A UC Berkeley astrophysics student and her boyfriend face misdemeanor drug charges for having allegedly baked pot cookies that made 16 fellow students sick at a co-op residence this week.
The pair, 21 and 23 years old respectively, were charged with 12 misdemeanor counts involving possession and supplying of pot and psylocybin mushrooms. Now, that's the sort of news you might expect in Berkeley from time to time, no big deal — but what makes this story a hoot is their lawyer's defense:
About 8 p.m. Wednesday, about 16 people, ages 18 to 25, at the co-op experienced adverse reactions after eating marijuana cookies or cookie dough and called for help, authorities said. Twelve were hospitalized but were expected to recover.
UC Berkeley police said Anderson and Portka made the cookies and Tobias supplied the marijuana for an annual event commemorating the assigning of rooms at the co-op, which has had a reputation for partying.
In court Friday, Portka's attorney, William Linehan, sought to downplay the incident, telling the commissioner that those who ate the cookies "were not sick. They were wasted."
In seeking the couple's release, Linehan told Lott, "Our clients are not deemed as suppliers — they're bakers."
Link to SF Chron story. (thanks Rocky, via wayne's list)
