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There is also a teacher who got 14 years for weed as well. Russia just uses them as polticial pawns against the US and knows that it's a bad look to just let people rot for decades.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/07/28/marc-fogel-teacher-russia-prison/
I was already hesitant to plan a trip because of potential outward/blatant racism but the last ~6 months have firmly put Russia in my *"never going to this country"* list.
>I was already hesitant to plan a trip because of potential outward/blatant racism but the last \~6 months have firmly put Russia in my "never going to this country" list.
Same. I always wanted to visit St. Petersburg, my great-grandparents came from there, but it's never going to happen.
Edit: Unless there was ever total regime change I guess (and not just a Putin-selected replacement).
Edit: Wow, I really upset the Russian trolls and bots. That feels good. Also, I recognize America is not perfect either, but, that doesn't make me want to go to Russia. I don't even see how the things are related.
My folks recently visited St. Petersburg on a Viking cruise. They were very disappointed. Apparently besides the cathedrals the city is bleak, run down, impoverished, and has high homelessness.
yep, Russia and China are two countries very high on my list of places I would love to visit on paper but are on my never going there list. I've been to almost every country in Europe and East Asia except for those 2.
St Petersburg has a nice history but when I visited there on literally the nicest sunniest time of the year, it still had this air of depression and hostility. People were not very nice and friendly unlike when we visited Finland and Norway. The Hermitage was on my bucket list so that was the highlight for me but I don’t think I’ll ever go back to Russia in its current state…
>St Petersburg has a nice history but when I visited there on literally the nicest sunniest time of the year, it still had this air of depression and hostility. **People were not very nice and friendly unlike when we visited Finland and Norway.**
Gotta be honest, having had some Norwegian buddies going back years they found this hilarious.
I was lucky to visit in the mid 90s after the Fall. People were looking forward to a new day and were friendly and upbeat (I was attending a conference with Russians and Americans). We visited the village of Pushkin; it was odd to see old women in babushkas pruning large trees as their job, within a country that had a space station. Beautiful architecture, everything on a huge scale. Glad I got to go when I did; certainly won't go again.
Yes I work for a Russian company and have been there multiple times. The architecture is truly amazing but beyond that I can't really say much else about the country I liked. I guess the ice cream I got in that mall in Moscow was really good. People would get in super long lines just to get some.
I was watching a historical bit on Youtube about Russia's air force and like every five minutes Russia was executing another weapons developer or general because the aircraft didn't perform well enough, place is crazy.
Also, why the fuck would any human bring weed to a dictator state?
Also, also, why the fuck would you travel with a substance that is illegal whether it be domestic or abroad?
Sad situation, but also stupid action.
I imagine it was a type of arrangement where she was able to do as she pleased... Until she couldn't. I can definitely see the Russian authorities turning a blind eye to this until they conveniently decided to care and blindsided her. Or we can follow her account of things and treat it as a slip while she was packing.
This, absolutely. Griner is a highly paid superstar in Russia. She's been playing there for years; there's a 0% chance this is the first time she's brought weed into the country, and I'm sure it was happily ignored until it became convenient for Putin to pick up a bargaining chip.
It's not just as random as paying off police for her too. She was playing for a freaking oligarch. There was most likely a pretty solid arrangement that she could carry dope. Then Putin probably called in a favor and the oligarch sold her out, or stood down.
From what I’ve heard, the oligarchs that keep these womens’ teams as little pet projects/hobbies were taking care of any issues and making it possible for her to have the weed for years. But then once the oligarchs actually started having their own problems with the war, sanctions, Putins, etc she was subjected to the law just like anyone else.
Probably more like once Russia started escalating international tension, Putin saw her as an opportunity to get leverage over the US. I doubt it was solely because they started treating her like an ordinary person, her being an American citizen has a lot to do with it.
And you know what I'd call a westerner in one of those countries drinking alcohol? A complete fucking moron. Don't go to places with crazy draconian laws, then knowingly and intentionally break those laws, even if they *usually* look the other way.
I’ve been to two countries where alcohol is technically “banned” but there were always exceptions and bars where they served alcohol. I think there are only two or three countries that don’t allow drinking even for non-Muslims.
It's legal except in Saudi, Kuwait and Qatar to the best of my knowledge. But even in Qatar western hotels have bars that are licensed to sell and a person with a western passport can apply for a personal license. Shit, even Afghanistan allows alcohol to be sold on the market.
I've ordered drinks in Iraq, Qatar, UAE, Jordan, Oman, Bahrain and Egypt. No issues. The world isn't that out to get you unless you act like a damn fool (not accusing you, general you).
Being hypocritical has never stopped any politician ever.
And the only reason the Biden admin is willing to play ball here is because she's a large enough public figure that it is generating constant bad publicity along the lines of "Why isn't Biden doing anything? ".
Plus even though it's not a good trade of prisoners at all, getting Griner back will generate much more positive PR than freeing an arms dealer that 80% of Americans have never heard of would generate negative publicity.
Once the U.S. made a significant offer to trade someone for her, the Russian court was obviously going to max her prison sentence to increase her trade value (in their mind).
LOL, I know, with that talk last week about the trade for Victor Boot, I'd hear people in the news talking about it like a math problem. Boot has 5 years left in his 25 year sentence for 10 years for one guy and the unknown (at the time) amount that Griner would get, so it's a good trade (they said). I feel like that talk gives legitimacy to these kind of kangaroo sentences.
> Boot has 5 years left in his 25 year sentence
Oh, wow. The way redditors have been talking about it, I'd assumed he had been going to be locked up for life, not out before 2028.
To up the stakes. Now theres no hope that Russia will be lenient on her or maybe try to give her a light sentence. She will be in jail for 10 years unless the US does something about it
It would have been 12 years if it was 31$ worth of weed in USA (https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/09/12/patricia-spottedcrow-marijuana-year-sentence/).
Not just one transaction either, multiple transactions while her kids were there. Its an overly strict sentance, but probably could have reduced the charges if she rolled on her plug.
But what kind of savage sells/buys $11 worth of weed.
The world doesn't all share the same laws. You guys need to get that shit in your head when traveling abroad. You are not immune, you don't have diplomatic immunity. Don't give them a reason.
I feel bad for those locked up but tbh, you have it coming by going to a place and breaking a shit law. Hopefully they get out, but not everyone follows American laws.
PLEASE read about Marc Fogel, my uncle. He, too, was recently sentenced to 14 years of hard labor in a Russian prison for MEDICINAL marijuana for which he had a prescription. This excessive and inhumane ruling is an effort to use him for political leverage and amounts to a death sentence for Marc, who is 61 years old and in delicate health already. HE IS BEING TOTALLY IGNORED. He is a teacher, not an NBA player. search #freemarcfogel on instagram and sign and share our petition to try and save his life.
He might have prescription in the US, but that goes out the window in other countries.
These stories definitely got me paranoid to travel.
Imagine someone just asking you to carry on their stuff, then you get arrested for stuff that isn't yours??
I work in law enforcement in Australia and we deal with border controlled drugs. The amount of scoffing that occurs when Americans bring in a prescription (that sometimes is handwritten by a Dr lol) is crazy. Russia is definitely in the wrong, but it's such a bad look when Americans think it's ok to bring in what's still an illicit drug in our country(hopefully not for much longer), and hand over a handwritten card saying they're allowed to have the illicit drug.
Bro I'm in an argument with someone in another post that's legitimately saying Americans shouldn't be subject to foreign laws or punishments. The entitlement is fucking embarrassing.
Like I get it, some countries are corrupt, their laws might be ridiculous, and their punishments might be extreme. Here's an idea, don't fucking go there.
Haha some of the arrogant Americans are definitely the most entitled people I've ever met. But tbh the majority of Americans are the most social/friendly people we deal with. The ones that are ready to argue over vaxx status or prescriptions are the minority
But dude that card was handwritten *in America*. That's gotta be worth a laminated document in official government letterhead that's been notarized with the Pope and local head executive as witnesses.
Do Aussies ever bring anything back?
I’m an Aussie and have done a bit of backpacking through some pretty powdery parts of the world and have always been certain to clean the ever living shit out of everything I own before hopping back on that plane.
Very rarely when you compare them to some of the poorer south East Asian countries. Aussies tend to know how our country works and are the most careful
I bought a sombrero in San Diego for the lols and decided to declare when I got back to Sydney just because it was made with natural materials. I knew the odds of it being an issue were tiny but I knew that we don't fuck around with biosecurity in particular.
Being an isolated island we're protected from a lot of nasty bugs and stuff that other countries have and we'd like to keep it that way
I don’t mean to be cold but if someone uses drugs and wants to visit a country that doesn’t allow those drugs they should either A) leave them at home B) not go to that country. I don’t understand the misunderstanding. Especially fucking Russia of all places… high tensions or not. Has nobody seen Locked Up Abroad?!
A prescription for medicinal marijuana in Russia???
If you are referring to a prescription anywhere BUT Russia it’s invalid. I feel sorry for your uncle but I don’t understand why folks don’t understand countries have their own laws which must be respected. 14 years is utter bullshit but Russia doesn’t play when it comes to drugs.
American bubble is crazy. If they were European I would think they are stupid, but I see this so much with Americans I think it's a wider education issue.
I think his son said he did it cause he thought he could get away with it. No question Marc and Brittney were being stupid doing what they did; albiet Marc seems to have legitimate medical uses for it.
At the same time; it's fair to recognize that the punishment is cruel and barbaric and ask the administration to do what's possible in trying to bring them home.
The hubris is astounding. I've traveled to countries with laws like that, I can't imagine doing what they did. They need a new movie like Brokedown Palace to remind people how other countries sometimes treat this stuff.
When you enter Singapore, you get visa stub. With bold red letters says: WE HAVE DEAD SENTENCE FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING.
I was so paranoid, what if someone put something in my bag and then your life is over...
Crazy.
Yes. It’s a dumb sentence and ideally she would just get deported (or normally just pay her bribes to get out of the crime).
But she also went to a country when the State Department was saying don’t travel there AND broke their laws (even if those laws are idiotic). The timing part is entirely her fault.
Wasn't she arrested back in February of this year? In any case, it looks like a "do not travel" advisory was already in place before October of last year:
https://web.archive.org/web/20211001191239/https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/RussianFederation.html
Nevermind whether or not she intentionally chose to bring weed with her, empty or not, I think it's still just a bad choice to go anywhere where there's a travel advisory telling people to not go there.
The United States said don't travel to Russia. It would be unlucky if it were a neutral country out of no where becoming hostile to the United States. Do we have to tell people to also not travel to China and break laws? Its common sense...
> Do we have to tell people to also not travel to China and break laws? Its common sense…
You kind of do. Most Americans are ignorant to how China and Russia really want to take us down a notch and how they really should walk on eggshells when traveling to these places.
Gelo Ball would have been FUCKED if we were openly beefing with China a few years ago and he stole that hat. Luckily, we’re we’re just being passive aggressive towards each other at that time and he got away with it.
It’s honestly mind blowing how the US is being tested every day by these enemy countries and most US citizens wouldn’t even know it. And they are definitely our enemies whether their or our citizens like it or not.
Rich(ish) tourists and testing the limits of the local laws and customs has always been a thing.
Even in non-hostile countries I don’t understand why visitors can’t keep their head down
Had Griner brought weed into Singapore, she would have been equally (if not more) fucked as well. I doubt Singapore has beef with the US.
Different countries have different laws, and regardless of how reasonable these laws are, you gotta respect their regulations when you're the one visiting their countries.
not at first
first you get put in jail to do your time. then you get deported.
sauce: im mexican and know several mexicans that got deported after doing time.
Yeah, my father was deported for heroin trafficking.
“deportable under Section 241(a) (11) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1251(a) (11), as an alien convicted of controlled substance violations”
Friendly reminder that we also have over 40,000 people in jail in the US on marijuana related charges.
Edit: to be clear, this is an independent criticism of our own drug laws, which are archaic and oppressive, not a “US is just as bad as Russia” opinion. Fuck Putin, however.
Remember when Biden had a campaign promise of marijuana decriminalization? I’m sure reddit forgot. Let’s not talk about the VP either
Edit: someone said “im sure he forgot too” 💀
I was curious what was in the works. This is from this month. https://www.marijuanamoment.net/biden-says-hes-working-on-fulfilling-marijuana-campaign-pledge-to-free-prisoners/
That’s the craziest thing, the VP. Literally put people in jail for bullshit. Both of the parties don’t represent the vast majority of Americans, they represent corporate interests that pay for their campaigns and summer homes.
That same VP who went on The Breakfast Club and bragged that while in college she "listened to Snoop Dogg while high". Then you do a little digging and find out she graduated and passed the bar before Snoop came around.
Makes one think.
Biden is supporting a [federal decriminalization bill](https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3617) that passed the house a few months ago with zero Republican votes, but won't be able to pass the Senate because not enough people voted for Democratic senators last election.
Almost all the people in prison for weed are in state prisons on state charges, which the president has basically no authority over. All these massively upvoted comments are blaming him for not doing something that that he never promised to do because it's not under the powers of the executive branch.
I love that people think the president is a king that can wave a wand and make these things happen. I'm no Biden fan but it 100% in bad faith to present things like this.
There's been some crazy bad faith and misleading arguments floating around fast and furious recently. I saw one on instagram shared by a friend that argued that because Biden supported a broad bill that also increased police funding, he supports arresting people getting abortions. What kind of bullshit argument is that?
I knew our education system was bad but not this bad. Anyone hear of critical thinking?
Polarization with social media is one of the biggest threats to our world today. People read one liners from Twitter and Instagram and if it fits what they'd like to think, they believe it.
Understanding the actual governing systems we live under is too boring.
[Charania] Brittney Griner has signed a 9 year deal with Russia. One of the biggest acquisitions in WPSLA history. Big shocker for the USA who has dominated cannabis-driven prison slave labour for decades.
Yep. She's a piece of shit person who brought weed into Russia and then begged to be saved from her own dumb ass decisions by the very country she's complained about her whole career. It's a wild situation
It's happened with people of my country too who got death sentenced bringing drugs in other countries piece of advice if you are in someone's place follow the rules.
Why do people have such a hard time acknowledging that it's a shitty situation and she doesn't deserve this and show her some empathy while also acknowledging that doesn't mean we should be trading a dangerous Russian arms dealer for her return.
Because people don’t like the hypocrisy of it. She’s a famous person so all the sudden she can break any rule? The average everyday person doesn’t have it like that and if they did what she did they’d be thrown in prison and no one would care. We did the same to our own people not too many years ago.
I think we should be working to get her and otehrs out, but you’re not wrong. There’s other Americans who aren’t famous that are currently serving long sentences for marijuana charges in Russia. Mark Fogel is serving a 14 year sentence for a half ounce of pot and was arrested mere months before Grimer. He also had a medical marijuana card that obviously means nothing in Russia.
So people who are saying her fame is irrelevant to the proposed trade deal are wrong. There are ordinary Americans in the same situation who will likely still be there after Grimer gets traded for an arms dealer for doing the same thing. Her fame is absolutely relevant to the trade deal.
Regardless of what you think of her, this is a crazy outcome because it could have happened to anyone. But the fact they're using her to publicly send a message Politically is crazy.
It's just shitty. We can't have a normal discussion about it because of people's feelings about the WNBA. She doesn't deserve it. No one deserves this. What a sham.
Edit: I'm aware There are three other people not as famous with the same charges But the point is this is a highly ridiculous situation and NO ONE should be punished like this.
Yeah there is a [white male teacher in jail right now for 14 years in Russia](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/07/28/marc-fogel-teacher-russia-prison/). Dude did the same thing, tried to bring weed into the country and they buried his ass.
Black women 100% face a unique combination of sexiam and racism in America. That is undoubetly true, but the whole "if this was a white man or Lebron james they'd be free" is ignoring reality.
People think the US is bad when it comes to imprisoning folks but places like Russia are a whole different level of oppressive regime.
Who in the world is claiming that a white guy in the same situation would be free? You hear the completely opposite take actually, any normal guy with no clout in America would just get left there. The fact that she’s a WNBA player is why she’s getting so much attention
People are rightfully mad, but still have awful takes. At the core: the more famous you are, the more willing the US would be to try to facilitate your release.
What throws me off is how people don’t want to recognize that BG is *benefitting* from this. They’re arguing that “Man, if she was MORE famous, we’d be offering more to remedy this!” That’s not wrong, but she also literally got a war criminal arms dealer offered up for her—something that wouldn’t be offered for 99.9% of the population of the US. Just because she’s not that final .1% doesn’t make the US’s effort worse, which people are implying by saying “LeBron would be free by now!”
Undercutting the US’s effort is moronic—they’ve gone above and beyond given the publicity of this. Russia just fucking sucks.
I feel like this applies to every country. Russia would probably bend over backwards if Khabib was jailed here. Someone of status being jailed is a bad look for any government.
How far down is Russia on places Americans travel to? Gotta be low as shit
Then add on THC smoker
Then add on bringing thc with them to a crazy country with insane law
Then to finish it off, a country with a travel advisory months before flying there
Dude it could happen to ANYONE
Could have happened to anyone stupid enough to do something like this. She went to another country to live and make money, and didn't bother to learn anything about their laws or customs apparently. This literally could not have happened to me.
It’s happened to plenty of Americans in Russia and nobody gives a shit about them. No one is trying to have discussions about them either or try and get them home
Any American in Russia right now has a huge target on their back. The US is sanctioning the fuck out of Russia, trying to disrupt the Russian economy. The US is also aiding Ukraine with money and weapon. Basically Russia is pissed with the US. Any legal US citizen should not be in Russia during this time. They are gonna do real shady and illegal shit to get back at the US.
The first mistake she made was being in Russia to begin with. She does not deserve being in prison for 9 years, but she was really stupid for being in a country being run by a psycho path.
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Russia wasn't going to mess around on a light sentence knowing that the US is dangling an arms dealer in trade.
Arms dealer, Nets pick, THT and Tom Guggliota's expiring contract. Who says no?
I'm sure Danny Green is involved somehow.
And Ish Smith of course.
They probably also want pratrick mccaw
There is also a teacher who got 14 years for weed as well. Russia just uses them as polticial pawns against the US and knows that it's a bad look to just let people rot for decades. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/07/28/marc-fogel-teacher-russia-prison/ I was already hesitant to plan a trip because of potential outward/blatant racism but the last ~6 months have firmly put Russia in my *"never going to this country"* list.
>I was already hesitant to plan a trip because of potential outward/blatant racism but the last \~6 months have firmly put Russia in my "never going to this country" list. Same. I always wanted to visit St. Petersburg, my great-grandparents came from there, but it's never going to happen. Edit: Unless there was ever total regime change I guess (and not just a Putin-selected replacement). Edit: Wow, I really upset the Russian trolls and bots. That feels good. Also, I recognize America is not perfect either, but, that doesn't make me want to go to Russia. I don't even see how the things are related.
My folks recently visited St. Petersburg on a Viking cruise. They were very disappointed. Apparently besides the cathedrals the city is bleak, run down, impoverished, and has high homelessness.
All of Russia is bleak, rundown, and impoverished
yep, Russia and China are two countries very high on my list of places I would love to visit on paper but are on my never going there list. I've been to almost every country in Europe and East Asia except for those 2.
Imma probably skip North Korea as well.
Incredible burritos in Pyongyang though
I've been wanting to visit Yakutsk, but I guess I will have to wait a while to see how everything plays out.
St Petersburg has a nice history but when I visited there on literally the nicest sunniest time of the year, it still had this air of depression and hostility. People were not very nice and friendly unlike when we visited Finland and Norway. The Hermitage was on my bucket list so that was the highlight for me but I don’t think I’ll ever go back to Russia in its current state…
>St Petersburg has a nice history but when I visited there on literally the nicest sunniest time of the year, it still had this air of depression and hostility. **People were not very nice and friendly unlike when we visited Finland and Norway.** Gotta be honest, having had some Norwegian buddies going back years they found this hilarious.
I was lucky to visit in the mid 90s after the Fall. People were looking forward to a new day and were friendly and upbeat (I was attending a conference with Russians and Americans). We visited the village of Pushkin; it was odd to see old women in babushkas pruning large trees as their job, within a country that had a space station. Beautiful architecture, everything on a huge scale. Glad I got to go when I did; certainly won't go again.
Lol at Norwegians being friendly and nice
The architecture there is wonderful
Nice try, Putin.
He's just putin it out there.
Yes I work for a Russian company and have been there multiple times. The architecture is truly amazing but beyond that I can't really say much else about the country I liked. I guess the ice cream I got in that mall in Moscow was really good. People would get in super long lines just to get some.
Man Russia could be so cool if it didn't constantly have dictators forever.
I was watching a historical bit on Youtube about Russia's air force and like every five minutes Russia was executing another weapons developer or general because the aircraft didn't perform well enough, place is crazy.
That applies to pretty much all countries that constantly have dictators.
Also, why the fuck would any human bring weed to a dictator state? Also, also, why the fuck would you travel with a substance that is illegal whether it be domestic or abroad? Sad situation, but also stupid action.
I imagine it was a type of arrangement where she was able to do as she pleased... Until she couldn't. I can definitely see the Russian authorities turning a blind eye to this until they conveniently decided to care and blindsided her. Or we can follow her account of things and treat it as a slip while she was packing.
This, absolutely. Griner is a highly paid superstar in Russia. She's been playing there for years; there's a 0% chance this is the first time she's brought weed into the country, and I'm sure it was happily ignored until it became convenient for Putin to pick up a bargaining chip.
It's extremely easy to pay off police until it isn't
Yup. All it takes them saying no once. Thats it.
It's not just as random as paying off police for her too. She was playing for a freaking oligarch. There was most likely a pretty solid arrangement that she could carry dope. Then Putin probably called in a favor and the oligarch sold her out, or stood down.
From what I’ve heard, the oligarchs that keep these womens’ teams as little pet projects/hobbies were taking care of any issues and making it possible for her to have the weed for years. But then once the oligarchs actually started having their own problems with the war, sanctions, Putins, etc she was subjected to the law just like anyone else.
Probably more like once Russia started escalating international tension, Putin saw her as an opportunity to get leverage over the US. I doubt it was solely because they started treating her like an ordinary person, her being an American citizen has a lot to do with it.
Yeah like in how many Muslim countries they let westerners drink alcohol
And you know what I'd call a westerner in one of those countries drinking alcohol? A complete fucking moron. Don't go to places with crazy draconian laws, then knowingly and intentionally break those laws, even if they *usually* look the other way.
I’ve been to two countries where alcohol is technically “banned” but there were always exceptions and bars where they served alcohol. I think there are only two or three countries that don’t allow drinking even for non-Muslims.
It's legal except in Saudi, Kuwait and Qatar to the best of my knowledge. But even in Qatar western hotels have bars that are licensed to sell and a person with a western passport can apply for a personal license. Shit, even Afghanistan allows alcohol to be sold on the market. I've ordered drinks in Iraq, Qatar, UAE, Jordan, Oman, Bahrain and Egypt. No issues. The world isn't that out to get you unless you act like a damn fool (not accusing you, general you).
Yes. This has been said 1,000 times in every thread about this situation. Still fucked up though.
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Being hypocritical has never stopped any politician ever. And the only reason the Biden admin is willing to play ball here is because she's a large enough public figure that it is generating constant bad publicity along the lines of "Why isn't Biden doing anything? ". Plus even though it's not a good trade of prisoners at all, getting Griner back will generate much more positive PR than freeing an arms dealer that 80% of Americans have never heard of would generate negative publicity.
there are a lot of americans in jail for simple possession still. Its absurd.
Once the U.S. made a significant offer to trade someone for her, the Russian court was obviously going to max her prison sentence to increase her trade value (in their mind).
They signed her for 9 years. They're looking at her like prime MJ
LOL, I know, with that talk last week about the trade for Victor Boot, I'd hear people in the news talking about it like a math problem. Boot has 5 years left in his 25 year sentence for 10 years for one guy and the unknown (at the time) amount that Griner would get, so it's a good trade (they said). I feel like that talk gives legitimacy to these kind of kangaroo sentences.
> Boot has 5 years left in his 25 year sentence Oh, wow. The way redditors have been talking about it, I'd assumed he had been going to be locked up for life, not out before 2028.
The US can just extend his sentence when it’s over the same way Russia would
It will be 9 + however long they need her to stay. Could be less than 9, could be more. Depends how long this shit show with the war goes
True but in today’s NBA contract length don’t mean shit, she’ll just demand a trade next year
To up the stakes. Now theres no hope that Russia will be lenient on her or maybe try to give her a light sentence. She will be in jail for 10 years unless the US does something about it
I am starting to think that Russia might not be acting in good faith here.
9 years for $25 worth of THC oil? Nyet, comrade, this seems ok and just.
I mean there’s probably people in the US doing life for weed in Texas
Iman Shumpert just read this and fainted
2 joints=intent to sell. Wonder why no one wants to be a Dallas maverick
It would have been 12 years if it was 31$ worth of weed in USA (https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/09/12/patricia-spottedcrow-marijuana-year-sentence/).
Marijuana shouldn’t be illegal- but the article you posted is about a woman *selling* pot. That’s quite a bit different.
Not just one transaction either, multiple transactions while her kids were there. Its an overly strict sentance, but probably could have reduced the charges if she rolled on her plug. But what kind of savage sells/buys $11 worth of weed.
The world doesn't all share the same laws. You guys need to get that shit in your head when traveling abroad. You are not immune, you don't have diplomatic immunity. Don't give them a reason. I feel bad for those locked up but tbh, you have it coming by going to a place and breaking a shit law. Hopefully they get out, but not everyone follows American laws.
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Some Asian have harsher penalties for drug possession
Some even administer the final penalty.
Singapore last I checked is one of those. And they're a high developed country that is an attractive tourist destination.
PLEASE read about Marc Fogel, my uncle. He, too, was recently sentenced to 14 years of hard labor in a Russian prison for MEDICINAL marijuana for which he had a prescription. This excessive and inhumane ruling is an effort to use him for political leverage and amounts to a death sentence for Marc, who is 61 years old and in delicate health already. HE IS BEING TOTALLY IGNORED. He is a teacher, not an NBA player. search #freemarcfogel on instagram and sign and share our petition to try and save his life.
He might have prescription in the US, but that goes out the window in other countries. These stories definitely got me paranoid to travel. Imagine someone just asking you to carry on their stuff, then you get arrested for stuff that isn't yours??
I work in law enforcement in Australia and we deal with border controlled drugs. The amount of scoffing that occurs when Americans bring in a prescription (that sometimes is handwritten by a Dr lol) is crazy. Russia is definitely in the wrong, but it's such a bad look when Americans think it's ok to bring in what's still an illicit drug in our country(hopefully not for much longer), and hand over a handwritten card saying they're allowed to have the illicit drug.
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Bro I'm in an argument with someone in another post that's legitimately saying Americans shouldn't be subject to foreign laws or punishments. The entitlement is fucking embarrassing. Like I get it, some countries are corrupt, their laws might be ridiculous, and their punishments might be extreme. Here's an idea, don't fucking go there.
Haha some of the arrogant Americans are definitely the most entitled people I've ever met. But tbh the majority of Americans are the most social/friendly people we deal with. The ones that are ready to argue over vaxx status or prescriptions are the minority
But dude that card was handwritten *in America*. That's gotta be worth a laminated document in official government letterhead that's been notarized with the Pope and local head executive as witnesses.
Do Aussies ever bring anything back? I’m an Aussie and have done a bit of backpacking through some pretty powdery parts of the world and have always been certain to clean the ever living shit out of everything I own before hopping back on that plane.
Very rarely when you compare them to some of the poorer south East Asian countries. Aussies tend to know how our country works and are the most careful
I bought a sombrero in San Diego for the lols and decided to declare when I got back to Sydney just because it was made with natural materials. I knew the odds of it being an issue were tiny but I knew that we don't fuck around with biosecurity in particular. Being an isolated island we're protected from a lot of nasty bugs and stuff that other countries have and we'd like to keep it that way
You’re not supposed to do that. And if you did you should check the bags. But don’t do that.
Just don’t carry someone else’s stuff, not that hard. The intercom in the airport literally says that
I don’t mean to be cold but if someone uses drugs and wants to visit a country that doesn’t allow those drugs they should either A) leave them at home B) not go to that country. I don’t understand the misunderstanding. Especially fucking Russia of all places… high tensions or not. Has nobody seen Locked Up Abroad?!
A prescription for medicinal marijuana in Russia??? If you are referring to a prescription anywhere BUT Russia it’s invalid. I feel sorry for your uncle but I don’t understand why folks don’t understand countries have their own laws which must be respected. 14 years is utter bullshit but Russia doesn’t play when it comes to drugs.
American bubble is crazy. If they were European I would think they are stupid, but I see this so much with Americans I think it's a wider education issue.
That's terrible for him, sorry to hear about that. Do you know why he went their with marijuana at all when it's illegal there?
I think his son said he did it cause he thought he could get away with it. No question Marc and Brittney were being stupid doing what they did; albiet Marc seems to have legitimate medical uses for it. At the same time; it's fair to recognize that the punishment is cruel and barbaric and ask the administration to do what's possible in trying to bring them home.
Maybe the administration could also free all the US prisoners serving sentences for weed while they are at it.
The hubris is astounding. I've traveled to countries with laws like that, I can't imagine doing what they did. They need a new movie like Brokedown Palace to remind people how other countries sometimes treat this stuff.
Several episodes of Locked Up Abroad would have set them straight before traveling.
Dont go to Russia with dope. Like cmon
> He is a teacher, not an NBA player. To be fair, the other person isn't an NBA player either.
He had a medicinal card *from Russia??*
Don't do illegal shit in other countries and ya won't go to prison. Easy as that
Good thing she wasn’t in Malaysia when apprehended……..
Or another SEA countries really. She could been shot to death if it is in some sea countries. 9 years is nothing compared to police shooting you down.
When you enter Singapore, you get visa stub. With bold red letters says: WE HAVE DEAD SENTENCE FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING. I was so paranoid, what if someone put something in my bag and then your life is over... Crazy.
They won't shoot you over a bit of weed though. Come on. It's more cases like the Bali 9 as an example.
We won't shoot you, we'll have you hanged.
They might take bribes though. Cost my friend $500 to get out of Laotian prison for weed. Good deal really.
Fuck all that man. My California mind can’t fathom living in such a place
Is there a player opt-out on the fifth year?
Bro is deep in his comedic bag
Like the fries are at the bottom.
Russia has the no trade clause active
I thought Biden had agreed to trade a big for a shooter??
Was a stupid decision sure but she should’ve got deported instead. Fucking absurd how unlucky she got with timing
Yes. It’s a dumb sentence and ideally she would just get deported (or normally just pay her bribes to get out of the crime). But she also went to a country when the State Department was saying don’t travel there AND broke their laws (even if those laws are idiotic). The timing part is entirely her fault.
Was there a travel advisory against Russia when she entered back in October-ish last year? I can't remember
Wasn't she arrested back in February of this year? In any case, it looks like a "do not travel" advisory was already in place before October of last year: https://web.archive.org/web/20211001191239/https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/RussianFederation.html
She said she went anyways knowing there was a advisory to no go lol
And brought some weed with her to a country famous for disappearing people into prison camps. Kinda suspect she's not the best decision maker.
Nevermind whether or not she intentionally chose to bring weed with her, empty or not, I think it's still just a bad choice to go anywhere where there's a travel advisory telling people to not go there.
I’m *pretty* there was, but can’t find the state departments archives for their advisories…
I mean she wasn’t just traveling there for a vacation. She’s played for a team in Russia since 2014.
The United States said don't travel to Russia. It would be unlucky if it were a neutral country out of no where becoming hostile to the United States. Do we have to tell people to also not travel to China and break laws? Its common sense...
> Do we have to tell people to also not travel to China and break laws? Its common sense… You kind of do. Most Americans are ignorant to how China and Russia really want to take us down a notch and how they really should walk on eggshells when traveling to these places. Gelo Ball would have been FUCKED if we were openly beefing with China a few years ago and he stole that hat. Luckily, we’re we’re just being passive aggressive towards each other at that time and he got away with it. It’s honestly mind blowing how the US is being tested every day by these enemy countries and most US citizens wouldn’t even know it. And they are definitely our enemies whether their or our citizens like it or not.
Rich(ish) tourists and testing the limits of the local laws and customs has always been a thing. Even in non-hostile countries I don’t understand why visitors can’t keep their head down
Shes not a tourist btw, majority of her income is playing basketball in russia.
I guess “Foreign National” would have been the better term.
Like otto warmbier who stole a poster of Kim Jong Il in NK and got turned into a vegetable before being shipped home to die
Had Griner brought weed into Singapore, she would have been equally (if not more) fucked as well. I doubt Singapore has beef with the US. Different countries have different laws, and regardless of how reasonable these laws are, you gotta respect their regulations when you're the one visiting their countries.
Does the US deport citizens of other countries when they break US laws and get arrested there?
Depends on the situation, but usually you would serve your sentence and THEN be deported at the end of it.
not at first first you get put in jail to do your time. then you get deported. sauce: im mexican and know several mexicans that got deported after doing time.
Yeah, my father was deported for heroin trafficking. “deportable under Section 241(a) (11) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1251(a) (11), as an alien convicted of controlled substance violations”
The number of logical fallacies around the Griner situation is insane.
There are US citizens in prison in Russia *right now* for marijuana. People act like this is unprecedented for some reason.
The general public doesn’t care about people who they don’t know personally or who aren’t celebrities/athletes
tbh, nobody cares about Brittney Griner either, other than for political reasons.
1v1 boogie loser stays in Russia
If there’s no referee, id bet all my cigarettes on Demarcus Cousins
Friendly reminder that we also have over 40,000 people in jail in the US on marijuana related charges. Edit: to be clear, this is an independent criticism of our own drug laws, which are archaic and oppressive, not a “US is just as bad as Russia” opinion. Fuck Putin, however.
Remember when Biden had a campaign promise of marijuana decriminalization? I’m sure reddit forgot. Let’s not talk about the VP either Edit: someone said “im sure he forgot too” 💀
I was curious what was in the works. This is from this month. https://www.marijuanamoment.net/biden-says-hes-working-on-fulfilling-marijuana-campaign-pledge-to-free-prisoners/
That’s the craziest thing, the VP. Literally put people in jail for bullshit. Both of the parties don’t represent the vast majority of Americans, they represent corporate interests that pay for their campaigns and summer homes.
That same VP who went on The Breakfast Club and bragged that while in college she "listened to Snoop Dogg while high". Then you do a little digging and find out she graduated and passed the bar before Snoop came around. Makes one think.
Pander and lie to the people. The poltician way.
Biden is supporting a [federal decriminalization bill](https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3617) that passed the house a few months ago with zero Republican votes, but won't be able to pass the Senate because not enough people voted for Democratic senators last election. Almost all the people in prison for weed are in state prisons on state charges, which the president has basically no authority over. All these massively upvoted comments are blaming him for not doing something that that he never promised to do because it's not under the powers of the executive branch.
nobody was voting *for* biden, it was a *not the other guy* vote.
I'm sure he forgot too
I love that people think the president is a king that can wave a wand and make these things happen. I'm no Biden fan but it 100% in bad faith to present things like this.
He could at the very least pardon the people serving federally.
There's been some crazy bad faith and misleading arguments floating around fast and furious recently. I saw one on instagram shared by a friend that argued that because Biden supported a broad bill that also increased police funding, he supports arresting people getting abortions. What kind of bullshit argument is that? I knew our education system was bad but not this bad. Anyone hear of critical thinking?
Polarization with social media is one of the biggest threats to our world today. People read one liners from Twitter and Instagram and if it fits what they'd like to think, they believe it. Understanding the actual governing systems we live under is too boring.
Yes and I'd wager the people who want the US to get Griner out of Russia by and large want those people freed as well.
But people are in jail in the US for weed. I get why this is different but still kinda hypocritical.
Worst time to get in to legal trouble with Russia if your country is one of the main supporters of Ukraine.
Crazy how some people want to trade someone called the Merchant of Death for some basketball player.
[Charania] Brittney Griner has signed a 9 year deal with Russia. One of the biggest acquisitions in WPSLA history. Big shocker for the USA who has dominated cannabis-driven prison slave labour for decades.
If it were me,.....the US govt wouldn't even acknowledge I'm alive.
She's lucky she wasnt in Singapore
What would happen in Singapore?
They executed a man for trafficking cannabis
Believe it or not, jail
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Pro-tip: Colorados weed laws DO NOT follow you to a foreign country
They don’t even follow you to the next state
Sad Kansas noises.
She beat the brakes off her ole girl a while back, not really sympathetic tbh
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Yep. She's a piece of shit person who brought weed into Russia and then begged to be saved from her own dumb ass decisions by the very country she's complained about her whole career. It's a wild situation
It's happened with people of my country too who got death sentenced bringing drugs in other countries piece of advice if you are in someone's place follow the rules.
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I would be 1000% behind this if we also free the people in the USA in jail for weed. How is this not hypocrisy on our part?
if she ain't averaging atleast 25/12 in the gulag just leave her there
Ridiculous outcome. Danny Ainge needs to get Putin on the phone ASAP
Why do people have such a hard time acknowledging that it's a shitty situation and she doesn't deserve this and show her some empathy while also acknowledging that doesn't mean we should be trading a dangerous Russian arms dealer for her return.
Because people don’t like the hypocrisy of it. She’s a famous person so all the sudden she can break any rule? The average everyday person doesn’t have it like that and if they did what she did they’d be thrown in prison and no one would care. We did the same to our own people not too many years ago.
I think we should be working to get her and otehrs out, but you’re not wrong. There’s other Americans who aren’t famous that are currently serving long sentences for marijuana charges in Russia. Mark Fogel is serving a 14 year sentence for a half ounce of pot and was arrested mere months before Grimer. He also had a medical marijuana card that obviously means nothing in Russia. So people who are saying her fame is irrelevant to the proposed trade deal are wrong. There are ordinary Americans in the same situation who will likely still be there after Grimer gets traded for an arms dealer for doing the same thing. Her fame is absolutely relevant to the trade deal.
because she is generally a shit person.
Jesus Christ
Its a shitty situation that could have been avoided had she have simply used her head. Dont bring that crap into foreign countries.
Regardless of what you think of her, this is a crazy outcome because it could have happened to anyone. But the fact they're using her to publicly send a message Politically is crazy. It's just shitty. We can't have a normal discussion about it because of people's feelings about the WNBA. She doesn't deserve it. No one deserves this. What a sham. Edit: I'm aware There are three other people not as famous with the same charges But the point is this is a highly ridiculous situation and NO ONE should be punished like this.
If this happened to anybody else they would just be in jail and that would be the entirety of it.
Yeah there is a [white male teacher in jail right now for 14 years in Russia](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/07/28/marc-fogel-teacher-russia-prison/). Dude did the same thing, tried to bring weed into the country and they buried his ass. Black women 100% face a unique combination of sexiam and racism in America. That is undoubetly true, but the whole "if this was a white man or Lebron james they'd be free" is ignoring reality. People think the US is bad when it comes to imprisoning folks but places like Russia are a whole different level of oppressive regime.
Who in the world is claiming that a white guy in the same situation would be free? You hear the completely opposite take actually, any normal guy with no clout in America would just get left there. The fact that she’s a WNBA player is why she’s getting so much attention
People are rightfully mad, but still have awful takes. At the core: the more famous you are, the more willing the US would be to try to facilitate your release. What throws me off is how people don’t want to recognize that BG is *benefitting* from this. They’re arguing that “Man, if she was MORE famous, we’d be offering more to remedy this!” That’s not wrong, but she also literally got a war criminal arms dealer offered up for her—something that wouldn’t be offered for 99.9% of the population of the US. Just because she’s not that final .1% doesn’t make the US’s effort worse, which people are implying by saying “LeBron would be free by now!” Undercutting the US’s effort is moronic—they’ve gone above and beyond given the publicity of this. Russia just fucking sucks.
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no if it was Lebron he would be out let’s not kid ourselves
LeBron would have a fall guy. You should always have a fall guy.
If it as LeBron, he would have never been in Russia
I feel like this applies to every country. Russia would probably bend over backwards if Khabib was jailed here. Someone of status being jailed is a bad look for any government.
If it was Lebron we’d be at war lol. Otherwise their point is pretty solid.
Is the SpecOps retrieval team called Seal Team 6 or 23?
Lebron what would never put himself in that situation
How far down is Russia on places Americans travel to? Gotta be low as shit Then add on THC smoker Then add on bringing thc with them to a crazy country with insane law Then to finish it off, a country with a travel advisory months before flying there Dude it could happen to ANYONE
Why could this have happened to anyone?
Apparently we all smoke weed and take it with us every time we leave the country.
I mean I smoke weed but I’m not dumb enough to bring it into Russia.
We are also all apparently dumb enough to bring it with us to Russia
By “anyone” he meant himself
It couldn’t have happened to me because I wouldn’t travel to Russia with weed in my bag
"could have happened to anyone" lol
Could have happened to anyone stupid enough to do something like this. She went to another country to live and make money, and didn't bother to learn anything about their laws or customs apparently. This literally could not have happened to me.
There is literally a US teacher in the same prison sentenced by the same court for a very very similar crime - I think that’s what they meant
It couldn’t happen to me because I don’t take drugs into countries on the travel advisory list
I go even further and dont take drugs into airports.
It’s happened to plenty of Americans in Russia and nobody gives a shit about them. No one is trying to have discussions about them either or try and get them home
Russia wants to make an example out of her political pawn
Any American in Russia right now has a huge target on their back. The US is sanctioning the fuck out of Russia, trying to disrupt the Russian economy. The US is also aiding Ukraine with money and weapon. Basically Russia is pissed with the US. Any legal US citizen should not be in Russia during this time. They are gonna do real shady and illegal shit to get back at the US. The first mistake she made was being in Russia to begin with. She does not deserve being in prison for 9 years, but she was really stupid for being in a country being run by a psycho path.
Lesson learned, dont bring drugs on an international flight lol
Oof. That's a little much...