Let's make a deal

Looking for pot? Try not to text the police

This can be a dangerous device when put in dumb drug-seeking hands.
When you want pot, you probably want to use your voice rather than fingers.

For the stoner with an active lifestyle, finding the time to call your dealer for drugs can seem impossible.

But before texting in your order, make sure you have the right number. Or at the very least, make sure you aren't actually asking for drugs from the local police.

That's what happened to two teens from Montana recently. A text looking for marijuana, "Hey Dawg, do you have a $20 I can buy right now?" was mistakenly sent to the local sheriff, who played along and set up a meet at the local Walmart.

Once the identities of the boys, age 15 and 16, were confirmed, the sheriff showed his badge. No charges were filed in lieu of leaving the minors to the punishment of their parents, one of whom had unwittingly driven the boys to the bust.

(The sheriff also showed remarkable restraint by not booking the teens for illegal use of the word "dawg" by a white person after 2007.)

Though the chance of texting the police seems remote, this isn't just a one-time blunder.

Back in 2007, a teacher in Kentucky mistakenly texted a police officer trying to buy pot. "She learned her lesson: Program your dealers into your phone," Kentucky State Police spokesman Barry Meadows said.

Last month a 51-year-old woman in East Texas accidentally texted the cops while trying to sell her pot. Police met her and charged her with possession for the roughly $400 worth of weed in her car.

The only thing worse than getting busted for texting the cops to buy or sell weed? Texting the cops bragging about the blunt you just rolled. That's what happened to a woman in Oklahoma in March. Misdialing a friend's number, she inadvertently messaged a drug task force officer offering a "hit of this stuff" — and was arrested on felony possession charges.

So remember, texting may seem convenient, but when it comes to talking about your drug habits, hearing your dealer's voice is priceless.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”