Colorado B.S. Thread

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/marijuana/driving-and-traveling

• No open containers:
  • Neither drivers nor passengers are allowed to open any marijuana packaging or use the product while in a vehicle.
  • You can be charged with a traffic offense if the marijuana product seal has been broken, some of the product has been consumed and there’s evidence that it was used in the car.

It won't matter if it is not yours or not, YOU will be charged with the open container violation. All there needs to be is 1. You as the operator and 2. "evidence that it was used in the car."

 

I'm pretty sure it does. But leaving it unattended where unauthorized people can access it is a bad thing.

 

According to CSP, yes in the car falls under open carry. https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/csp/colorado-gun-laws I can't speak to the 'once they leave it' comment - I'm neither a lawyer or a gun owner. But the way I read it, the car is just like your house or business - if you want to keep a gun there when you're not, it isn't illegal. Laying on the front seat? Inappropriate and unwise to be sure, but it doesn't look illegal to me.

 

The way I understand the laws is you can have a pistol in your personal vehicle without having a concealed permit. If it's a long gun it can't have a round in the chamber. I'm not a lawyer but that's how I understand it. When moving the guns in and out of the vehicle without a concealed carry permit they have to conform to the open carry rules (be out in view, not in a bag or anything).

 

I'm not really curious about gun laws really. We have a procedure that, so far, no gun owner has had any issue with us finding or asking them to remove them. They have all been very understanding, thankful that we handle (ourselves, not the gun)it in a professional manner.

This incident was met with a lot of pushback. "It is legal now!" Along with other accusations about why I found it (you complained about a dash rattle, duh ). So it got me thinking about what if I got pulled over with that smell in the car with the pipe in reach of the driver.

 

Steps or sliders? They look good enough to be sliders if they bolt to the frame

 

not sliders....

led light holders

 

Looks like @chenbro will be swinging by my place Sat. afternoon to hang his new hc rear bumper.

You're welcome to come by if you want to witness the sparks fly.

 

The state law in Colorado states that your vehicle is an extension of your home and therefore one doesn't need a permit to carry in his or her own vehicle. This was recently extended to one's place of employment which leads me to an interesting theory: if your job involves operating customer's motor vehicles then a good lawyer wouldn't have a difficult time proving that for those instances that customer's vehicle is your work space even if only temporary and therefore you should be afforded the same rights. Now, this all of course assumes a LOT of things have gone wrong and you find yourself in court fighting for your side but there's enough checks & balances along the way that I really don't ever see this coming to this point anyway but if it's not your car and your firearm I don't see anyone trying to go after you for anything in that instance.

That thing you mentioned about a long gun not having a round chambered is actually an old poaching law that remains on the books. This is why I keep my truck gun (AR15) 'cruiser ready' with a full mag seated and an empty chamber. If I need it it takes only a second to chamber a round before laying waste to some stooges who picked the wrong SOB to mess with .

As far as the weed story goes... I think the same thing applies as far as not really seeing to getting to charges or anything like that. There are plenty of similar instances and you don't hear of anyone getting jammed up over them. For instance, how many times have you operated a vehicle with prescription drugs either in the center console or a glove box? Probably more times than you know and being in possession of someone else's prescription drugs is also illegal. Let's give our men & women in blue a little bit of credit though that if they ask where you're headed and you explain you're driving a customer's car for work on a test drive they will likely apply common sense and reason to the rest of the transaction and take that into consideration if it comes down to a full on vehicle search. I mean, the level of douche baggery to then charge someone after all of that with a crime related to the belongings of the actual owner would be off the charts.

 

Sliders? On a Tundra? ROFL!

 

My argument is, why should the officer or I be put in that situation in the 1st place. While it might not be my illegal act, the presence is illegal. I don't doubt that the charges could/would be dropped, if any were filed in the 1st place. Why should I have to explain that it is not my illegal substance? A 5to10 minute check my ID and insurance could become a hour or more DUI stop and other issues.

Think of it like driving a customers car with an open bottle of Jack sitting in the cup holder. How would that go down?

 

Big girls like to get dirty too.

Reported!

 

That comes down to a personal decision. Every job has negatives as well as positives. You choose what you do based on the pros and cons so if that's a large enough con for you then I suggest finding other means of work. Personally, I think it's making a mountain out of a mole hill and I have never heard of anyone being charged for what was in a customer's car let alone convicted. I get your concerns but I think they may be a little bit unwarranted. I guess the flip side to the coin would be more: How do you propose fixing the situation?

 

I think what Brian (thefatkid) is really getting to is simple... Take fucking responsibility for your shit and when you are dropping your car off for service don't leave your shit lying around. Take responsibility for your actions and how it could affect others. Don't feel that you are "entitled" to any special treatments. Bottom line on his example is simple - The MJ was open and packed in a pipe. The owner needs to be responsible for the fact that it should not be there in the first place because it is illegal and should have removed it from the car while it was being serviced.

*end of rant.


Oh and my earlier example of equating the pipe to a loaded gun on the passenger seat was a bad idea because of open carry laws in this state. Sorry to spur that unneeded conversation about guns again.

 

Just throw the pipe and weed in the trash. See if they ask about it when they pick up the car. Stoners don't remember things that well anyway.

 

We're in 100% agreement on that point but if you're freedom is dependent on expecting a stoner to remember to not leave his paraphernalia out you may want to reconsider your approach. I don't place my criminal record in the hands of anyone else and trust that they care about mine as much or more so than their own. I still think that if you're at work and driving a customer's car and you get pulled over and explain the situation the LEO isn't going to first assume that you're getting high in a customer's car. If it were me, I'd examine everything in plain sight and refuse to take the car into my possession until I knew 100% there was nothing illicit in plain sight that could come into question later. There's some stupid people in the world and I take extra precautions to make sure their stupidity doesn't directly affect my ability to pursue happiness.

 

Haha! There you go! Done and done.

 

Yes I agree with what you are saying as well. Unfortunately I believe the cars are transported by "shaggers" down to the techs after the Service Writer takes possession of the car from the customer. And I agree, that a LEO will give you the opportunity to explain the situation and it would not result in arrest but why should it get to that point anyways. Just be responsible before you turn in your car and make sure not to leave anything. But yes this may have been an avid user that doesn't take responsibility for their actions (apparent by the fact that it was left there to begin with) so I think the dealership should do what they did. Have the customer remove the substance from the vehicle before they proceed any further with the work.

And Brett you know that will be the one time they remember that they had a packed pipe in the car and then claim "foul" on the dealership for tossing it.