Recreational marijuana is not legal in Florida. And while medical marijuana is legal, the law bans the use of smokable marijuana.

Oh, and it’s illegal to drive under the influence of marijuana anywhere.

Things Not to Do

The above facts apparently escaped a 23-year-old Florida man who drove through a Port St. Lucie McDonald’s drive-through window recently and attempted to pay for his order with a baggie of marijuana.

As you might expect, the workers said, “No.” And then things took a turn.

Return to the Scene

According to the Port St. Lucie police, they were called to the McDonald’s at 2 a.m. by fast food restaurant’s employees. They told officers the deal offered by the man and gave a description of the car.

As the officers took notes and talked to the employees, a car pulled into the drive-through. Yes. It was the same man, back to get that food, this time with cash.

We’ll let the Port St. Lucie police report take it from here: “Officer made contact with the suspect and noticed a heavy odor of marijuana emitting from the car. Police found approximately 11 grams of marijuana on the suspect. The suspect told officers he did offer marijuana in exchange for food but that he did so as a joke.”

The police were not amused. They arrested the man for possession and DUI.

On the Other Hand

Clearly, things not to do include driving under the influence of marijuana nor is attempting to exchange your cannabis for food. But some crimes are no longer crimes in states that have legalized marijuana – and across the entire country of Canada, which legalized cannabis in October 2018.

Apparently, some Canadians don’t realize that. Also, snitching is a bigger issue than maybe anyone thought.

In Toronto, police had to Tweet a plea to people to stop snitching on their neighbors about cannabis use. They reminded Canadians that recreational marijuana became legal nationwide in October and urged them to stop making 911 calls about “an adult smoking a joint,” a neighbor’s pot plants or smelling weed coming from next door.

The campaign about things not to do is apparently part of a police effort to cut down on such calls. Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said, “Going forward it is important for everyone to take the time to educate themselves on legalization.”

And give Canadian 911 operators a break.

A marijuana arrest can make you a kind of star, though, like the Texas college student arrested for possession who now gets requests for makeup tutorials because of her mugshot. That arrest is not unusual, by the way, as Texas leads the nation in marijuana arrests, 98% of them for possession.

The student told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “besides me being in jail people are really noticing my talent and what I can do.”