Man smokes marijuana to avoid Xanax

A UAPD officer arrived at the Tyndall parking garage on Monday at 5:04 p.m. after getting a report that there were people smoking marijuana in a beige Ford Explorer.

The officer found the car there, and when he walked up the passenger side door of the car, he could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from the open window.

Both the passenger and the driver were taken from the car and read their rights.

The passenger told the officer, “I smoked a ‘J’ with my friend just briefly. I smoke because of my anxiety and I don’t want to take Xanax.”

The man said there was also a metal grinder in the center console of the car; the grinder and the marijuana were not his.

While the officer was speaking with the man who had been in the driver’s seat, the man said, “My friend and I were just having a smoke.”

The man told the officer that he did not know of a baggie of marijuana that was found in the car and thought that it was in his dorm room. He admitted that the marijuana was his. The metal grinder and pipe found in the car, were also his.

A digital scale, an 8-inch hunting knife and a 4-inch knife were also found in the car.

The passenger admitted to providing rolling papers for the marijuana and he was cited and released for unlawful use of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The officer asked the driver if he had any other marijuana in his dorm room and the man gave consent to the officer the search the room.

In the room, the officer found a marijuana bud in a plastic baggie and a pair of brass knuckles.

The man was arrested for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The knives and brass knuckles were placed into property for safekeeping. The marijuana and all paraphernalia were placed into property as evidence.

The officer sent Code of Conduct referrals to the Dean of Students for both men.