ADVOCACY
A Mothers Fight to Reform Cannabis Laws
It was almost 12 years ago when a SWAT team, made up of the Appalachian Drug Task Force, our local sheriffs and the G.B. I came to my house wielding guns, badges and bad attitudes. Acting like bullies with bullets, looking for my eldest daughter in the middle of the night.
They didn't need a battering ram as we live in a community where public safety is rarely ever a concern and our doors, all of them, were unlocked. The first room they hit was my youngest daughter, not who they were looking for, but nonetheless they had guns pointed at my 14-year-old. They secured her and headed down the hall to the office and then to my room. My husband, the dogs and I were awakened by loud bangs as they hit our door. We hit the floor in panic. They took my husband to the family room with our youngest daughter while other officers interrogated me about their suspect’s whereabouts. I told them where her bed room was and down the stairs they went. Screaming ensued and my heart raced as I knew anything can happen when there are guns involved. I was praying not to hear a pop quite honestly.
I was relieved to see the officers
leading her up the stairs, after what seemed to be an eternity. The shock and awe campaign on my family turned into a 4-hour search of our humble abode and my daughter being handcuffed in the back of a patrol car as the sun broke over the mountains.
Two years and four plea deal offers later, including one for drug court and all of which we turned down, we arrived at court one more time for a trial by jury. The web of lies that came out of the prosecutor’s mouth before the jury pool was brought in was a wakeup call and the shock was obvious on my face. We had hired a good lawyer to save our daughter's future, using her college fund to do so. What good would a college degree do for her if she had a criminal record? Judgment day was here. After some talks between lawyers at the bench, we were told by our lawyer to go downstairs and wait for him. We were confident, after talking to everyone that would listen in those two years leading up to trial, that it would be difficult to find a jury that would convict her. Then, she was offered a final deal she could not turn down. Both felony charges were dropped, she would not do any more time for the possession charge, and if she successfully completed probation she would have no record.
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