Griner swap

I see no sense in arranging a swap for this person.

What is her claim to fame, that she can play hoop?

WGAS?

Let her rot in a Russian prison for all I care: what idiot would bring drugs into Russia?

Hell, if asshats such as she aren't punished for this sort of thing it won't be deterred.

Note: her race has little to do with my opinion: really, she's a spit's breadth away from being a nobody.

I would not say that she brought drugs into Russia, she brought a CBD vape pen that she was prescribed by a Doctor.

The idea that "Drug Trafficking" charges are legit, are absurd, at most it should be possession. Russia is clearly bolstering charges to keep her stuck there.

Before you judge, remember, there are many countries where various prescriptions are illegal, and you could easily be arrested on drug charges for brining certain mainstream prescribed pain meds into certain countries.....

As for the value of her skillset, that is irrelevant. If an American homeless man was arrested wrongly in Russia it is our role to do everything to get them out. Its about watching out for your citizens while travelling abroad.

Quote: Gandler

I would not say that she brought drugs into Russia, she brought a CBD vape pen that she was prescribed by a Doctor.

The idea that "Drug Trafficking" charges are legit, are absurd, at most it should be possession. Russia is clearly bolstering charges to keep her stuck there.

Before you judge, remember, there are many countries where various prescriptions are illegal, and you could easily be arrested on drug charges for brining certain mainstream prescribed pain meds into certain countries.....

As for the value of her skillset, that is irrelevant. If an American homeless man was arrested wrongly in Russia it is our role to do everything to get them out. Its about watching out for your citizens while travelling abroad.

The oil doesn’t even contain THC if I understand it correctly. It’s like being arrested for non-alcoholic beer.

But I may have that wrong.

Hemp is the other product I was thinking of.

Quote: rxwine

The oil doesn’t even contain THC if I understand it correctly. It’s like being arrested for non-alcoholic beer.

But I may have that wrong.

No, it was weed, she had a Cannabis prescription for pain. My understanding was she just used the vape pen when travelling because its more discrete.

But, still its nothing, its equivalent to a Juul in size. So it would be like if I went to a country where tobacco or vaping was illegal (strangely there are many countries where possessing vapes -nicotine- are illegal, even though smoking is legal), and the airport security saw my Juul and tried to say, that the tiny pen was intent to distribute. Again, if I was arrested for possession, probably fair, but distribution charges would be absurd.

Against a swap
We have people over here in this very country serving time for pot

Quote: terapined

Against a swap
We have people over here in this very country serving time for pot

Not many for possession are actually incarnated in the U.S. despite a lot of talking points saying that there are millions (and if they are its usually accompany something else, or they are repeat offenders). But, incarceration for first time mere possession is extremely rare (the reality is there are probably less than 1000 people incarcerated just for possession of pot, and its probably closer to 100).

For trafficking, its a different story, but even trafficking, the average sentence is like two years in the U.S.

I mean she was clearly "guilty" of possession (whether of not you agree with the law), but trafficking charges for a single vape pen are beyond absurd. They are clearly trying to trump up the sentence to make people more eager to get her out and turn her into a political prisoner.

Quote: Gandler

No, it was weed, she had a Cannabis prescription for pain. My understanding was she just used the vape pen when travelling because its more discrete.

But, still its nothing, its equivalent to a Juul in size. So it would be like if I went to a country where tobacco or vaping was illegal (strangely there are many countries where possessing vapes -nicotine- are illegal, even though smoking is legal), and the airport security saw my Juul and tried to say, that the tiny pen was intent to distribute. Again, if I was arrested for possession, probably fair, but distribution charges would be absurd.

At any rate, it’s never a good idea to not know the laws of a country you’re traveling to. And really you only have to be aware of a few that might trip you up as the penalty might not be what you expect.

Drugs laws are harsh in Russia, but with cannabis only if there's a considerable amount in possession. Up to 6 grams--about 1/5 or 20% of an oz--is regarded as an administrative offense punishable by fines or up to 15 days in jail. Britney Griner was caught with 3/4 of a gram of cannabis oil in two vaper pens, or about 2.6 percent of an oz. Possessing any more than 6 grams becomes a more serious criminal offense.

1.3 percent of an oz in oil inside of a cartridge is practically empty, like moisture residue. There's a black market of hash oil in Russia. I suspect she intended to take empty cartridge pens there and then score hash oil on the underground market(still a bad idea). But she screwed things up by not wiping the inside dry.

However, she got hit with a trumped-up charge-- narcotics trafficking, or in other words, the intention of smuggling drugs under the statue of hard drugs. According to Drug Policy Facts, possession of drugs in Russia beyond "0.5 grams of heroin, opium or desomorphine" is considered a criminal offense which can lead to up to 10 years in prison. Her charge is politically motivated and the 9-year sentence is used as leverage for prisoner swap.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_in_Russia
https://www.drugpolicyfacts.org/node/3432
https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/news-how-many-cartridges-brittney-griner-have-us-basketball-star-jailed-9-years-russia

Quote: rxwine

At any rate, it’s never a good idea to not know the laws of a country you’re traveling to. And really you only have to be aware of a few that might trip you up as the penalty might not be what you expect.

I agree.

But, its also true, that if she was just charged for possession of pot (not trafficking), like she should have been the max sentence would be two years (and likely much shorter for a first time offender, maybe even just a fine or community service).

I mean if I am travelling somewhere with something where the likely penalty is a 250 USD fine I may risk it if its something that I want, if I am travelling somewhere where the penalty is 9 years there is no way I would risk it even for something that I love. So even if she did research the law and potential charges she may have deemed it worthwhile.

Russia is clearly trying to turn her into a political prisoner with trumped up charges so America is forced to trade for her. I am surprised more people do not see this.