I have been working as a sheriff in the Albuquerque Police Department for the past six years.
I was in the military for 3 years and then I decided to pursue a career in police work.
I worked as a traffic cop for a long time. Now I spend most of my time working as a detective. I was sitting at a traffic light in downtown Albuquerque a few days ago. I was not on patrol, but I was in my police car. The guy sitting next to me was in a small red truck. Both of us were sitting at the light. The guy looked at me and waved. Then he rolled down his window and said hello. When the guy rolled down the window, a plume of smoke came flowing out of the truck. I smelled the distinct and foul odor of cannabis. Even though cannabis is legal in the state of New Mexico for recreational and medical use, it is still against the law to consume cannabis while driving. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind that the guy in the truck next to me was actively using cannabis. I flipped on my lights and attempted to get the guy to pull over to the side of the road. I followed the guy for half a mile before he finally got into the right lane and onto the shoulder of the road. When I walked up to the window, the guy tried to tell me that he did not have his license and registration. I asked the person to get out of the car and he told me that his license was expired by three years. The Albuquerque resident was in a lot of trouble and smoking cannabis and the truck was just the tip of the iceberg.