http://www.freep.com/article/20120111/E ... rities-say
Two reality TV stars from TLC’s “All-American Muslim” show found some real life drama at the Ambassador Bridge recently: Authorities said they were caught with pot at the border.
It happened on New Year’s Day, according to Ron Smith, spokesman for Customs and Border Protection in Detroit.
Smith told the Free Press today that two cast members of the TLC reality show were caught with 9 grams of marijuana in the trunk while trying to cross into the U.S. from Windsor. The cast members – a man and a woman -- were not named by authorities. One of them, Smith said, had a medical marijuana card, although federal law does not recognize the card.
TLC declined to comment, and efforts by the Free Press to reach the cast members were unsuccessful.
According to Smith, the two travelers had to pay a $500 civil fine for failing to declare the bag of weed to border agents.
He explained how it all went down:
At the first checkpoint after crossing the bridge, an officer decided to pull the two passengers over for inspection after asking them a series of routine questions. The officer, Smith noted, did not recognize the travelers from the TV show.
“Some officers will look in a lot of trunks. This officer picked their trunk to look in,” Smith said.
But inside the inspection area, Smith said, some officers and bystanders recognized the pair from the show. During the inspection, an officer checked the trunk and found a weed-like substance in a small bag – enough to roll about 10 joints.
The travelers were released because, as Smith explained, nine grams of marijuana doesn’t warrant prosecution.
“This wasn’t a criminal matter, it was a civil matter,” Smith said, adding. “It’s very hard to get someone to prosecute for something that small.”
"All-American Muslim" follows the lives and customs of five Muslim-American families in Dearborn.
"All American Muslim" was part of a recent national controversy involving a decision by retail giant Lowe’s to pull its commercials from the TLC reality series.
Lowe's pulled its spots after pressure from a conservative evangelical Christian group, the Florida Family Association. The group targets companies that advertise on programs involving Muslims as well as gays and lesbians.
Lowe's has defended its decision to pull the commercials, stating in December: "Lowe's has received a significant amount of communication on this program, from every perspective possible. Individuals and groups have strong political and societal views on this topic, and this program became a lightning rod for many of those views. As a result we did pull our advertising on this program. We believe it is best to respectfully defer to communities, individuals and groups to discuss and consider such issues of importance."
The chain also said it has "a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, across our work force and our customers, and we're proud of that long-standing commitment."
