marijuana

Published on: May 3, 2017

New Jersey Court Says Mom Smoking Marijuana is Not Child Abuse

A New Jersey judge was scolded by his peers for ruling that an Essex County mom was guilty of child abuse and neglect because she occasionally smoked marijuana.

On Thursday the Essex County mother was cleared of her charges almost three years after the birth of her son, who was born with some marijuana in his system because the mom smoked occasionally during her pregnancy to help with her appetite and anxiety.

After giving birth, the hospital notified Child Protection. As a result of the report, the agency was supervising her parenting of the children and required that she attend drug counseling.

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Published on: March 28, 2017

A Mother Attacks a Man When He Tries to Sodomize Her Daughter at a Playground

by Staycie R. Sena

According to news reports a 24 year old man named William A Bates Jr., of Kansas City is charged with first degree attempted sodomy and attempted statutory sodomy with a person under 12.

At Kemp playground a two year old was playing on a swing when her mother noticed Bates allegedly “eyeballing her children.” The mother told police that Bates then approached her daughter and grabbed her off the swing before allegedly grabbing the girl by the hips and pulling down her diaper. The mother said that she saw Bates lift his shirt and pull down his pants, to which then he started thrusting against her daughter.

Reportedly the police say she ran after Bates, knocking him to the ground, and while he was down she was attacking him with her fists. Bates eventually freed himself and ran from the park, but the mother ran to a nearby homeless shelter and called the police. Officers arrested Bates near the playground.

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Published on: October 14, 2014

Cop Faces Charges For Accepting Oral Sex In Exchange For Release

by Staycie R. Sena

A Florida cop was arrested Monday for the alleged incident, that all started at a gas station. The deputy was speaking with a woman and learned that she reportedly did not have a valid driver’s license, was in possession of marijuana, and had prescription medication that did not belong to her. She was also on probation.

The woman allegedly offered money to the officer in exchange for him not arresting her, but he refused the bribe. Instead, he followed her back to her home, where the woman let him inside the home and offered oral sex. The officer was reported to say that he had never done anything like that before, but let it happen. When he left, he told her not to tell anybody what happened.

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Published on: October 10, 2014

State Police Raid Retiree’s Okra Crop

by Staycie R. Sena

A helicopter crew working for the Georgia state police found what appeared to be highly suspicious plants growing on a man’s backyard garden in the state. The state mobilized the Governor’s Task Force For Drug Suppression and a squad of police complete with K9 drug-sniffing dogs arrived at the property, prepared to make arrests for drug cultivation.

The suspicious-looking plants turned out to be okra, a common plant that produces edible seedpods common in southern cooking.

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Published on: May 21, 2014

Teen Faces Possible Life in Prison for Selling Pot Brownies

by Staycie R. Sena

A 19-year old teenager from Texas is facing anywhere between 5 years to life in prison for baking and selling pot brownies. Authorities arrested the teen on April 15 after a search of his apartment revealed six bags of cookies, nine bags of brownies, a pound of marijuana and $1675 in cash.

Although his criminal defense attorney claims the offense should be classified as a misdemeanor, Texas laws are harsher in its punishment of crimes involving THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. The reason for the tough penalty is due to the boy using hash oil in making the brownies. Hash oil is classified differently from marijuana as a “Penalty 2” controlled substance. This allows authorities to use the weight of the entire batch of brownies (including sugar, flour, etc.) as the weight of the drug sold.

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Published on: November 11, 2010

Marijuana Now Legal (Or Just Barely Illegal?)

by Staycie R. Sena

Voters upset at last week’s failure of Proposition 19 (to legalize marijuana) can take heart– in a quiet move shortly before the election state lawmakers decriminalized possession of less than 28.5 grams of marijuana. Senate Bill 1449, effective January 1, 2011, makes possession of marijuana a mere infraction, giving the offense the same legal weight as a traffic ticket. Unlike a traffic ticket, however, where fines can exceed $300, marijuana possession carries a simple $100 fine as a penalty. First time offenders may still be sent to a drug diversion and have the charge dismissed.

The maximum penalty prior to this legislation was $100 fine, but the crime was charged as a misdemeanor, which meant defendants charged with the offense had a drug criminal record. Many lost their jobs or government benefits as a result. Because it was a misdemeanor, it meant defendants were eligible for a public defender and a jury trial as well. In approving the legislation, Governor Schwarzenegger explained that the “only difference is that because it is a misdemeanor, a criminal defendant is entitled to a jury trial and a defense attorney. In this time of drastic budget cuts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement, and the courts cannot afford to expend limited resources prosecuting a crime that carries the same punishment as a traffic ticket.”

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