UPDATE: Rock Star Pleads Guilty to Possession of Marijuana in ND

November 17, 2017 T. Arthur Mason North Dakota

Last month we published an article here on The Minuteman about Grammy-winning artist Melissa Etheridge being arrested back in August for possession of marijuana while crossing the Canadian-North Dakota border. Etheridge was returning to the United States from a performance in Alberta, Canada when her bus was stopped and then searched with K-9 dogs by Burke County authorities at Portal– one of many border crossings in the state.

In that article, I expressed this:

“Aside from her having a history of cancer and possessing a cannabis card from her own state, Etheridge wasn’t harming anybody by possessing the substances that she was. So, what was gained by arresting her? Let me tell you… absolutely nothing.

…

“The only thing the arrest of this Grammy-winning rock star accomplished was proving just how stupid our drug laws are.”

I stand by those statements today. On Tuesday, Etheridge pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana. She was then sentenced to a $750 fine and six months of unsupervised probation. If she meets the terms of her probation, the charges will be dismissed.

This proves exactly what I wrote last month. Nothing was gained by this ridiculous law against a nonviolent drug offender– other than the $750 for the state. At some point, we must come to realize that such laws are a waste of taxpayer resources and accomplish little or nothing.

No wonder a movement is underway to legalize recreational marijuana in North Dakota . If the people of North Dakota support this, then maybe we can stop building $70 million detention centers like the one that recently opened for Burleigh and Morton counties.

Sources:

1. https://theminutemanblog.com/single-post/2017/10/19/Wasting-Money-on-Stupid-Drug-Laws-Rock-Star-Arrested-in-ND-for-Marijuana 2. http://www.valleynewslive.com/content/news/Musician-Etheridge-pleads-guilty-to-possessing-marijuana-in-North-Dakota-457831313.html 3. http://www.kvrr.com/2017/11/09/48310/

4. https://theminutemanblog.com/single-post/2017/07/18/70-Million-Detention-Centers-and-Nonviolent-Drug-Offenders

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About T. Arthur Mason 883 Articles
T. Arthur Mason is a native North Dakotan who has spent nearly all of his life in the Peace Garden State. As the third of four children in Western North Dakota, Mason grew to appreciate family and the outdoors. Some of his fondest memories are annual deer hunts with family and friends. In his early teenage years, faith became a central part of T. Arthur Mason's life. He and the majority of his family attend church together on a weekly basis and find this a fulfilling aspect of their lives. Through the influence of his father, T. Arthur Mason became intrigued with politics. As a boy, he attended political events with his father and enjoyed the friendships that resulted as a byproduct of those political associations. As Mason grew older, he became convinced that the quote often attributed to Thomas Jefferson was true, "That government is best which governs least." Today, T. Arthur Mason enjoys time with his wife and children, an occasional hunt, and an increasingly active life on the political scene. This blog is the fulfillment of a dream to design a web site in the realm of politics and to advocate for the principles of Liberty and constitutionally limited government. On behalf of all those that contribute to The Minuteman, we hope you enjoy your time on the site and will share the message with others.

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