Afroman has run into some legal trouble while at the Canadian border, and it should come as no surprise that the issue involves Cannabis.
The “Because I Got High” rapper ran into a bit of a snafu when he was trying to cross back over to the United States on Tuesday (June 20), with U.S. Border Patrol sources telling TMZ that Afroman and his crew were detained while trying to cross over the St. Lawrence River in upstate New York.
When they entered the inspection zone, law enforcement officials discovered $10,000 worth of cash and some marijuana lotion and gummies that Afroman told TMZ he forgot to hide. The rapper was held for 5 hours at the border and was fined $500 for the lotion, along with his DJ who was fined $500 for the gummies.
When asked for more details, Border Patrol spokesperson Mike Niezgoda said: “As a matter of policy under the Privacy Act of 1974, we are unable to discuss a traveler’s inspection.”
The latest legal issue comes after a number of Ohio sheriff deputies announced in March they’d be suing Afroman for allegedly profiting off the raid they conducted on his home last summer.
The Adams County Sheriff’s Department ran up on Afroman’s home last August, where officers searched for illegal narcotics but failed to find anything.
Afroman, who was in Chicago at the time of the raid, expressed confusion about why the incident had taken place and said he merely had some hemp and a vape pen on him. He thinks he was profiled for the music he makes such as the 2001 Top 20 Billboard hit “Because I Got High.”
Afroman filmed the entire raid via his security cameras, and in the months since the raid has compiled the footage together to turn it into a music video called “Will You Help Me Repair My Door.” This has reportedly upset the Ohio sheriff’s deputies involved in the raid as they believe Afroman to be profiting off their hard work.
According to the lawsuit obtained by TMZ, the deputies claim Afroman was not home at the time of the raid, but that his wife was and that she was the one responsible for recording the search on her phone. Authorities additionally claim that they never gave the California rapper permission to use the footage recorded on his security cameras.
In turn, the police are suing for invasion of privacy and misappropriation of their likenesses, and are claiming the music video has caused them emotional distress, ridicule, humiliation, loss of reputation and embarrassment.
