Man Gives Officers His Meth Instead Of His Registration At Traffic Stop

A man in West Virginia accidentally handed over crystal meth instead of his registration documents to police officers during a traffic stop.

'Take me home, country roads' are the words one West Virginian man won't be singing as police stopped his car on the I-79 last Sunday (17 April).

During the traffic stop, Roy Porter gave officers more than they bargained for and was promptly charged.

Porter was pulled over and handed officers what they thought were the vehicle's registration documents.

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Instead, they saw 'a couple pieces of crystal-like substance' fall from his pocket, ABC reported.

Police dogs were then led around the car and proceeded to find, you guessed it, more meth. Officers said that a passenger in the car, Jared Mayle, of Salem, also had 220 grams of the drug in his possession.

Both men were charged - Porter with conspiracy to commit a felony and Mayle on possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.

Mayle is out on bond while Porter is being held at Central Regional Jail with a $5,000 bond.

Drug-related offences aren't a rare occurrence in West Virginia sadly, with overdoses increasing in the area from 878 in 2019 to 1,275 in 2020, as per the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.

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The new legislature passed in the state cracked down on harm reduction programmes, so-called because they aim to support those suffering from drug abuse by helping them attain abstinence in a safe, staggered way - checking their drugs for fentanyl and providing sterile needles to prevent the risk of contracting HIV.

The crackdown means that programmes such as the one that ran out of Milan Puskar Health Right have to follow stricter rules, stunting the number of people in the local area they can help.

Under the new law, clinics like Milan Puskar have to apply for a new license to run the needle program they've conducted for years.

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Executive director of the clinic Laura Jones said of the crackdown to TIME: "The belief in West Virginia is still very much that drug use is a moral failure, addiction is a moral failure."

"So that was really demoralizing for all of us, because we know that to not be true."

With new laws making it harder for people to get the help they need, it's not surprising regular traffic stops are ending with drug charges.

If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can talk to FRANK. You can call 0300 123 6600, text 82111 or contact through their website 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, or livechat from 2pm-6pm any day of the week