The Annapolis Police Department has issued a statement regarding Chief of Police, Michael Pristoop’s testimony at a Senate hearing today. In the hearing, Pristoop testified that 37 people died from marijuana overdoses on the first day of legalized marijuana in Colorado. The only problem is that there has never been a marijuana overdose death, and the source he cited was a satire website–The Daily Currant.
Unfortunately, the gaffe attracted national attention and was picked up by Forbes, BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, The Weed Blog, and others. Locally, The Capital broke the story, and the Chief was taking a lot of heat in the comments–125 and counting.
As for the apology, the following statement was issued by the police department:
On Tuesday February 25, 2013 Chief Michael Pristoop testified in front of the Maryland Senate Judiciary Committee opposing the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana. During his testimony the Chief indicated a number of deaths occurred in Colorado on the first day of marijuana legalization in that State. Chief Pristoop, after conducting additional research, discovered that the numbers presented were not accurate but an urban myth. “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,” Chief Michael Pristoop stated. “This does not take away from the other facts presented in opposition to legalization or the good work of the Maryland Chiefs and Maryland Sherriffs Associations.”
