PRO Pot

[PizzaSnake]

https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/or ... 1%EF%BF%BC

[Brooklyn]

Guilty!


Brittney Griner Pleads Guilty to Drug Charges in Russian Court
“There was no intent,” the American basketball star told a Russian judge, as any resolution of the highly politicized case appeared to shift toward the diplomatic arena.


https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/07/worl ... ussia.html


Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges in a Russian courtroom on Thursday, as the wrangling over the American basketball star’s fate shifted increasingly to the diplomatic arena — a daunting prospect for Ms. Griner’s supporters amid America’s rift with Moscow over the war in Ukraine.

Appearing before a judge outside the Russian capital on the second day of her trial, Ms. Griner said she had unintentionally carried a banned substance into the country because she had packed in a hurry. The Russian authorities say they found vape cartridges with 0.7 grams of cannabis oil in her luggage when Ms. Griner arrived in February to play basketball, and she has been detained ever since, facing 10 years in prison in a penal colony.

“I’d like to plead guilty, your honor. But there was no intent. I didn’t want to break the law,” Ms. Griner said in English, which was then translated into Russian, according to a Reuters reporter in the courtroom.

Ms. Griner told the court she would say more on the next day of her trial, scheduled for July 14. She is charged with illegal drug possession and with smuggling a “significant amount.”

By pleading guilty, Ms. Griner has potentially accelerated her case’s conclusion, clearing a path for either a deal with the United States or, perhaps, a request for clemency.

With a guilty verdict an all but a foregone conclusion in a Russian legal system that heavily favors the prosecution, her best hope, experts say, is that the Biden administration secure her freedom by releasing a Russian held in the United States. The name of one prisoner in particular has emerged: Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year prison sentence.

But any such negotiation can take place only after the formalities of the Griner trial are over, Russian officials say.

“It is clear that we have not completed the necessary judicial procedures,” a deputy foreign minister, Sergei A. Ryabkov, told Russian news agencies on Thursday when asked about a potential exchange. “Until this happens, there are no nominal, formal or procedural grounds for any further steps.”

American officials insist they are doing all they can to secure the release of Ms. Griner, 31, a seven-time W.N.B.A. All-Star, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and the first openly gay athlete signed to an endorsement contract by Nike. At Thursday’s hearing, the chargé d’affaires at the American Embassy in Moscow, Elizabeth Rood, handed Ms. Griner a letter from President Biden.

“Ms. Griner was able to read that letter,” Ms. Rood told reporters outside the courtroom. “I would like again to emphasize the commitment of the U.S. government at the very highest level to bring home safely Ms. Griner and all U.S. citizens wrongfully detained.”

But with tensions between the United States and Russia at their worst level in decades because of President Vladimir V. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Biden has few options to secure her freedom. That was underscored by Mr. Ryabkov on Thursday as he made some of the most extensive comments by any Russian official about Ms. Griner’s case in the nearly five months she has spent in custody.

“Hype and publicity, for all the love for this genre among modern politicians, only gets in the way in this particular instance,” Mr. Ryabkov said. “This does not just distract from the case, but creates interference in the truest sense of the word. That’s why silence is needed here.”

He hinted, however, that Moscow was interested in negotiating over Ms. Griner’s fate, saying she would be helped by “a serious reading by the American side of the signals that they received from Russia, from Moscow, through specialized channels.”

Mr. Ryabkov did not specify what those signals were, though Russian state media has suggested that the Kremlin might be interested in exchanging the American athlete for Mr. Bout, 55, a former Soviet military officer who made a fortune in global arms trafficking before he was caught in a federal sting operation.

Without a deal, Ms. Griner could face years in prison.

Arseny Levinson, a Russian lawyer who has been involved in cases similar to Ms. Griner’s, said her case was “absurd” because she clearly had not had criminal intent. But while her prosecution has political overtones, in many ways it is typical for Russia, where the law enforcement system often “imitates the fight against drug smuggling,” Mr. Levinson said.

In most cases, Mr. Levinson said, Russian courts would give a suspended sentence to people charged with Ms. Griner’s crime. But her prospects may be grimmer, he said, because suspended sentences against noncitizens are harder to enforce.

“As a rule, foreigners get much harsher sentences than Russians,” said Mr. Levinson, who works for a nonprofit group that helps suspects in drug-related crimes.



Even if the United States and Russia agreed to an exchange to bring Ms. Griner home, such a deal could take years to materialize. Trevor R. Reed, an ailing former U.S. Marine held in Russia on what his family considered to be bogus assault charges, was freed in April in a prisoner swap more than two years after his arrest.

Former Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, a former ambassador to the United Nations who has spent years working to secure hostage releases through his nonprofit organization, was involved in months of quiet but intense diplomacy to free Mr. Reed. Mr. Richardson is now working on Ms. Griner’s case, as well as that of a former Marine, Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since 2018.

Mickey Bergman, executive director of the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, said in an email that Ms. Griner’s guilty plea was understandable. “We believe that any prisoner in a situation like this needs to do what they believe can help them survive the ordeal,” Mr. Bergman said in an email. “She is fighting for her life.”

Ms. Rood, the American diplomat who attended Thursday’s court proceeding, said Ms. Griner had told her that “she’s eating well, she’s able to read books.”

“Under the circumstances, she’s doing well,” Ms. Rood said.

Ms. Griner’s lawyer, Aleksandr Boikov, said in a comment via a messaging app that his client told the court Thursday that she “was carrying substances prohibited in Russia unintentionally.”

“She was packing in a hurry,” he said in a phone interview. “Cartridges appeared in her luggage because of carelessness.”




more ...

[DMac]

On prime video, Unprescribed, an absolutely must see documentary. It's $2.99 if you don't have prime (I don't) and worth every penny. Few veterans on there prescribed bottles and bottles of pills doing nothing but making them worse, got off the pills and switched to pot and the improvement is staggering. This documentary should be required viewing by Congress and Big Pharma, it is sinful to this day the way marijuana is dealt with in this country. A Sched 1 drug with no medical benefits. Not just veterans in this, doctors, lawyers, mothers, wives....really good show.

[cradleandshoot]

On prime video, Unprescribed, an absolutely must see documentary. It's $2.99 if you don't have prime (I don't) and worth every penny. Few veterans on there prescribed bottles and bottles of pills doing nothing but making them worse, got off the pills and switched to pot and the improvement is staggering. This documentary should be required viewing by Congress and Big Pharma, it is sinful to this day the way marijuana is dealt with in this country. A Sched 1 drug with no medical benefits. Not just veterans in this, doctors, lawyers, mothers, wives....really good show.

FYI Dmac. I had not smoked weed in 40 plus years. My wife and I started puffing about a month ago. We only smoke at night after dinner. We are both one puff chumps. Our intent was to not get stoned out of our minds. Weed is a great way to relax at night if you don't want a tumbler of scotch.

[DMac]

Try it before dinner but make a little more than you normally would, it's great for the tastebuds too.
Not one puff chumps, smart and reasonable tokers, that's all you need with today's potency. Your routine is not
so different from mine....with some exceptions now and then, of course.
If you can see this documentary, do so. 22 suicides a day by veterans...listen to the guys who kicked the pills.
Real life stuff not delivered by any lobbyist or Big Pharm person.

[PizzaSnake]

Try it before dinner but make a little more than you normally would, it's great for the tastebuds too.
Not one puff chumps, smart and reasonable tokers, that's all you need with today's potency. Your routine is not
so different from mine....with some exceptions now and then, of course.
If you can see this documentary, do so. 22 suicides a day by veterans...listen to the guys who kicked the pills.
Real life stuff not delivered by any lobbyist or Big Pharm person.

But, but, Big Pharma can’t patent and “re-green” this. Must be a method they can patent in there somewhere. Just let Barf take this up…

[Bart]

Try it before dinner but make a little more than you normally would, it's great for the tastebuds too.
Not one puff chumps, smart and reasonable tokers, that's all you need with today's potency. Your routine is not
so different from mine....with some exceptions now and then, of course.
If you can see this documentary, do so. 22 suicides a day by veterans...listen to the guys who kicked the pills.
Real life stuff not delivered by any lobbyist or Big Pharm person.

Stronger is better seems to be the modern mantra.

[cradleandshoot]

Try it before dinner but make a little more than you normally would, it's great for the tastebuds too.
Not one puff chumps, smart and reasonable tokers, that's all you need with today's potency. Your routine is not
so different from mine....with some exceptions now and then, of course.
If you can see this documentary, do so. 22 suicides a day by veterans...listen to the guys who kicked the pills.
Real life stuff not delivered by any lobbyist or Big Pharm person.

You will get a kick out of this Dmac. The first time my wife and I puff a month ago we are both sitting in the living room enjoying our buzz. The front doorbell rings. There is a police officer from the Irondequoit PD standing there. You have to remember this is 5 minutes into our buzz. Our neighbor across the street butt dialed 911 while he was sorting out all the stuff in his garage. His cell phone pinged in our vicinity. The officer goes across the street to investigate. My wife and I go back to the living room. We are giggling like the now stoned people we are. The door bell rings again, another police officer from IPD is standing there. He is trying to locate the first officer. I looked at him, pointed across the street and said she went thataway into my neighbors garage. My wife and I laughed for about a half an hour. It was a buzz kill that required another puff after the police left. You can't make this chit up. FTR, the weed of today ain't the ditchweed we smoked 50 years ago.

[DMac]

What are the odds of that???? First time in forty years and the cops show up. Legal and all but a buzz kill requiring another hit indeed.
That's too funny.

[cradleandshoot]

What are the odds of that???? First time in forty years and the cops show up. Legal and all but a buzz kill requiring another hit indeed.
That's too funny.

I'm still thinking about your suggestion to smoke before dinner. I'm thinking one bowl of spaghetti turns into 3. I tried to talk my wife into ordering pizza the other night around 9 pm.

[Farfromgeneva]

Suddenly start liking Dominos and their trash wings, maybe even joining an affinity program at a nearby pudgies.

[DMac]

Yes sir, that munchies/tastebuds thing aint just a myth.

[youthathletics]

This guy is quite crafty in his responses.... https://www.instagram.com/reel/CgohSXPj ... _copy_link

[Farfromgeneva]

https://youtu.be/GDLPWQUqA4w

[dislaxxic]

Sleepy Joe may have just added thousands (millions?) of new Dem voters across the country...

...developing...

..

[MDlaxfan76]

Sleepy Joe may have just added thousands (millions?) of new Dem voters across the country...

...developing...

..

I would not be pleased if that was the reason, but I applaud the move.
Makes no sense for this sort of offense to mean incarceration much less the ongoing impact on access to jobs, housing, education, etc.

I'm for complete decriminalization of drug use, though I have no intent or desire to use myself.
Needs to be coupled with education, addiction support, etc, but way less costly to do that than the current criminalization.

I'd throw the book at substantial illegal distribution of drugs, with highest escalation for those such as heroin and fentanyl, the newest awful scourge.

[PizzaSnake]

Sleepy Joe may have just added thousands (millions?) of new Dem voters across the country...

...developing...

..

I would not be pleased if that was the reason, but I applaud the move.
Makes no sense for this sort of offense to mean incarceration much less the ongoing impact on access to jobs, housing, education, etc.

I'm for complete decriminalization of drug use, though I have no intent or desire to use myself.
Needs to be coupled with education, addiction support, etc, but way less costly to do that than the current criminalization.

I'd throw the book at substantial illegal distribution of drugs, with highest escalation for those such as heroin and fentanyl, the newest awful scourge.

“though I have no intent or desire to use myself.”

Do you consume alcohol?

[MDlaxfan76]

Sleepy Joe may have just added thousands (millions?) of new Dem voters across the country...

...developing...

..

I would not be pleased if that was the reason, but I applaud the move.
Makes no sense for this sort of offense to mean incarceration much less the ongoing impact on access to jobs, housing, education, etc.

I'm for complete decriminalization of drug use, though I have no intent or desire to use myself.
Needs to be coupled with education, addiction support, etc, but way less costly to do that than the current criminalization.

I'd throw the book at substantial illegal distribution of drugs, with highest escalation for those such as heroin and fentanyl, the newest awful scourge.

“though I have no intent or desire to use myself.”

Do you consume alcohol?

yes. Very moderately and I avoid a variety of hard liquor...never do shots, etc.

I make no judgments about others' choices, though I do applaud those who overcome addictions if they're unlucky enough to have those issues.

So, I'll drink a beer, a glass of wine, or two.. and if I'm not driving and in a warm clime, a rum Southside or a Margarita with salt, etc. But I try to keep it limited. Never drink to be drunk, though its not as if I haven't been there plenty of times over the years especially when I was younger.

But as to other drugs, I expect to treat these other sources of inebriation and 'pleasure' the same as I do fine whiskeys etc...I might like them too much and I'm just fine without them.

Lots of addiction on both sides of my family tree and I'm quite capable of addictive behaviors myself.

So, it's a personal choice I made early on and I'm good with it.

Meanwhile, I'll stick with less likely to be harmful addictions like exercise...and FanLax...!

To be clear, I'm 100% cool (for anyone, including myself) with medical micro dose usage and I encouraged my dad to do so as he was down the back stretch with cancer. Definitely helped reduce the need for opioids, etc.

[NattyBohChamps04]

This is a big f-ing deal. And looking at rescheduling too. Good on him for doing the right thing.

Turns out that doing something that a supermajority of the country agrees with will get you votes? Crazy talk.

[jhu72]

Long overdue!!

Federal decriminalization should be the next step but that will require 60 votes in the Senate.