Busted Party Monster Star Should Have Just Said No

Hollywood actor Macaulay Culkin could have avoided being arrested for drugs offences by traffic cops if he'd refused them permission to search his vehicle, civil liberties experts pointed out this week. The Home Alone/ Party Monster star was busted after cops allegedly found pot and prescription pills in the car he was travelling in with Brett Tabisel, 22, after they pulled over Tabisel for speeding.

"This is a textbook example of how not to handle a police traffic stop," said Flex Your Rights Executive Director Steven Silverman.

"Culkin foolishly consented to the officer's search request. When pressed, Culkin or his driver should have said, 'Officer, I don't consent to any searches. Are we free to go now-' They could have driven away safely with a warning. If the officer searched him anyway, he would have been no worse off, and his lawyer could have gotten the charges thrown out of court," said Mr Silverman.

Culkin faces up to two years in jail if convicted.

Meanwhile in Victoria, Australia, authorities moved closer to introducing random roadside swab tests for drugs this week, which will target cannabis and speed users in particular.

"Drivers will be required to provide a saliva sample by touching on their tongue, placing in their mouth or chewing on an absorbent collector," they announced this week, adding that 'entertainment precincts are likely to be targeted.

"The sample will be screened at the roadside, with the result determined within approximately five minutes . . . Drivers who do return positive test results will be required to accompany police to a drug bus and provide a second saliva sample."

http://www.arrivealive.vic.gov.au/c_drugs_test.html#1
'Any driver in Victoria may be required to undertake a saliva test for the recent consumption of THC and methamphetamines. In the same way that tests for drink driving are random, drug driving tests are also random and target all motorists on Victorian roads . . .'

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