Michigan Police Likely Posing as Drug Dealers on Facebook to Bust You for Marijuana

Watch out, kids! Even in states where marijuana has been made legal for medical or recreational purposes, law enforcement agencies are using the social media to bust people for marijuana.

A recent article in HIGH TIMES reveals that police have been posing as black market pot growers and posting on popular social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instragram, in hopes of making marijuana arrests. It’s happening in Denver, Colorado, so it is highly likely that the same racket is going on right here in Michigan.

From the article:

The report finds that Denver police have been setting up phony social media accounts, complete with back stories as to not arouse suspicion, to post photos of marijuana grows, tagged with captions like, “Place your order today, gets shipped out before 8 a.m.”

The days of drug investigators spinning their wheels in the streets to take down the black market drug trade are no more.

The scene has evolved into place where officers sit behind desks, mostly under the guise of fictional characters, waiting for black market marijuana dealers to take the bait.

If this sounds like entrapment, well, it is. However, in the eyes of the criminal justice system it's just part of the game they use to put people in prison.

Although there is no denying that these types of operations are deeply rooted in the concept of entrapment, they appear to be completely legal as long as the investigators are able to collect enough evidence to prove the suspect on the other end of the computer has a predisposition for dealing drugs.

To make matters worse, it can be difficult for a defendant to prove entrapment in these types of cases, which often puts them in a position of either accepting a plea deal or risking their chances in a jury trial that has the potential to lead to prison.

Legal experts say the “predisposition” factor is crucial in these types of cases, even if it can be argued that police “induced” the defendant to commit a crime. The prosecution “must demonstrate that the defendant was ready, willing and able” to buy marijuana and not swayed to engage in criminal actions based on “friendship, hardship, or a play for sympathy.”

It is important to understand that law enforcement is permitted to lie about anything and everything in order to bust people for engaging in illegal activity—even when the act is simply buying marijuana in a state where it is grown, bought and sold as a part of everyday commerce.

Therefore, marijuana transactions via the Internet should be avoided at all cost. Trust no one!