Jun 14, 2010
Chace Crawford, Chace Crawford arrest, Chace Crawford marijuana, Gossip Girl, Gossip Girl marijuana, Marijuana is Safer
As we’ve noted previously, not even celebrities are immune to the government’s war on marijuana users.
The latest example is Chace Crawford, a 24-year-old actor from the TV show “Gossip Girl,” who was charged Friday with possession of less than two ounces of marijuana. Crawford and his friend were arrested two weeks ago in Texas while driving in a car—with an unlit marijuana cigarette.
The charge is a misdemeanor, but if convicted, Crawford could face up to six months in prison.
Six months in prison. For a single unlit joint.
I would love to know how many taxpayer dollars will end up being spent to arrest, process, and prosecute Crawford simply for possessing a substance that is safer than alcohol. By the way, it’s worth pointing out (as MPP’s Steve Fox and his co-authors did in the book “Marijuana is Safer”) that Crawford’s arrest will almost definitely drive him to use that more dangerous substance—alcohol—since doing so comes with none of the legal consequences or social ridicule that accompany marijuana use.
The disturbing subtext to this is that Crawford’s horrifically disproportionate potential punishment is coming to light only because he is a celebrity. More than 750,000 Americans are arrested every year for marijuana possession—and the vast majority of their stories will never get told.