Annapolis Police Chief Michael A. Pristoop came prepared when he testified before a Maryland state Senate panel on Tuesday about the perils of legalizing marijuana.
In researching his testimony against two bills before the Judicial Proceedings Committee, Pristoop said, he had found an article to illustrate the risks of legalization: 37 people in Colorado had overdosed on the very day that state legalized pot, he said.
“When he said it, everyone in the room dropped their laptops,” Sen. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Montgomery) said in an email.
Trouble is, the facts were about as close to the truth as oregano is to pot. After googling on his laptop, Raskin advised the chief that the Colorado overdose story, despite its deadpan delivery, had been made up for laughs by The Daily Currant, an online comedy magazine.