Maryland police chief apologizes for saying 37 people died of pot overdoses in single day

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Annapolis Police Chief Michael Pristoop was duped by a satirical article that reported 37 people died the day marijuana became legal in Colorado. Pristoop made the far-fetched claim during testimony before a state Senate panel in opposition to two bills that would legalize marijuana.

He must have been high.

A Maryland police chief has apologized for his claim that 37 people died of marijuana overdoses the day the sticky icky became legal in Colorado.

Annapolis Police Chief Michael Pristoop made the nutty claim about wacky tobacky during testimony before a state Senate committee considering two bills to legalize or decriminalize marijuana.

Pristoop opposes the bills and cited a shocking news story about Colorado potheads who smoked themselves to death.

But the death toll he referenced was published on a satirical news site, The Daily Currant.

“After conducting additional research, (Pristoop) discovered that the numbers presented were not accurate but an urban myth,” the department said in a statement released late Tuesday.

“I apologize for the information I provided concerning the deaths. I believed the information I obtained was accurate but I now know the story is nothing more than an urban legend," Pristoop added.

The founder of the Daily Currant, Daniel Barkeley, told the Daily News after the article was published in January that he was astounded at its reach.

"We thought this one was quite funny before we published it, but we did not expect it to be our most popular article ever," he said.

Maryland State Sen. Jamie Raskin told the Washington Post Pristoop’s bizarre claim immediately drew skepticism.

“When he said it, everyone in the room dropped their laptops,” he said.

But that didn’t mean Pristoop’s opposition to the bills had just gone up in smoke.

“This does not take away from the other facts presented in opposition to legalization,” he said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/maryland-police-chief-apologizes-37-people-died-pot-overdoses-day-article-1.1702377

[Operator 1,927]

Dork

[luckytxn 2,264]

Shows that their policies that high IQ people can't be hired as law enforcement are ridiculous.