hide. Because the officer could not see the man’s hands, he took out his handgun and aimed it at the man’s body and yelled for him to show his hands. The man immediately threw his hands in the air, and he dropped his cell phone. After the man was put into handcuffs, the officer could smell a strong odor of marijuana on him. When the officers searched the area, the man was seen in a car, and, inside, they found and small plastic baggie containing marijuana and a plastic bag with psilocybin mushrooms inside.

The marijuana weighed 0.1 grams, and the mushrooms were sent to the Department of Public Safety for testing.

The man was arrested and booked into Pima County Jail for possession of marijuana, possession of a dangerous drug, possession of drug paraphernalia and second-degree criminal trespassing.

[reeferreview]

Man gobbles ganja in jail

An officer saw a man riding his bicycle behind the Colonia de la Paz Residence Hall on Monday at 4:19 a.m. carrying a potted plant.

The officer stopped the bicyclist and conducted a records check, which showed he had two warrants from Pima County Jail for failure to appear to court. Before the man was transported to Pima County Jail, the officer attempted to search the man’s pant pockets, but was unable to because of the small size of the pockets.

The man was warned of bringing illegal contraband into the jail and he said he did not have anything on him.

While inside the jail, the man was seen pulling a small baggie out of his pocket and putting something in his mouth.

The man was again told of the jail contraband policy and the man said, “It’s only pot.” He continued to chew on the marijuana plant and swallowed it.

The officer told the man that if he had not brought the marijuana into the jail it would have only been a misdemeanor charge, but because he lied, it would be a felony charge. The man told the officer, “I know, I really fucked up.” He was booked on felony charges of prison contraband, possession of paraphernalia, and the charges for his previous warrants.

The marijuana bags were entered into UAPD property as evidence.

[reeferreview]

Hole-y forbidden fruit in Coronado

An on-duty resident assistant at Coronado Residence Hall called UAPD after she smelled marijuana coming from the hallway on the second floor.

The officer knocked on the door of the room where the smell was the strongest and a resident answered. The officer reported the woman as having red and watery eyes.

The woman allowed the officer in the room where the smell of burnt marijuana became stronger.

She was asked if she had been smoking in the room and the woman said she had smoked earlier with some friends, but would not say with whom.

The officer asked if she had any pot in the room and she pulled a baggie with marijuana inside out of bottom desk drawer.

The resident told the officer that she had bought the marijuana from a man she did not know downtown for $10.

After reading the woman her rights the officer searched her side of the dorm room for any other suspicious things. He found a pink and blue glass smoking pipe, an apple with burnt reside on the top and two holes in the side and a plastic bottle covered with a sock, with a tissue inside and the bottom cut off. The woman told the officer the apple and the bottle were also used for smoking marijuana.

The woman was cited and released for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. The items found in the room were entered into evidence and a Code of Conduct referral was sent to the Dean of Students.

[reeferreview]

Dealing drugs? Don’t speed.

A University of Arizona Police Department officer was near First Street and Campbell Avenue when he saw a gold Nissan Maxima moving 55 mph in a 35 mph zone.

When the officer pulled the car over, the driver told the officer that he did not have a license and had never had one in any state. He was identified by an Arizona Identification Card.

The officer asked why he was driving without a license and the man said he was picking up some friends. There was a woman in the passenger seat and one in the backseat.

The officer told the man he was going to impound the car and asked everyone to get out so he could check the car.

In the front passenger seat the officer found a black Adidas pouch with folded plastic baggies and a small metal hanging scale.

Also inside the pouch was a plastic baggie with marijuana and a blue aluminum smoking pipe with burnt residue on it.

The man was read his rights and initially told the officer the pouch was a friend’s, but then said it was his and he knew marijuana was inside.

When the officer asked if he had been selling drugs the man said he had and the last time he sold was to a coworker on March 6.

The officer then requested a recorder so the confession could be taped.

The man said on the tape that he had only been selling marijuana for about a week to make some extra money. Within the week, the man said he earned $100.

While the man was being handcuffed, another plastic bag with marijuana in it was found in his front pocket. The marijuana weighed 3.4 grams. The man said the marijuana in his pocket was for his own personal use and he did not intend to sell it.

The man was taken to Pima County Jail and booked on charges of possession for sale — a class four felony — and possession of drug paraphernalia — a class six felony. The recorded interview, the marijuana and the contents of the Adidas pouch were entered into UAPD property as evidence.

[reeferreview]

You can run, but you can’t hide

A University of Arizona Police Department officer arrived to the Colonia de la Paz Residence Hall on Wednesday at 12:05 p.m. after a resident assistant reported the smell of marijuana in one of the hallways.

When the officer knocked on the door and said he was a police officer, the RA then yelled to the officer that, from the outside, he could see the men climbing out of the window.

As the men began to run west down Highland Avenue, the officer repeatedly yelled for them to stop. They refused to stop and headed toward the walkway between Villa del Puente and Pueblo de la Cienga Residence Halls.

Another officer was on patrol behind those dorms, so he yelled for the men to stop, and one of them immediately laid on the ground. The other man continued running until he tripped and fell. Both were instantly handcuffed.

The man who lay on the ground refused to identify himself. The officer was able to get the man’s wallet from his front pocket. He noticed that the man smelled like alcohol and had bloodshot eyes.

Inside the wallet, the officer found a UA CatCard, a Connecticut driver’s license, an expired New York driver’s license and two Arizona driver’s licenses. The Connecticut license was real and showed the man to be 18 years old. The first Arizona driver’s license had the picture of a 21-year-old man, but the license number showed that it belonged to an 80-year-old woman.

The officer told the man that he was under arrest. After placing the man under arrest, the officer reached into the man’s other front pocket and found a crumpled piece of paper with marijuana inside.

The RA had been waiting outside the room window, and both he and the officer could see that inside the dorm room was a bottle of tequila and buds of marijuana on the students’ desks.

A resident of the hall reported that a man walking down the hall had run from the same room earlier.

When the officer spoke with the man, the resident said he lived in the room across from the room in which they had been smoking marijuana, and he left when they started smoking and drinking.

The officers got a search warrant for the room by phone at 3:30 a.m. and found a wallet with Zig Zag rolling papers on the desk, a full bottle of Jose Cuervo Especial tequila, two baggies with marijuana buds inside, a glass pipe with burnt residue and a Zong bong with fresh marijuana in its stem.

Both of the men who ran were taken and booked into Pima Country Jail for minor in possession, refusing to provide a lawful name after detainment, possession of marijuana and possession of a fictitious license.

[reeferreview]

FedEx’d ‘green crack’ confiscated

A Cochise Residence Hall desk assistant called UAPD on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. after receiving a FedEx package in the mail for a student that smelled like marijuana. When the officer arrived, he could smell the same odor. The man to whom the package was addressed was called to the front desk. The student told the officer that he did not know the name on the front of the package, but recognized the area it was coming from, Ranchos Palos Verde, Calif. The officer was given permission to open the package and inside he found a light gray T-shirt rolled up and taped. When he unrolled the T-shirt he found two bundles of marijuana and a small red container holding marijuana buds. One of the bundles weighed 13.8 grams and had “green crack” written on the outside. The other bundle weighed 14.1 grams and had “GDP” written on it. The small red container had 4.9 grams worth of marijuana buds inside, and on the outside was a medical marijuana prescription. The officer called the return address phone number and spoke with the father of the man whose name was written on the package. The father said that the two men were friends and when the student had been in the area the past weekend, he dropped the package off and asked that it be mailed to his dorm. The student was then brought to the UAPD main station and read his rights. He stuck with his original story but said that he had a legal marijuana prescription for his back pain and his friend had offered to mail him the package, but he didn’t think he would actually do it. The package with all of its contents was entered into UAPD property as evidence. The student was also finger-printed to see if his prints matched those that were on the red container. A Code of Conduct referral was sent to the Dean of Students.

[reeferreview]

Wall doesn’t mask weed smell

A University of Arizona Police Department officer was performing a security check at the Tyndall Avenue Parking Garage on March 1 at 12:27 p.m., when he saw three men trying to hide behind a wall on the top level.

When the officer stopped his patrol car, he could smell a strong amount of burnt marijuana in the air.

The three men immediately told the officer they had been smoking marijuana. They were identified as UA students, two with Arizona driver’s licenses and one with a California driver’s license.

When the officer asked for the men to turn over all the marijuana and paraphernalia they had on them, one of the men took a plastic baggie out of his pocket with marijuana and a metal smoking pipe inside. The pipe had burnt marijuana in it.

Another one of the men took a glass smoking pipe and a wooden smoking pipe, both with fresh marijuana packed inside them, out from his jacket pocket.

The third man removed a plastic bag from his pocket that had marijuana in it.

The officer asked the men where they had purchased the marijuana and one of the men said he got it from a UA student, but would not say his name. The other man told the officer he bought it from a man on East Drachman Street and Park Avenue. The third man said he was only smoking the marijuana and had not purchased any drugs.

All three men were diverted to the Dean of Students for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

The marijuana and pipes were placed into property as evidence. The total weight of the marijuana was 14.3 grams.