People call the police and 911 all the time for inappropriate reasons, but a Texas woman took things to a new level of daftness when she called the police to complain that the $40 bag of marijuana she bought was unsmokable. Evelyn Hamilton was distraught that the dime bag was nothing more than stems and seeds, which certainly gives her just reason to complain, but why she chose to bring this matter to the police is beyond me.
Besides the fact that the sale of goods of substandard quality is usually grounds for a civil complaint and not a police matter, there is the whole issue of marijuana still being illegal for personal use in every state except Colorado and Washington. A police officer dutifully responded to Ms. Hamilton’s call, and asked to see the cannabis. Ms. Hamilton removed it from her bra and handed it over. The cop, presumably suppressing laughter, took possession of the stems and seed and charged Ms. Hamilton with possession of drug paraphernalia.
I hope the criminal justice system takes it easy on Ms. Hamilton. I suspect that she probably has some underlying mental health issues, which clouded her judgment. Even a person with a very low IQ knows better than to call the police over a “beat bag” of weed, so it is not as simple as just being “stupid.” Let’s hope this poor woman can get some help.
Matt McClenahen is a criminal defense attorney in State College, Pennsylvania, home of Penn State University. http://www.mattmlaw.com/Criminal-Defense-Overview/Marijuana-Related-Offenses.shtml
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