How my ecig almost got me in jail

[Rickman6982]

I stopped by a local smoke shop and asked if they carry pvs. The lady said yes and directed me to a "vaporizer" where you fill it with...as the lady said..."your stuff" and it burns it. I didn't know whether to feel sorry for her ignorance or insulted that she thought I was some sort of druggie. I calmly explained to her that I was trying to get away from tobacco and only interested in devices that vape nic juice. I would like to think that I educated her but when I left the counter she had a befuddled look on her face so...lol

 

[Faylool]

So did the driver get a ticket??

Unfortunately there are devices out there for illegal substances. We can't talk about those substances here.
Look at it as you've just educated a couple of police officers. I vape openly while driving, if I get pulled over great. I have all the time in the world to deal with it. So far several officers have seen me vaping and don't give me a second look.

 

[mkbilbo]

They let us off the hook, and told me that people use devices like mine with illegal substances (is that really a thing?) so they hoped I understood.

Apparently it is a thing. Unfortunately.

TLDR: if you get pulled over, hide your pv.

Ooo, I would say don't ever do that. If you're pulled over and start trying to hide things, that could turn an nuisance of a delay into a real headache by making you look like you're up to something you shouldn't be.

 

[ilovehugehits]

I think in the states were they allow medical substances.
People often use PVs for them. One of my juice suppliers is California based. They also seem to manufacture things for medical use.

 

[Horselady154]

It's so sad. What a bunch of sheep the American people have now become. The fact is that it is no one else's business what someone else chooses to put in their bodies, as long as they are not infringing on anyone else's liberty. But, we forgot that and now seem to believe that government is our master.

I sincerely do hope people remember this next time they vote. Because if you vote for someone who supports expanding the size and scope of government in any manner, go look in the mirror. Because you are the problem.

 

[wv2win]

This is what many on here need to realize. Any time I go to a show/bar/party, I invariably get engaged in at least one discussion about my ego and it is more often than not someone asking if I'm using a substance. I would say that it is likely these devices will become a standard delivery system for these substances, just like ecigs have become for nicotine. So we have a new problem: illicit drug delivery systems look exactly like perfectly legal nicotine systems. I'm certainly not advocating for cops to be jerks, but it puts a little perspective on their point of view, trying to do their job. And it highlights a problem for ecig sustainability.

I have little knowledge on these other substances. But several years ago here on ECF this subject was talked about on a number of posts. At the time, a number of posters who stated they had much experience stated that PV's do not provide enough heat to be effective for these other substances.

 

[wv2win]

It's so sad. What a bunch of sheep the American people have now become. The fact is that it is no one else's business what someone else chooses to put in their bodies, as long as they are not infringing on anyone else's liberty. But, we forgot that and now seem to believe that government is our master.

I sincerely do hope people remember this next time they vote. Because if you vote for someone who supports expanding the size and scope of government in any manner, go look in the mirror. Because you are the problem.

Well stated!!

 

[Dana A]

Reading this thread makes me sick! It's sickening that people have reason to be afraid of doing something that is NOT illegal in their own cars? Does a cop have a right to ask you 100 questions about your e cig? Yes they certainly do but a large number of people seem to feel weather conscious of it or not that they can and will be abused if they look the smallest bit suspicious. I have had a cop question me about my Provari with a 6 ml carto tank on it and I just calmly told him it was an e cig and offered to let him look at it. He did and then he congratulated me on kicking my smoking habit. I know it doesn't always turn out this way but my intention if I ever do have a problem is to calmly and nicely ask them to test my liquid and if not then let me go. If a cop abuses you as a human being don't give them the satisfaction of knowing they got under your skin. Just give them the respect they don't deserve and know all the while that this is only a very very small portion of your life that will not matter in a week anyway. I had an incident 15 years go where my son started choking in his car seat. His lips turned blue and I pulled over to the right of the road on a 4 lane in town road. I was hysterical because my cousin ended up having to pull my son out of his car seat and give him the heimlich maneuver. She had a really hard time getting the beef jerky out of his airway. Then as we were getting back into the car a cop rolled up and starts just screaming at me that I cannot pull over here. When I told him my son was choking he said even if your son is choking you can't pull over here. There was no other place to pull over for a mile and a half! He was a total jerk even though I was balling when he pulled up and so was my son. I ended up calling in and reporting him and I don't even know if anything ever came of it. All we can do is report these so called law enforcement officers and go on with our lives. What other option do we have when they are holding a gun? Letting them know that they ruffle our feathers just gives them a bonus. I know some cops are just BAD but others are just trying to do their job. Jumping the gun when they question you is not helping them to do that. It makes me so sad that some of you are afraid to vape in your cars. America is so full of one persons need to abuse the rights of another. I don't know what the answer is but for me being afraid will never come close to being it.

 

[Dana A]

It's so sad. What a bunch of sheep the American people have now become. The fact is that it is no one else's business what someone else chooses to put in their bodies, as long as they are not infringing on anyone else's liberty. But, we forgot that and now seem to believe that government is our master.

I sincerely do hope people remember this next time they vote. Because if you vote for someone who supports expanding the size and scope of government in any manner, go look in the mirror. Because you are the problem.

There is no one left to vote for! EVERYONE is bought and paid for by someone else. It makes me sick

 

[Horselady154]

There is no one left to vote for! EVERYONE is bought and paid for by someone else. It makes me sick

Most, yes, but not ALL.

 

[Robino1]

So did the driver get a ticket??

In the place I live in Florida there is an insane amount of police cars. Each of those times that I speak of, I'm in the passenger seat at a red light and the officer is next to me in his car. When we lived in Philly, Mr. Robin worked across the street from the police station. They frequently parked their cars on hubby's side of the street. I would frequently go meet him and wait outside until he came out. Many, many times I would be vaping away when the officers would be going to their cars. Never once questioned.

I know I've told this story before but will tell it again here. I was sitting on my steps, stalking the mailman LOL vaping away. (This is center city Philly) a neighbor walked by and said hi and I noticed him looking at my PV. wouldn't you know, about 5 minutes after he goes into his door a police officer pulls up across the street from me just down a bit. He sits there for about 2 minutes then gets out of his car and walks down the sidewalk directly across from me. Turns and faces the wall and speaks into the unit on his shoulder. Goes back to his car and leaves. Think the neighbor thought I was doing something else?

Now, if I had tried to hide it, you bet that officer would have thought I WAS doing something else. People, if you ACT like you're doing something illegal, you WILL be perceived as doing something wrong. Vape proudly, not obnoxiously. Be respectful.

When I was first new to vaping, yeah I was nervous about what they would think. It didn't take me long to get over that.

 

[random25]

My gf, her son, 3 of her nieces and I are on the road right now heading up to a cabin for the weekend. About 45 minutes ago we got pulled over for going 75/70. There were two cops coming up to the car and in my lap was my itaste mvp with my protank on it along with my cellphone (I'm in passenger seat). The lady cop shines her light in the car and asks me what "that thing" is, pointing at my mvp. I explained it in layman's terms, but she took it from me and my license, even though I wasn't driving.

So they both go back to their patrol cars with our info and my ecig, which honestly at this point was in dire need of a vape. 30 mins later... Yes 30 mins... They come back and make me explain my device thoroughly, which I oblige. She asked if I had a bottle and I said yes and showed it to her. She didn't like that there was no label (I fill a blank bottle from a 120 ml) but I told her if she simply smelled it she would experience raspberries, lol. After a few minutes she finally mustered the courage to smell it and she's like "hmm I DO smell raspberries". They let us off the hook, and told me that people use devices like mine with illegal substances (is that really a thing?) so they hoped I understood. Weird night...

TLDR: if you get pulled over, hide your pv.

I wanted to make this longer but I'm typing it on my phone since I wanted to share this immediately. Haha

most people do not realize the difference between a request and a command. You dont have to answer questions if you dont want to. if the ask to look in your car or purse you can say no. its the tone of voice the police ask question in that makes them seem like commands. I dont answer questions. I live in a border town and pass though secondary immigration checkpoints all the time and get asked if im a citizen. i always say i dont have to answer you. and they let me rite through. Know your rights

 

[xpl0it]

This is why having a quality attorney on speed dial at all times is necessary. Nothing brings more enjoyment then putting the screws to LEO's!

 

[Cicatrize]

Sorry it took me so long to reply to this post. I just got back home from the vacation. Looks like the thread got a lot of replies, lol. Took me some time to read through them all.

First, my gf did NOT get a ticket, so there's nothing to fight. It was just frustrating because we got to our cabin really late at night because of that ridiculous amount of time we were stopped for. So, just to ease the concerns in the thread about that...we did not get punished for anything. If we got a ticket for 5 over, I would know to take that to court because those are throw-away tickets and easy to dismiss.

About hiding the PV, I'm not suggesting you make any crazy movements inside your car to do so. What I'm suggesting is that if you do have your PV on you (mine is usually in my lap), just put it in your pocket so as not to give them any reason to question you about it. It's not any harm done on either party, and it will save time. I don't like cigalikes and don't own any, so I'm not going to change how I vape just to avoid law enforcement's questioning. I do understand their concern, but I also wish they were a little more knowledgeable. I actually had to explain what e-cigs were at a basic level. They hadn't even heard of them. In their defense, this was a small town in the middle of nowhere on the highway, so I wasn't all that surprised.

 

[zapped]

This is precisely why I havent taken the window cling off the back window of my truck even though my electronic cigarette business has been closed for almost 4 years now.

If I get stopped, I have a great big sign back there to back me up.

Might be worthwhile to get a few vaping bumper stickers both to get the word out and to lend a little extra credence to your story.

 

[unquiet]

It's so sad. What a bunch of sheep the American people have now become. The fact is that it is no one else's business what someone else chooses to put in their bodies, as long as they are not infringing on anyone else's liberty. But, we forgot that and now seem to believe that government is our master.

I sincerely do hope people remember this next time they vote. Because if you vote for someone who supports expanding the size and scope of government in any manner, go look in the mirror. Because you are the problem.

There is no one left to vote for! EVERYONE is bought and paid for by someone else. It makes me sick

Most, yes, but not ALL.

Name one person in any notable public office that doesn't want a say over some aspect of my private life.

 

[LoriP1702]

Name one person in any notable public office that doesn't want a say over some aspect of my private life.

...........I thought of one to name, but then chickened out........and edited................not sure my sense of humor would've been taken the right way.......

 

[Bubba]

These threads seem to pop up from time to time on here - the "I got pulled and..." ones. I'm thinking that we need to establish some kind of communication with John Law about our devices, what they're used for, how to tell them apart, etc.

Now I know, some cops are buttholes. But then again, some vapers are buttholes too. Some PEOPLE are just buttholes. Problem is, with all them buttholes around, invariably it's gonna start to stink.

Maybe we need to clear the air between us and law enforcement. I'm thinking I'll reach out to CASAA and my local sheriffs department to see what we can do. I really think they don't want to bother with someone innocently vaping any more than we want to be bothered by them, so maybe the answer is to try and work with them so that they can more easily identify what's what.

I know there are some current and retired LEO's on here, I'd love to hear your input on this to determine what we can do so that we can all live happily ever after. It seems like the majority of the issues I see on here are cases of mistaken identity (thinking we're doing something we're not) or flat out not knowing WHAT we're doing.

Considering that these guys (cops) spend their days chasing murderers, rapists, armed robbers (not to mention domestic disturbances, traffic stops, warrants, etc.) I can't really fault them for not knowing the difference between a provari, evic, or itaste mvp, or even knowing what they are. Hell, half the people here are confused by all the jargon we use. (Myself included - some day I'll tackle RBA's, but it is not this day)

Sorry for such a long post, but it hit me that maybe we as vapers need to make sure we're doing what we can to prevent more issues like this in the future.

 

[USinchains]

3 years ago, my PV got scanned for explosives in some special machine at the airport, I got a lot of questions. Just recently, I brought one into a courthouse and the guard gave me an almost scripted warning that I can have it as long as I don't use it in the building, have a nice day, no questions.

 

[StereoDreamer]

I can't really fault them for not knowing the difference between a provari, evic, or itaste mvp, or even knowing what they are.

The OP said the cops knew enough about them to say that people use them for contraband.

This attitude among LEOs that citizens need to prove their innocence is a DANGEROUS trend. The burdon is not on US to prove that what are doing is legal. The burden is on THEM to establish that someone was doing something ILLEGAL, and to do that, they must first have at least a "Reasonably Apprehendible Suspicion", to even detain and question someone.

And "Probable Cause" to detain people, search their personal effects or seize their property has a MUCH higher burden of proof.

Vaping is NOT a crime, any more than having a pack of cigarette papers. Without some other cue that something illegal is going on--furtive movements, trying to hide objects, inconsistent answers, physical symptoms of intoxication, etc--they have NO legal ground to stand on for harassment of vapers.

We need to educate LEA's about vaping. Get some CASAA material and make an appointment with your local Sheriff and Chief of Police, and let them know it might be a good idea to educate their officers about ecigs, because it is a FAST growing phenomenon.

IF that doesn't work, then we need to play hardball. Get badge numbers and names (and preferable cellphone video recordings) if you get harassed for having an ecig or PV. File formal complaints. Get a lawyer to send them a notice that they have been given CASAA material, and therefore they KNOW this is legal, and if they continue to harass vapers, they will be getting subpoenas to defend their actions in a Federal Civil Rights violation lawsuit for "harassment under color of law".

LEOs listen to TWO things, and two things only--orders from their superiors, and threats of legal action from attorneys.

If we educate the first group of people (LE superior officers) then we won't have to get the lawyers involved. But sometimes thats what it takes.

We need to stop tippy-toeing around on this issue, and STOP apologizing to cops for something that is 100% legal.

Vaping is not a crime...