marijuana possession

17 Stories

Biden Slams 'Failed Approach' to Pot, Clears Path for Pardons

President makes thousands more people eligible to receive pardons for marijuana-related crimes

(Newser) - President Biden is making thousands of people who were convicted of use and simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia eligible for pardons, the White House said Friday, in his latest round of executive clemencies meant to rectify racial disparities in the justice system....

47K People Just Got Weed Offenses Wiped

Ore. Gov. Kate Brown's pardon applies to simple possession convictions from before 2016

(Newser) - More than 47,000 Oregonians will have prior offenses pardoned in a move Gov. Kate Brown announced Monday. Brown said she will pardon simple marijuana possession offenses in certain cases, a move that will also see the $14 million in fines and fees associated with those offenses forgiven, KATU reports....

Mass Arrests at a Party Bring Controversy in Georgia

Cops nab more than 60, many of whom complain of bogus pot charges

(Newser) - Cops showed up at a party in Georgia about 2:30am Sunday to investigate a complaint of shots fired, and when all was said and done, more than 60 people were arrested, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Now, controversy has ensued over whether the officers in Cartersville overreacted. Many of those...

NH Cops Aren't Buying This Guy's Pot Excuse

Selket Taylor told police who busted him that he 'only smokes in Mass.'

(Newser) - A New Hampshire police department has issued a public service announcement with an odd mug shot after a man was arrested with marijuana in his car. Hampstead police said in a release Monday, "as a public service announcement—it is illegal to possess recreational marijuana in New Hampshire, even...

Cops Pull Over Minivan, Find 317 Pounds of Weed

Philadelphia man could face life in prison if convicted

(Newser) - " National weed day " may not have been so blissful for those relying on a shipment of pot traveling through Rhode Island on Monday. State police say they pulled over a white minivan in Warwick around noon and smelled marijuana, reports NJ.com . They soon discovered why: Authorities say...

Man Disrupts Egg Hunt, Leads Cops to Pot Operation

Police seized 45 pounds of marijuana they believe was being distributed nationally

(Newser) - A man ran into the middle of an Easter egg hunt Saturday afternoon screaming that his roommates were trying to kill him, inadvertently leading sheriff's deputies in Salmon Creek, Wash., to sniff out what they say is a major, unlicensed pot operation they believe crosses state lines to deliver...

DC's New Pot Penalty: $25 Ticket

But penalties on federal land are harsher

(Newser) - Possessing a joint on the street outside the White House or in most other places in Washington, DC, is now punishable by a $25 ticket under a marijuana law that went into effect yesterday. The new law, one of the nation's loosest, treats possession of under an ounce of...

DC's New Punishment for Pot Possession: $25 Fine

Mayor says he'll sign measure; advocates don't expect lawmakers to intervene

(Newser) - Unless federal officials intervene—a move advocates describe as unlikely—Washington, DC, will soon partially decriminalize marijuana. The city council voted 10-1 yesterday to nix jail time for possession of up to an ounce and smoking at home, instead imposing fines of just $25 for those offenses. That's a...

Colorado Should Release Non-Violent Pot Offenders

Matt Ferner wonders why this isn't already happening

(Newser) - Earlier this week, a fake news story claiming that Colorado was releasing people imprisoned for pot crimes went viral. The story was meant as a joke—"but in all seriousness, why is this not happening?" writes Matt Ferner in the Huffington Post . A number of advocates have called for...

Pot Busts Are Racially Biased in Every US County

Black people 8 times as likely to be arrested in some states

(Newser) - Police forces all across America are singling out black people for marijuana arrests, according to an ACLU study using arrest data from all 50 states. Black people use marijuana at the same rate as white people, the study found, but they are nearly four times as likely to be arrested...

Canadian Wins Super Bowl Trip, US Won't Let Him In

Myles Wilkinson was caught with 2 grams of pot in 1981

(Newser) - Myles Wilkinson is one unlucky contest winner. The British Columbia man beat nearly 4 million other fantasy football players to win an all-expenses trip to the Super Bowl, only to be turned back because of a decades-old pot conviction, the CBC reports. American customs agents told Wilkinson he was barred...

GOP Opposition Snuffs Out NY Pot Proposal

Cuomo plan fails despite backing of Bloomberg, NYPD

(Newser) - Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to reduce "stop and frisk" arrests by downgrading public possession of marijuana from a misdemeanor to a violation has gone up in smoke—at least for now. Cuomo has declared the plan, which was supported by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYPD...

RI Becomes 15th State to Decriminalize Pot

Possession of under an ounce to become civil violation

(Newser) - Good news for Rhode Island tokers: A bill decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana has been signed into law by Gov. Lincoln Chafee, reports the Providence Journal . The law makes possession of less than an ounce of marijuana a civil violation with a $150 fine, although three violations in 18 months...

Man Tosses Bag of Weed ... and It Lands on Cop Car

Sean Schmidt could stand to work on his aim

(Newser) - Straight out of a stoner comedy—a man's effort to ditch some drugs from a moving car in western New York didn't exactly go as planned. Sean Schmidt, 20, was standing with his upper body sticking out the sunroof of a vehicle traveling on I-190 in Buffalo late...

Willie Nelson Busted For Pot
 Willie Nelson Busted For Pot 
what a shocker

Willie Nelson Busted For Pot

Country music star must still like to get high

(Newser) - Apparently, Willie Nelson still enjoys the occasional doobie. The country music star was arrested—right out of his tour bus—at a border patrol checkpoint in Texas yesterday for possessing 6 ounces of marijuana, KVIA reports. He was booked in county jail but later freed on bond. This is just...

S. Africa to Paris: Sorry for Pot Bust

Culprit was really someone else in her group

(Newser) - It's not like it's her first brush with the law, but South African cops are profusely apologizing to Paris Hilton after they busted her yesterday for pot possession. All charges have been dropped, though another person in her group has pleaded guilty to possession and paid a fine. “I...

Gossip Girl Guy Popped for Pot Possession

Chace Crawford charged with misdemeanor in Texas

(Newser) - Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford was arrested early this morning and charged with misdemeanor drug possession, TMZ reports . Crawford, 24, was with a friend in a car in the parking lot of a pub when Plano, Texas, police found one unlit joint. He was arrested and charged with possession of...

17 Stories