

State seizes 11-year-old, arrests his mother after marijuana school presentation - adamnemecek
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2015/04/17/state-seizes-11-year-old-arrests-his-mother-after-he-defends-medical-marijuana-during-a-school-presentation/

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Someone1234
You really do have to be careful what you educate your child about in the US
it seems. If they know too much about sex ed' or drugs, you might get social
services call on you (or worse they might make baseless accusations of sexual
abuse or drug use).

But then again this is a country where letting your kids walk to the local
park is grounds for social services and children being removed from their
household. So the bar is obviously set extremely low and common sense plays
little to no part.

PS - I wonder how long until letting your children play outside (rather than
them watching TV/playing video games) is grounds for social services? A lot of
people cite "kidnapping" as a justification for the park thing, so by that
logic letting them outside out of sight is equally as dangerous...

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jnevill
I've had my kid brought home by the cops twice. Both times he was playing on
the sidewalk less than 50 feet from our front door. What do you even say to a
cop that thinks allowing your child to play in their own front yard
unsupervised is dangerous? It's insane. You risk getting a visit from CPS if
your child goes unsupervised at any point in time. In practice, it's rare, but
not so rare that parent's like me and my wife don't worry about every time our
kids run outside to play.

~~~
borgia
Things appear to have become so weird that letting your kids out to play has
now gained its own label - "Free range parenting".

Which is really sad. I grew up outdoors, climbing trees, riding my bike
wherever I wanted, going to the local park or woods with other kids, etc. I
would really hate to see kids being denied the same opportunities due to
unwarranted fear being driven into their parents or their communities.

It's not something I've encountered in Europe, where I spent most of my life,
kids seem to be living pretty much the same as ever there, but reading about
this stuff happening in the US is very sad.

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crististm
It seems you guys forgot about "home of the brave" part.

It looks like the US nation is out of tune with its foundations.

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mdekkers
It went missing right along with "Land of the Free".

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glibgil
I'm surprised the women didn't use the three hours she had before the warrant
was issued to dispose of the cannabis oil. It should have been clear that she
was in a ver high-stakes situation. In modern America and throughout all of
human history, it is shown time and time again that the state (little 's') can
be a real motherfucker. Never let your guard down.

~~~
scott_karana
Yeah, that is a darn shame. Let's hope she manages to win this despite her
mistake. :-)

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silentOpen
What mistake? She has not done anything wrong according to this report. With
only hearsay by a minor in a school setting, I'd be surprised (or maybe not
ugh) if the warrant stood up.

~~~
scott_karana
s/mistake/slip-up/ perhaps, it's too strong a word.

Cannabis oil is seemingly illegal in her state, and as GP mentioned, she had
three hours of warning to dispose of it, and failed to do so.

I too suspect the warrant will be discredited, that said.

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Raphmedia
Land of the free.

Seriously, America scares me and I would never visit it. It's a shame, really,
the place looks amazing. I hope it will get fixed up in my lifetime...

~~~
wil421
Please dont believe the hype you hear on the internet. The reality for 90% of
people here is not what you read on HN, Reddit, or whatever news site.

May I ask what crime and problem free country you hail from?

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Raphmedia
It's the people that makes me afraid. Criminals I can deal with. Crime I can
deal with. I think the American people are amazing. It's the police and
government that I fear. I guess if I visit I would have to be careful in
choosing what state I go to.

That being said, I'm from Canada and if Harper has his way, I won't have to
worry about the lack of freedom and the excess of police power in the USA
since it will be the same at home anyway.

~~~
wil421
You are much more likely to have an accident with a moose in Canada than be
shot by our Police or targeted by our Government.[1]

In the past 10 years I have had exactly two encounters with the police in a
negative fashion. One for going over the speed limit and once for an illegal
turn. _Most_ of them can be jerks but they are not out to get anyone.

Please dont believe the hype.

[1][http://www.nleomf.org/facts/research-
bulletins/](http://www.nleomf.org/facts/research-bulletins/)

~~~
yellowapple
That source only talks about cases where officers were shot, not cases where
officers were the ones doing the shooting.

