Advice from Juneau police: If you're caught smoking a joint, don't do something stupid like, um, swallowing the evidence. The Juneau Empire reports a 24-year-old ate his marijuana joint when he saw an officer approaching.

Lt. David Campbell said in a interview ... this is something that happens periodically.

"People don't understand that having the marijuana is a class ‘B' misdemeanor, which is like one step above running a red light. Then when they destroy it, and they're tampering with physical evidence, that's a higher charge," Campbell said.

Read more at the Empire: Man eats joint, swallows harsher charge