Howard County Drug Investigations
Read on to learn what you should know regarding drug investigations in Howard County or call and schedule a consultation with a Howard County drug lawyer today.
Howard County Drug Enforcement Priorities
Not that I am aware of. It is kind of equal opportunity. They have marijuana, they have meth, they have cocaine, they have heroin, prescription drugs. The past few years I have seen a lot more prescription drug cases than I did in the preceding few years but that just maybe a sign of what people are using rather than the strategy of law enforcement.
Howard County Drug Enforcement Practices
Howard County is cracking down with more investigations, more citations, and they bring in canine officers. Regularly officers are trained to be Drug Recognition Evaluators to detect impaired driving by drugs.
How the authorities investigate drug offenses varies from case to case. If it is a simple traffic stop case then the investigation will just be searching the vehicle in a traffic stop. If it is a more complicated case where it is a sting or where people have informed the police of drug activity, then it can be more of a classical investigation.
The Maryland State Police are involved in drug investigations in Howard County. The Howard County Sherriff’s Office is involved in investigating cases in Howard County as well and also individual municipal police agencies will frequently do some kind of drug investigations as well.
Drug Searches During Traffic Stops
The likelihood that an officer will look for drugs during a traffic stop depends on the circumstances. If there is no reason to believe that there are drugs involved they generally don’t bring in a drug searching dog or anything like that. So it will be the difference between being pulled over for a simple speeding violation, addressed professionally versus being pulled over for weaving all over the road with a cloud of pot smoke in the car. I think that officers are going to use their individual discretion in deciding whether or not to search for drugs during a traffic stop.
Do You Have To Consent To The Search?
For an officer to search your vehicle, you either have to consent to the search or the officer will have to have probable cause. Typically in almost any circumstance an individual should refuse a search. So if the officer asks, “Well I would like to search your vehicle” individuals should say no. Now after an individual has been arrested for traffic violation, driving on a suspended license for example or DUI then the officer has the right to search the vehicle incident to the arrest. Additionally the officer can develop probable cause in a traffic stop by bringing in a canine.
So they bring in a specially trained canine and the canine walks around the vehicle and alerts that is going to be reason enough for the officer to initiate a search even without consent.
Does This Raise Any Constitutional Issues?
Absolutely. Searching for drugs during a traffic stop can raise major Fourth Amendment issues, right to be free from unlawful searches and seizures. That is a constitutional issue that is going to be at the crux of a lot of drug possessions cases.