It appears that America doesn't have a monopoly on teh stupid when it comes to marijuana. George Michael was sentenced to eight weeks in jail for his latest in a string of drug-related charges. Apparently, the self-proclaimed "terrible driver" crashed into a London store because he was too high on weed. At least that's what the judge thought.
Associated Press:
A British judge told the wayward star his addiction to marijuana put him and the public at risk.
Oh. A marijuana addiction.
District Judge John Perkins told the singer he had taken a "dangerous and unpredictable mix" of prescription drugs and marijuana.
"It does not appear that you took proper steps to deal with what is clearly an addiction to cannabis," the judge said. "That's a mistake which puts you and, on this occasion, the public at risk."
Wait, what? I'm confused; is his "addiction" the problem, or is it this 'dangerous mix'?
According to police, Michael appeared "spaced out" when they found him sitting in the car, whose engine was still running, in the wee hours of July 4. He acknowledged smoking marijuana and taking a prescription sedative, prosecutors said.
Are you kidding me !?! A prescription sedative!
This is the logic behind the ruling. Here's a guy that smokes a lot of weed and also has a problem with driving. Clearly, this untreated marijuana addiction is to blame, not the prescription sedatives. Only weed can space you out, right? Surely, sedatives wouldn't do that.
I'm not going to try to make the arguments that driving high is somehow safe. It isn't. Marijuana alters brain chemistry and certainly has an effect on certain skills. But its judges like these in both the US and apparently the UK that irrationally elevate its effect in the face of clearly conflicting evidence. It's no wonder that the public still fears this stuff, because rulings like these ignore very obvious conflicts just to make a point that isn't back up by the science.
Presciption sedatives even include warnings not to operate heavy machinery or drive while using them. Yet the judge here doesn't even mention these drugs, perhaps because they are legal. Would George Michael still be a shitty driver if he was only smoking weed? Perhaps. But the facts of this case clearly point to a different cause.