It’s not everyday that you get to hear the advice of a former police officer turned medical marijuana patient. Especially on the matter of how best to avert the law and stay out of handcuffs.

I recently read The Medical Marijuana Survival Guide by Nate Bradley and found it to be a very informative read. Bradley lends years of knowledge about the legal use of marijuana both from the standpoint of a medical marijuana user and a police officer.

Much of his advice in the book The Medical Marijuana Survival Guide revolves around the medical marijuana usage in California, pertaining to California’s prop 215 and S.B. 420, the allowance of people who were criminally charged with cultivating and/or possessing marijuana to use an affirmative medical defense in court, and the voluntary ID card program throughout the California Department of Health Services. With this card patients are immune from arrest as long as they cultivate no more than 6 mature marijuana plants and possessed no more than 8 ounces of marijuana.

However, after reading this book I thought that so much of it could be applied to the new recreational law and the usage of medical marijuana here in Washington. Much of the book goes over scenarios of how not to get put in handcuffs by police officers looking to bust you for exceeding the amount of marijuana you are allowed to carry. Bradley covers everything form how to get out and avoid traffic stops, officer arrest strategies, home encounters, home gardening, private transfers, the social scene, and the red flags that go along with each of them.

According to Bradley “This book is a guide to help you avoid arrest and navigate the rough legal and personal challenges you may face as a medical marijuana patient. It is not a ‘know your rights’ type of book. Most medical marijuana patients have very few ‘rights’ other then a good legal defense in courts.”

For the average Washington resident, this book will inform you not as much on your rights, but rather, on how you can avoid being arrested for not fully understanding the laws in Washington. While Washington voters have passed I-502, it is still unclear how law enforcement is going to uphold the law. According to Bradley, there are always “drug warriors” out there that are determined that they are going to make a big impact on your life if they arrest you, even for the smallest infraction when it comes to marijuana. In this book, Bradley tells you how to avoid situations like these by telling you the psychology of not only an experienced patient, but also as an experienced officer. The combined knowledge of both lifestyles lends the reader a very good base on what the best form of action is, and what are the best ways to avoid arrest or citation.

One particular part that I thought was very interesting were the chapters on traffic stops and home encounters, the two places where people are most likely to encounter the police. Bradley scripts out for the reader the exact way for a person carrying marijuana, whether it is medical or a legalized amount, to fly under the radar and reduce the risk of getting arrested. As many people may know, talking to a police officer during a traffic stop or a home visit, is a very nerve-racking experience that often leads people to say things that can be interpreted by an officer to mean something very different than what you meant to say. Bradley walks you through a series of scenarios that will lessen your chance of being arrested.

Overall, this is a very quick read that lends a vast amount of knowledge about our current situation here in Washington. While, it is not directly targeted at the laws here in Washington, much of the public attitudes towards marijuana from state to state are very similar. It’s all about understands your rights, the situation that you are in, and what is your best form of defense if you do get arrested.

Bradley also offers medical marijuana consulting, including strategic consulting, public relations, defense investigations, and collective security plans.