Law & Politics

Padre's Cabrera Arrested for Marijuana DUI, Source: http://m.padres.mlb.com/assets/images/2/2/6/94112226/cuts/Everth_Cabrera_b7b9i8hi_fdebqr8h.jpgAs often as I climb my soapbox to decry the ills of the NFL’s anachronistic marijuana policy, I tend to forget that the lunacy surrounding the safest drug on the planet is not unique to the NFL. Recently, San Diego Padre’s shortstop, Everth Cabrera, was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of marijuana.

Really, this story is less about the MLB’s stance on drugs and more about the strangely vague details of the arrest.

“Cabrera was arrested early Wednesday after the CHP dispatch center was notified of a possible DUI driver by the US Border Patrol at a checkpoint in Dulzura, some 25 miles southeast of downtown San Diego. The CHP said Cabrera was determined to be under the influence of marijuana. After being taken to the CHP El Cajon Area Office, he was not showing signs of still being under the influence of marijuana and was cited and released to the custody of his mother-in-law, the CHP said.”

I’m willing to believe that there are facts of this arrest that we are not being told, but doesn’t that seem a little strange?

Cabrera was first brought to the CHP’s attention because someone affiliated with the US Border Patrol reported a “possible DUI” to the CHP. Then the only further information we are told is “Cabrera was determined to be under the influence of marijuana.” So we’re just supposed to take the cops word for it? I can’t possibly think why that would be a troubling proposition!

Furthermore, we are told that after the CHP got Cabrera back to their office, he was no longer showing signs of intoxication. So, some random unnamed person points at Cabrera and says “that guy is high,” then the cops show up and arrest him after they “determined” he was, in fact, high. Outside of a blood test or an admission from Cabrera, I’m really curious how this was determined. Then we learned that by the time the cops got Cabrera back to the station, he was completely sober?

There are a lot of missing pieces here and I’m not ready to cast judgement. However, it is worth mentioning that Cabrera is of Hispanic descent and US Border Patrol and law enforcement in such close proximity to the border do not have the greatest reputation in race relations.

I also want to be careful to mention that it is entirely possible that the facts are as they seem and Cabrera is guilty. Marijuana is not recreationally legal in California, even if it were you can’t drive while you’re stoned. Also, Cabrera is beholden to the MLB’s drug policy. A policy with which he should be intimately familiar having served a 50 game suspension last year due to PED use.

At this point, the MLB is waiting for the legal process to play out before they do anything with Cabrera. I will also hold any final judgements until more information is known.