Joint Smoking Teen Faces Stern Consequences
June 9th, 2009 by RickWhen Ian Barry, a 17-year old junior from Peninsula High School in Gig Harbor, WA, lit up a marijuana joint and smoked it during his presentation of his essay on the legalization of marijuana last Tuesday, he wasn’t “pulling a stunt” or trying to become a martyr for the cause. He just wanted to show that pot doesn’t warrant the negative taboo and should be legalized.
The end of Barry’s essay:
I have provided you with information, facts and statistical evidence that all point towards the legalization of marijuana. [...] But the truth is it doesn’t matter what I say until you, the people, stand up and besiege the government to re-address the litigation of marijuana.
Barry said:
I see myself as someone who holds himself to a high moral value. [...] As Sir Isaac Newton said, ‘Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. [...] I don’t think there would have been another way I could have gotten this reaction.
After the incident, he was arrested, whisked away to Tacoma and taken to the Remann Hall juvenile detention center. He was also expelled and must meet with administrators from his school to determine if he would be allowed to finish his classes. As well as academic punishment, Barry still faces misdemeanor charges of “unlawful drug possession” and he realizes this would go on his record.
