Busted!: Drug War Survival Skills: From the Buy to the Bust to Begging for Mercy

What could look nicer on a cop's resume for that promotion he's been wanting than a nice easy drug bust on your teen-ager. So what if the kid wasn't really involved - he was at the party. Former LA police Chief Daryl Gates said, "The casual drug user ought to be taken out and shot." The situation is different than it used to be - the "war on drugs" is law enforcement out of control. You may need to provide your teen with a little preventative maintenance - give him this book. What Should I do if: I'm keeping some dope in the house - p 22 I'd prefer not to get busted for my roommate's dope - p 30 While driving the dopemobile I see a flashing sign, "Drug Checkpoint 1 Mile" - p 155 I want to pretend this bust never happened - p 323 And 16 more.... The "Busted" Ten Commandments: 1. Thou shalt not deal. 2. Thou shalt not do dope with kiddies. Anyone over 18 passes the pipe to anyone under 18 and the gloves are off. 3. Thou shalt not covet more than a misdemeanor bust. 4. Thou shalt not squander thy rights. 5. and six more.... With outrageous anecdotes highlighted on every page, this book is funny, realistic, and an eye-opener. It is written by a defense attorney who does not condone drug use in any way. Drugs are illegal. They will get you busted and once you are in the system, it can be hard to get out. A year ago, I passed this book on to my teen-ager, who passed it on to his friends. I just now found it - worn, marked, and dog-eared. Although I don't think my son and his friends do drugs, today's world puts the need for this type of information right up there with basic sex education - a little preventative maintenance goes a long way.

I bought this book after reading the table of contents, which gives a good idea of how funny and comprehensive it is. Aside from the laughs and the insane "dope ditties" (public cavity searches on pregnant women! naked men trying to eat their dope in front of cops!), I felt like I understood the criminal justice system from beginning to end after reading this book. And it was never boring. If lawyer Fabricant hasn't been there, he's done a lot of research...hehehehe.

Wrong! The police no longer care for your well-being. Instead of stopping violent crime, they want to spend their time tracking down your local pothead. If you: -have ever done any drugs. -have ever used someone else's prescription. -have drugs in your house. -have drugs on your person. -are friends with anyone who does drugs. -are ever in the presence of drugs, (yes, just being near a drug or paraphernalia can land you in jail). -Or you just want to know your rights (or lack-of) get your self this book. The police go through training to learn to trick you into incriminating yourself and as Fabricant shows, people have gone to jail for years for as little as .0042 grams of meth. Therefore, you need to know how to compose yourself when the cops show up. This is going to tell you what to do. Don't worry Fabricant is a lawyer. One of his main ideas is to get your self good representation. As a lawyer, his writing is very knowledgable and also very funny. Many times I found myself laughing out loud. Alls fair in love and war, and as far as the war on drugs goes- the police will do anything in order to get another conviction on their resume'. Don't make yourself an example of how locking up drug-users will never solve anything.

I've been practicing "storefront" law for more than 25 years, and have more-or-less successfully raised four kids. Naturally, I've tried to pass on anything useful to my own kids - "useful" being whatever will keep them out of jail and free of any criminal record. Since God created kids with ears on the sides of their heads, they tend not to listen to anything their parents say. That which comes from above goes unheard. So the perpetual parental dilemna is "How the heck do I get them to understand they are making choices that will affect the rest of their lives - when they don't even understand they are making choices?" That's where "Busted!: Drug War Survival Skills" comes in. Funny, informative, thorough,innovative, and comprehensive, this book is wonderfully illustrated by that irreverent genius R.Crumb. I have left it on my living room coffee table for the past month, right where my kids can see it, pick it up, laugh at it - and read it. I'm thinking of getting another copy for their bathroom. I have recommended it to at least four clients with children involved in high-risk behavior (esp. boyfriends who deal drugs).

More than anything, this book is hilarious. Any page you open to has a great anecdote - like how one cop felt he had probable cause for a search because he HEARD (yes, HEARD) the tell-tale sound of a bail of marijuana hitting the floor in a private house. The book is also useful, not just for people that use or sell drugs, but for people that are around people that use or sell drugs. PARENTS: This means YOUR KIDS. If they go to an American high school or college, they're going to have friends that use drugs. Think what you want about whether they should be legal or not or whether they are harmful or not, the fact is: YOUR KIDS NEED TO KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH A BUST because they might just be pulled over and one of their 'friends' has his stash in your kid's glove compartment. Then, of course, it might be your kid's stash, but then they need this book more than anything (besides a good lawyer). Ultimately the book is a little frightening. The anecdotes, while individually funny, add up to one scary picture of the drug war. In this country, we lock up the people with a personal problem (call it a sickness or whatever) with people that are real criminals; we do it using methods that violate civil liberties in scary ways; we punish people differently for similar offenses in a way that smacks of racism (the classic coke vs. crack sentencing issue, not to mention the light sentencing that hard-core-addicts of Mother's (and Rush Limbaugh's) Little Helpers get versus your street-variety smack). Fabricant knows his stuff. He's passionate. He's funny. He's a really good writer. This does indeed make a great gift, particularly with the great R. Crumb illustrations.