Splicetoday

Pop Culture
Jun 06, 2008, 07:51AM

Dude, Where's My Lawyer?

Two men, arrested for smoking marijuana, are going to great lengths to wipe their slate clean. Instead of paying a fine, they sought out a Harvard Law professor in an attempt to challenge the constitutionality of the Massachusetts state marijuana laws. 

Maryj.jpg?ixlib=rails 2.1

Photo by ElPablo!

Most marijuana users who get caught smoking a joint summarily pay a fine, but when an undercover police officer detained Richard E. Cusick and R. Keith Stroup, the two chose instead to challenge the constitutionality of Massachusetts laws banning marijuana for the first time in 30 years.

Arrested for sharing a marijuana cigarette at the annual Boston Freedom Rally in September, Cusick and Stroup turned to Harvard Law School professor Charles R. Nesson '60 for legal counsel. Nesson and his clients acknowledged that they had used the illegal drug, and decided upon an unusual defense: they argued that the statute outlawing marijuana in Massachusetts has no "rational basis," and that the jury has the power of jury nullification, or ruling a defendant innocent while recognizing that he or she had violated a law.

Both co-defendants built their careers around marijuana: Cusick is associate publisher of the well-known marijuana magazine, High Times, and Stroup is the founder of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. They said that they do not believe marijuana to be a social ill.


Discussion
  • Marijuana ought to be legalized, period. It goes without saying that no politician, save perhaps Ron Paul, would take this stand, but think of the benefits of added government revenue via taxes, and clearing out jails of those serving sentences for pot possession.

    Responses to this comment
  • I agree with Sourpuss, but until the antiquated marijuana laws are changed, I don't see how you can challenge it in a court of law. I applaud their efforts, but I don't think they'll win on this defense.

    Responses to this comment

Register or Login to leave a comment