In October 1998, I was a victim of the Drug Jihad.
This article was copied directly from my original web site as it existed sometime in the 2000 to 2001 timeframe.
In October, 1998, I went on a business trip to Dallas, Texas. For various reasons I decided to drive there instead of fly. I borrowed my Dad's car and headed out. I took Interstate 20 from Alabama, through Mississippi and Louisiana, and then to Dallas. The trip there was enjoyable and mostly uneventful.
I spent about three days in Dallas, solved my customer's problems, and headed back for Alabama. As I crossed into Louisiana and neared Shreveport, traffic started picking up. There were areas of road construction and the speed limit was going up and down like a yoyo.
Soon I passed a sheriff's car that was sitting in the median. After I passed, he pulled out behind me. "Oh great," I thought. "I don't even know what the speed limit is." I looked down. I was going about 65. Soon I passed a speed limit sign that said 60, so I slowed down.
A short distance later, he turned his lights on and I pulled over. He asked me to get out and come to the back of the car. He looked at my driver's license and said I was going too fast. I told him he was probably right since I'd been paying more attention to the traffic and probably missed the speed limit change. He asked me a bunch of nosy questions about where I was going, where I had been, and why. I answered the questions even though it pissed me off to be questioned about something that wasn't his business.
Then he asked me if I had any illegal drugs. I said, "No, I don't do that." Next he asked if he could search my car. At this point I was tempted to say no. However, having no idea whether he was honest or not, and fearing that if I pissed him off he might plant something in my car, I told him to go ahead.
He went back to his car and opened the door and brings out a dog. I hadn't noticed this was a K9 unit. Then it all snapped into place. He didn't care that I'd been speeding. He just needed an excuse to pull me over. Am I supposed to believe a K9 unit was out running a speed trap? Get real!
He trots Dog Wonder over to my car and proceeds to let it roam all over the inside. I might mention that it was a hot day and the dog was doing a fair amount of drooling. After about three passes around the inside of the car without finding anything, he asks me to open the trunk. I did and he asked me to remove all my luggage. The dog sniffs and drools all over my luggage.
Somewhere during the whole thing he asked me if my air conditioner worked. I said, "Yes." He asked why I hadn't been running it. I said "because I didn't want to." What the hell was that all about? Was it so I could let the "pot smoke" out the window? Or maybe people stuff drugs in their air vents?
He finally decided I wasn't a drug smuggler and let me go. I pulled out a towel and dried all the dog drool off my luggage and the inside of the car. Then I got in and drove off to complete a trip that was no longer very pleasant.
The whole experience left me feeling violated. I could understand being pulled over if I had blood leaking out of the trunk or something, but he was looking for damn plants! I know I probably didn't have to give into his "requests," but being alone in a state I'd never set foot in before (I passed completely through it on the way out there), I was concerned about asserting my rights. And as rabid as the drug war has become, I'm not sure how many rights I have anymore.
I was like a lot of other people. I always thought that sort of thing only happened to other folks. Or perhaps only happens to people who probably really are carrying drugs. Wrong. It happened to me, it can happen to you. If the drug warriors have their way and strip us of more rights, it probably will happen to you. Unless your father is a U.S. Senator, that is. (Want to know more about that? Ask Richard Shelby!)
This experience crystallized the notion for me that the Drug War is the single biggest threat to our freedom that we face [Keep in mind I originally wrote this before 9/11 and the Patriot Act]. Complaining about various attacks on the First, Fourth, Nineth and Tenth Ammendments is only treating the symptoms. The Drug War is the disease.