Teddy Gentry Arrest is Embarrassment for State, Not Alabama
“I’m for law and order, the way that it should be. This song’s about the night they spent protecting you from me.”
–Waylon Jennings
On Monday, September 12th, 70-year-old Country Music Hall of Famer Teddy Gentry of the country and Southern rock band Alabama was arrested in Cherokee, County, Alabama, forced into an orange jumpsuit, subjected to a mugshot, and incarcerated behind bars for second-degree unlawful possession of marijuana, and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. He was later released on bond.
Thank goodness the authorities found Teddy Gentry before he overdosed, or became a danger to society by stealing cars, breaking into houses, or turning tricks on the streets of Alabama so he could cop his next score.
– – – – – – –
What in the hell are we doing here? Any time a Country Music Hall of Famer is arrested and charged with a crime, it is newsworthy in the country music realm. But I would feel like a patsy reporting the dry details of this story while acting like it wasn’t ludicrous for us to be arresting 70-year-old man for pot possession, no matter his occupation. Even if you have no respect for the songs “Mountain Music” and “If You’re Gonna Play in Texas,” at least have some respect for your elders.
The arresting officer was just doing his job and abiding by the laws as written, and Teddy Gentry was breaking the laws as written. Gentry shouldn’t expect or receive any preferential treatment due to being an entertainer. But with the way our country music legends are so overlooked and forgotten these days, there’s a distinct possibility that nobody involved in the incident even knew who Teddy Gentry was until he was booked into custody. But of course, someone eventually went squealing to the press, and now it’s all over the place.
But this incident isn’t an embarrassment for the band of Alabama, it’s an embarrassment for the State of Alabama. It will only increase the country music cred of Teddy Gentry, both from the fact that he was arrested, and what he was arrested for, even if some of the Bible thumpers out there will be a little disappointed in ol’ Teddy getting caught with some doobage.
It’s a national outrage that Brittney Griner is being detained in Russia for possession, but we fail to raise a stink for the thousands detained here in the United States for similar infractions. Teddy Gentry is not heading to a Siberian work camp of course, but could definitely face further jail time.
None of this is to say that marijuana can’t be hurtful to developing brains and it shouldn’t be regulated to some extent, or that it’s never been a gateway drug. But handcuffs, mugshots, orange jumpsuits, and prison bars should be reserved for people who are a danger to themselves or others. 70-year-old Teddy Gentry is neither of those things, while very real criminals and white collar scoundrels walk the streets.
Nonetheless, congratulations are in order. You got your country music credibility wings, Teddy.
Attaboy.
September 14, 2022 @ 8:14 am
Went on YouTube and gave them a spin last night while having a smoke of my own, cheers boys, smoke em if you got em.
September 15, 2022 @ 9:26 am
“Smokin a Doobie” by Jon Pardi
October 6, 2022 @ 7:56 am
I personally know Teddy Gentry and he has had a chronic back problem for many years and small doses of Marijuana is used to relieve the pain. He has literally missed shows thru the years because of his back problems. Marijuana is much better than someone using opiates or other prescription pills that are so addicting. TG is smart not going the opiate route like some unfortunate souls.
The Cherokee S.O. making TG do the perp walk and a orange wardrobe change for such a small misdemeanor charge appears to me (and Im a retired cop)to be the Cherokee Co. Sheriff’s Office bullying it’s citizens in an attempt to obtain their 15 minutes.There are more important SERIOUS crimes happening out there Sheriff Shaver. It appears that making a name for yourself is what’s important in Cherokee County and TG was the CCSO way of getting some limelight. I hope the VOTERS REMEMBER when the next Sheriff’s election rolls around that
Sheriff Shaver obviously doesn’t have control of his department.
Some unprofessional staff and Desoto Falls size leaks to the media companies like TMZ, is an example of games some play. I’m sure someone could have gotten compensated for the high profile leak and wanted to up their status in the department. There are a lot of good qualified people in the Cherokee County area that could do a better job as Sheriff.
Let’s hope there will be options come this next Sheriff’s election.
January 22, 2023 @ 2:47 pm
Hats off to the Cherokee Sheriff for impartial treatment.
Don’t like the outcome?
Change.
The.
Law.
September 2, 2024 @ 3:21 pm
This over zealous policing of recreational marijuana users came into a full blown war created by the Republican party during the Richard Nixon administration and really ramped up by Ronald Reagan as he thought the students that outted him as a right wing fascist Republican during him California governor campaigns were fueled by pot. This harsh treatment was previoulsly reserved for jailing black people but Nixon ans Reagan saw how effective it could be to demean and incarcerated innocent young people for disagreeing with their Nazi like agenda for this country. This crap continues in the red neck areas of the south where the Dixiecrats are all now Trump Revpublicans. You would think that after 50 plus years of this ridiculous charade that the people of this country would support Joe Biden’s push to decriminalize this natural weed from the the law books for every state. Alabama amongst other backward states should be ashamed of their treatment of innocent citizens jailed for weed posession, Oh Wait, these states have learned from their current mentor that their is no such thing as shame! Same old crap, just a different asshole putting it out!
July 4, 2023 @ 7:34 am
Omg !!!he’s old . he needs something to keep going ???? go get the bad guys an let the old ones just keep playing That good old music … Go Bama boy ❤????❤????
September 16, 2024 @ 1:40 am
So called just…side do anything for a buck…freedom of choice, free will, is private as long as its kept that way. Now if it involves or is around young folks and is influenced. By all means nessessary, bust em hard, very hard. There’s no hope for that kind of stupid.
September 14, 2022 @ 8:15 am
Funniest comment seen on Reddit:
“Hopefully “Alabama” changes their name to “Fuck Alabama.”
????????????????????????
September 14, 2022 @ 2:53 pm
Neil was right
September 14, 2022 @ 7:36 pm
Nope
July 16, 2023 @ 1:15 pm
Yep truth brother,
they do need Neil s 2 cents.
September 18, 2023 @ 12:48 pm
It does seem to me that Teddy Gentry did recieve preferential treatment. Yes, the arresting officer did his job. But I would venture to say that there was a leak in the department. It seems that he was given MORE attention about the arrest than a non-entertainer would recieve. Could it be that someone in the department wanted to say “look at what we did.”
November 7, 2023 @ 12:38 pm
My dog has started getting bad hips, sux I got one. I sprinkle cannabis on his food and he runs like he used to. His name is Rocket.
March 10, 2023 @ 12:24 pm
I like your way of thinking! I’ve been calling it that since I arrived in 2019 to take care of an elderly family member.
September 14, 2022 @ 8:17 am
Life in the Bible belt.
People who didn’t live in the south are often shocked by how archaic our laws regarding pot (and even alcohol) are.
Gentry is one of thousands of people who get locked up daily in the south for possession of a plant.
September 14, 2022 @ 2:14 pm
Thank God (literally, not figuratively) for the South and it’s laws. Degenerates can live elsewhere.
September 14, 2022 @ 5:28 pm
Smoking pot doesn’t make one a degenerate.
September 15, 2022 @ 6:37 am
Habitually inhaling smoke into one’s lung is:
A) Benign
B) Restorative
Or…….
C) Degenerative
September 15, 2022 @ 11:54 am
Isn’t the English language amazing? Like how a simple word such as “degenerate” in its various forms can be used from the concrete, biological end of the spectrum as in a degenerative disease that can be seen to destroy tissues, to describing the dissolution or transformation of an ethical system, an abstract entity that exists only in the minds of its adherents and thus cannot be observed or objectively studied in any way.
September 16, 2022 @ 11:39 am
Restorative if it’s cannabis smoke. Do you understand what the process of Apoptosis is, or that cannabis initiates it? Please just stfu, don’t like cannabis, don’t use it and mind your business.
September 16, 2022 @ 12:45 pm
@ R.O. Borger,
WELCOME to the discussion, my friend.
: D You had me at, apoptosis …
September 14, 2022 @ 8:23 am
“ You got your country music credibility wings, Teddy.”
Edgy conformity.
September 14, 2022 @ 9:30 am
Apparently, if you aren’t doing drugs, you are not sane.
September 15, 2022 @ 6:28 pm
Joining the greats. We love you Alabama…the band not the ignorant ass state. Give us Epstiens list and leave these long haired country boys alone.
September 14, 2022 @ 8:32 am
When it comes to taking their BS laws serious, Cherokee County ain’t no joke. I’ve been to court there. They love to put people in jail. If it was just weed, it’s a shame that the officer arrested him in the first place.
September 14, 2022 @ 8:34 am
Great read and spot on Kyle.
September 14, 2022 @ 9:02 am
SCM next country Badass Moments list.
Top 1 BadassTeddy Gentry Moment.
1. Getting busted with pot.
January 12, 2024 @ 12:02 pm
No need to lump-into,or berate so-called “Bible thumpers” into your made up BS about Southerners or their state…ignorance on parade here by those from all over the U.S….as if the same hasn’t happened everywhere…
For the purposelyy obtuse(stupid)commentors:it sounds like the officer followed the law,protocol,for weed possession…is it petty for a small amount..probably…but if its the written law,its to be followed,not ignored due to someone’s “feelings” or political BS….
September 14, 2022 @ 9:21 am
I would never live in a state that doesn’t have legal weed. I don’t smoke weed. It just says a lot about how backward and archaic a place is if it’s still not legal. Ridiculous. Poor dude had to have a mugshot in a jumpsuit for possession of weed. C’mon. But makes me like the band even more.
September 14, 2022 @ 9:34 am
The really frustrating thing is that medicinal legalization passed last year, but they still haven’t implemented the program. More frustrating than that is how locked down the medicinal legalization will be.
October 6, 2022 @ 8:52 am
Gentry and his cousins have help so many in the State of Alabama with their charitable acts of kindness since the 80s. To have used those words you used relating them to Teddy in this article is an absolute shame on your part!
January 20, 2024 @ 1:10 pm
I live in Alabama. The state is doing everything they can to make sure that the new medical cannabis law is not implemented. They also spend an inordinate amount of time working to keep blacks from voting, making sure that the poor receive no social services, that their children don’t receive adequate educations, the sick don’t receive necessary medical care, and denying women the right to freedom of choice. All of which is driven by racism and the church goers that seem to control the state government. But we do have good football teams and the fishing is great. Roll Tide!
February 25, 2024 @ 6:48 pm
I’ve been here 66 years and never heard of not one black not getting to vote. I’m betting you never have either!
April 23, 2024 @ 8:24 am
You’re a dumb ass. Nobody is denying the right to vote to anyone based on skin color. If you aren’t a felon, and you register to vote…..you get to vote. The same laws apply to everyone. I’m white, but I have to register to vote. As for the right to freedom of choice, it’s a state issue. Don’t like it, go murder your baby in another state. Denying social services? Give me a break! A larger than average percentage of residents in the state receive some type of social services. Even the residents able to work who choose not to work are in line to get their handouts. I’m not against welfare for those who need it or even medical cannabis. I do however feel that regulations should be kept tight on both. Plus, I get tired of smelling the stinking stuff every time I go out in public, even without legalization laws, the existing laws are not often enforced. If you want to smoke weed it’s your choice, just do it in a suitable location. You can’t walk up and down the street drinking beer, no body is complaining about that. Why should a persons be allowed to smoke week anywhere you want?
September 14, 2022 @ 9:58 am
Every State in the Union that tries, in any way, to “legalize or “decriminalize” cannabis is in direct violation of all Federal laws which declare it to be completely illegal. Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution. Of course, the people and the States never delegated to the Federal Government, via the Constitution, any authority or power to regulate any “drugs”, much less any plants. Thus, violating the 10th Amendment. But we would have to actually have a general government which is Federal in form for any of that to matter. What we have, at best, is a National government, with consolidated and concentrated powers with little to no oversight from the individual States or the citizenry.
September 14, 2022 @ 10:55 am
I lived in PA when pot was legalized in my home state. I was doing ok over there but not getting ahead and certain aspects of the place were driving me crazy. Eventually I just thought “what am I doing here?” So I moved back to a state with actual mountains and where marijuana was legal. I won’t be leaving.
September 14, 2022 @ 3:05 pm
….”I would never live in a state that doesn’t have legal weed. I don’t smoke weed. It just says a lot about how backward and archaic a place is if it’s still not legal.”….
I’m elated that you feel that way. It’s better for everyone if we all live around those with whom we agree.
November 26, 2022 @ 6:05 pm
Alcohol is a drug it’s caused a lot of deaths and sorrow .Don’t smoke weed myself but booze is lots worse in my book .
September 14, 2022 @ 9:31 am
The only outrage about Griner is from NPCs.
Most normal people understand that she broke the law in a foreign country. If you or I did her crime, no one would care if we rotted for years there.
September 14, 2022 @ 1:37 pm
You would care, your family would care. I can’t say I care much about that story, but that sentence is absolutely ridiculous.
September 14, 2022 @ 6:48 pm
No one would care is a common phrase to suggest no national interest.
Thanks for playing.
September 14, 2022 @ 9:38 am
WOW! Imagine a musician having possession of weed & drug paraphernalia. ???????????????? I enjoy a few songs of their’s but I have never been a huge fan of Alabama but they are probably the biggest thing to come out of the state musically speaking since Hank Williams how could anyone who’s from there not know who they were arresting?
September 14, 2022 @ 4:17 pm
Do you really think that a significant percentage of people–let alone, most–from Alabama would recognize Teddy Gentry out on his own, off stage, at 70 years old? As I recall, he was the second most prominent person in that band–and they were not exactly John, Paul, George and Ringo.
If you asked most country music fans what they know about Teddy Gentry, I bet lot of them would answer “Isn’t he the guy who shot the bear?” or “I think he’s dead.”
September 2, 2024 @ 3:17 pm
I bet Willie doesn’t go there
September 14, 2022 @ 9:39 am
I am an Alabamian. I am proud of this. Gentry betting busted for pot even in this state is no big deal! Here in Bama we love the boys in the band, PERIOD! End of story.
June 6, 2023 @ 4:48 pm
Damn right blows me away how people upset and pissed off about weed there yet we got men thinking of women women thinking of men don’t know what damn sex they are all you got to do is look down and see what God gave you that’s what the hell you are but y’all want to f*** some b**** about somebody smoking weed maybe I need to get on some damn weed
September 14, 2022 @ 9:42 am
Don’t nobody tell ‘em about Willie…
November 25, 2022 @ 4:58 pm
They already got him. Took his land in Mentone. That was the IRS, I think. Lawdogs, IRS, same thing only different.
September 14, 2022 @ 10:17 am
Here’s my thing on smoking weed. And I think it is ridiculous he got arrested for it.
But at the same time we were told all these years growing up not to smoke, smoking’s bad, the cost of smoking makes your healthcare costs go up for everyone.
Now they allow us to smoke weed.
Something’s strange about that.
September 14, 2022 @ 4:13 pm
I think they were mainly talking about cigarettes when warning us not to smoke, at least that was my case.
September 14, 2022 @ 10:56 am
I agree he should not have any preferential treatment. I am also against the legalization of marijuana, so I am not on Teddy’s side here. Nevertheless, it will not diminish my respect for him or anything like that. Love Alabama and always will.
September 14, 2022 @ 11:34 am
Why are you against marijuana being legalized? Not trying to argue with you, just wondering because I haven’t encountered someone in years who is actually against it being legalized (keep in mind, I’m Canadian, where marijuana is already legal).
September 14, 2022 @ 12:07 pm
Why are you against legalization of marijuana?
September 14, 2022 @ 7:20 pm
Go down the rabbit hole of William Randolph Hearst’s impact on getting weed classified illegal. Fun times, cliff notes is he didn’t like it that hemp was cheaper paper product and bought off congress to get Marijuana banned.
June 6, 2023 @ 4:52 pm
I agree with you there’s a hell lot more things in this world or in this country right now that we need to be concerned about first of all will be this administration which is driving this country in the ground but we pissed off by the guy smokes weed for his pain I was drug addict 30 something years and I’m going to tell you something right now marijuana it’s the least thing that we could be concerned about this transgender b******* all this other stuff going on with our children in school where they teaching them that’s why we need to be concerned about this man here his majors living he’s being true to his profession he has an amazing career and he might not be known by everybody across the world but he definitely known as Alabama one of the greatest bands that have a harmonized and stay together for so many years and still together today even after we lost Jeff but Jeff will always be in my heart I was born in Alabama raised no Florida and folks down there I’m just trying to folks it won’t be left alone we need to be concerned about bigger things in this country one like I said is this administration driving us in the ground spending all the money giving all the money to folks that’s been milking the system for years so I don’t know why we even talking or being upset with this man about weed God said his job Ted dentist job this administration is not doing their job and guess what we’re all affected by it
September 14, 2022 @ 11:04 am
If he’s arrested in Cherokee County, Alabama they knew exactly who he is. I’m also going to assume that it possibly was a feather in the police officer’s hat arresting Teddy. Other than a large random shallow lake there isn’t much else there of substance. So for the local police force and the media this is big news.
As for the devil’s lettuce, I am extremely allergic to it. I also travel a heck of a lot for work. From cities like DC to San Francisco there are always pockets of the devil’s lettuce haze. it annoys the heck out of me every time I catch a sniff of it. And I wish folks would be more respectful of those who choose not to partake. But I have no problem with it being legal. There are just bigger issues that the police could be spending their time on.
Teddy Randy and Jeff grew up in the area. I am not originally from this neck of the woods but plenty of my in-laws and friends know members of the band. From Randy showing up at chicken fights in his younger days to Jeff being prone to being on’ry in public from time to time, they are just normal locals who happened to make it big in the area. I kind of think it’s cool that Teddy gets busted for just being normal.
September 14, 2022 @ 7:29 pm
Chicken fights? How common is that?
September 14, 2022 @ 10:13 pm
Surprisingly it still happens. A few years ago I visited an uncle who had quite the elaborate Cockfighting breeding program. His only job was selling chickens and seems he made a good living at it. The Jacksonville State University sports teams are called the Gamecocks and I assume the name has something to do with cockfighting. Random fact.., Randy has an English degree from JSU.
My father in law who’s passed away now mentioned Randy would show up at the fights in the 80s and early 90s. I’ve never had a reason to find a fight but from what I gather they were just as much a social event.
What’s been the most interesting conversation and still makes me laugh thinking about it was a conversation I had with a lady who knew Randy’s mom. She explained to me that if not for ghosts visiting the band and telling them what songs to write and songs to pick they wouldn’t be a famous band. Said the same ghost who told Randy exactly how to write Tennessee River. I have to wonder if she’d ever partaken in the consumption of the devil’s lettuce. Unfortunately, she’s now a ghost too…
September 15, 2022 @ 8:39 am
@chris31
Interesting. Thanks for this response. I lived in Puerto Rico in the late-80s and early-90s and was involved in a legal case about cockfighting, which was (and maybe still is) pretty common in rural areas there. The issue in the case was that the spurs they strapped to the cocks’ ankles had always been carved out of bone, but those broke frequently. Someone had the bright idea of making the spurs out of a durable, hard plastic and patented the idea–but then didn’t follow up and actually produce them. Later, a different company wanted to make cock spurs out of hard plastic and the company with the original patent sued to block the second company from making money off what the patent-holder said was their idea.
September 17, 2022 @ 8:38 am
chris31, you are definitely familiar with life in rural Alabama! The band Alabama continuing to live in rural Alabama as opposed to relocating to Nashville was probably the wisest decision from a public relations perspective; their private lives would not have remained so private in a more populated area. It’s actually shocking that it’s taken this long for something “negative” to affect the band aside from the dust-ups with Mark Herndon, which weren’t known until well after the band’s heyday.
September 14, 2022 @ 12:01 pm
It didn’t take an arrest for him to get any “cred” or any of that crap. Silly. “Doobage”…that’s funny. Thanks for the article.
September 14, 2022 @ 12:22 pm
Pot is so great. Its the greatest miracle in the history of the world. It cures all ailments and is completely harmless. In fact, its always beneficial. A steady stream of pot should be started in vitro and continued until natural death. Any person who thinks there should be any limit to its use or distribution is a fascist. Long live pot.
September 14, 2022 @ 1:12 pm
You don’t have to think that cannabis is a panacea to think that keeping it illegal is idiotic. If I can legally purchase something as strong and mind-altering as Everclear, there’s no reason I shouldn’t be able to legally purchase weed.
September 14, 2022 @ 1:18 pm
Here here. I’m not a pot person. But situations like this illustrate the lunacy of current laws. At least decriminalize it. Teddy Gentry shouldn’t have to wear an orange jumpsuit for this.
September 14, 2022 @ 12:30 pm
Guess Down Home didn’t know him by name or treat him like family..
September 14, 2022 @ 3:34 pm
Well, I heard he was singing “Roll On” when he got pulled over.
September 14, 2022 @ 1:38 pm
What i wouldn’t have given to have lived in a state where medicinal pot was legal, in 2012 & 2013.
Oral chemo was debilitating, but did allow me to get back to work, 2 weeks and 4 days after a total right breast mastectomy, & partial left breast, m.
One of my mentors in nuclear medicine called from Miami, one afternoon, while i was removing tape and bandages, to gently clean, & put on new bandages, & tape.
He said, what are you doing?
Replied, swearing like a sailor, while pulling this tape off. He said, Go for it. That got a laugh, which is what he was going for.
He then stated, too bad you are currently in Oklahoma, instead of Colorado.
He had that right.
If had been in Colorado, could have gotten some medicinal, and possibly cooled the chemo down enough, to be able to sleep more than 15 minutes at a time.
September 14, 2022 @ 8:37 pm
Cancer sufferers on chemo are at much greater risk of catching pneumonia. Smoking marijuana is terrible for pneumonia. It can further increase the chemo patient’s chances of getting pneumonia and will exacerbate existing pneumonia.
September 14, 2022 @ 9:17 pm
Thank you for your info.
Had no immune system left. In, i believe, ’14, Trigeminal shingles on left cheek.
One of my colleagues threw me in isolation for 10 Days, on med/surg.
Boy, was i pissed.
Was like throwing TIGGER in prison.
But you know how there is a humorous side to a lot of things?
All Dr. friends, & some of the other med. staff, all gowned/masked, gloved up, to come visit.
Everybody taking the time to bitch about hospital politics, spouses who were having affairs, upcoming divorces, the upcoming estate sale at the Texas County fairgrounds. You name it, we covered it all.
At one point, one of the Dr’s. was sitting on the bed, tears in his eyes, head slightly bowed. His wife & the lead, in respiratory therapy, were both doing the physical therapy guy. At the same time.
Told him, Look, Jeff, you don’t deserve this. You’re a good guy.
At another time, one of my Dr. buds doubled over at the waist, busting out laughing, then pointing, saying, You’re IN the hospital? Steam was coming off me, as i stood in the doorway, of one of the negative pressure hospital “suites” holding on to my I.V. Ugh.
Friday, Saturday, & Sunday nights were pretty cool though. On call radiology staff would come in, pull up a chair, kick their feet up on the bed, & we’d clean med surg, out of Sprite & Graham crackers, get yelled at & watch movies.
Trust me. Had i lived in Colorado, would have burned through some of their medicinal supply.
September 15, 2022 @ 4:16 am
That’s where edibles come in.
September 15, 2022 @ 2:07 pm
The point being, when your body cannot rest, because of the markedly damaging side effects of chemo – one of which can be an almost total lack of sleep, due to physical reactions, then, marijuana can come into play as a relaxant.
It is very tough to try to describe.
How do you convey to someone that you are too wiped out to even lie down, that your body will not come to rest.
It is not a fun ride.
My son called, November of ’13, to say he would be flying into Amarillo, from Jersey, for a week, over Thanksgiving.
That night, decided *uck it.
Not going through this anymore. Was the living/barely walking dead, anyway.
Didn’t want to live the rest of life, like that.
Stopped the chemo cold turkey, that night.
Goal being, to have at least a tiny bit of energy (hopefully) when my son was there.
A friend asked if i would go to Amarillo, to an oncologist appt. with her. She had just been diagnosed with cancer, herself.
We both rescheduled patients for the day of her appt.
Before leaving Amarillo, we stopped for lunch at Olive Garden, and my body would not even let me gently lie down in the booth, where we were sitting. Looked at Lynn, with apologetic eyes. She pushed the car keys across the booth, & i went to the car.
At another time held Lynn’s hand, during her spinal tap. Kept looking into her eyes, squeezing her hand, and smiling.
Lynn passed away, in 2018, at the age of 41.
Thank goodness she, her wonderful husband, & beautiful daughter had moved back home to Georgia, where they all had/have immense support.
We were all devastated when she died. Shattered.
She and her parents knew, & loved Charlie Daniels. And, Lynn had some sweet stories of him.
@robbushblog,
Very much understand what you are saying about smoking pot, & the possibility of getting pneumonia.
There are times in life, when you have to weigh a negative against a positive, & decide what is best.
Was a totally moot point in my situation, because did not live in a legalized state.
September 14, 2022 @ 2:11 pm
I’m so happy Griner is in a Russian prison. I wish all America haters could spend time in one.
Marijuana is for degenerates and losers. If you want to engage in degenerate behavior, move somewhere else. As for the South, I’m proud we still have some shame.
September 14, 2022 @ 3:29 pm
Do you believe that alcohol is for degenerates and lovers, or is that particular drug okay for upstanding citizens to consume?
September 14, 2022 @ 3:41 pm
Alcohol has been a part of Western culture for Millennia. Marijuana is an alien substance, prominent in primitive cultures. It has no place in Western societies. It is used as a mass intoxicant because it creates lethargy, servility, sloth, and apathy.
September 14, 2022 @ 3:49 pm
Increasingly, with the more concentrated, modern varieties, it creates violence, paranoia, and psychosis. So, now, its also great for flash mobs, assaults, and as an aperitif prior to burning a city to the ground during a mostly peaceful protest.
September 14, 2022 @ 4:22 pm
Ahh, I assumed that your distaste for cannabis was based in racism, so thanks for confirming it. Never change, RD. And maybe it’s just me, but I’ve seen far more alcohol fueled assaults than Marijuana fueled assaults.
September 14, 2022 @ 4:31 pm
Actually, I think that many (most?) of the morons engaged in the late unpleasantness of the past 5/6 years were deracinated, white fools of the “ear gauge” variety.
September 15, 2022 @ 12:09 pm
Distillation was invented in the Muslim world in the medieval period. By that logic a European descended person drinking any spirits harder than wine or beer is a pawn for Islam or at least contributing to the degeneracy of Western civilization. So should we try outlawing liquor? What’s the culturally acceptable ABV%? Any suggestions on avoiding the incredible gang violence of Prohibition?
March 10, 2023 @ 12:36 pm
You seem to think you know it all about pot, you don’t. Just wondering how you got so brainwashed. You’re from Alabama? Nuff said
August 16, 2023 @ 5:06 am
I am from Alabama…..originally from Chicago Illinois…..but grew up in Alabama and proud of it….. No need to bash someone’s hometown….
September 15, 2022 @ 4:19 am
I don’t recall Griner ever saying she hated America. On the other hand, you’re a prime candidate for jail time, considering how much you go on and on about everything that’s wrong with America today. Turn yourself in ya fucking idiot.
September 14, 2022 @ 4:12 pm
They’ve left him defenceless!
September 14, 2022 @ 4:33 pm
I think this is great news because it can only mean that fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, LSD, and meth are completely gone from the county.
A job well done, fellas. Go after the moonshiners next.
September 14, 2022 @ 4:57 pm
Angel Olsen and Sturgill Simpson, in New Version of Big Time, from the ticker tape thingy above.
Well, now. Me Likey, a LOT.
It is REALLY good.
https://youtu.be/C7cAafpRlbw
September 14, 2022 @ 5:17 pm
God bless and Jesus Loves You
September 14, 2022 @ 6:00 pm
It’s not just idiot Alabama. Idiot Vermont locked up Trey Anastasio (Phish frontman) for pot several years ago. What a waste of taxpayer money.
When people rag on pot, I say, “Yes. It’s sad. Just imagine what Paul McCartney and Willie Nelson could have accomplished if they didn’t smoke pot every day.”
September 14, 2022 @ 6:50 pm
Don’t mention Willie. Trigger will write another article decrying how Willie is only known for his pot smoking. As if Willie hasn’t encouraged that reputation.
September 18, 2022 @ 2:53 pm
To paraphrase Alan Jackson (and Bob McDill), “We ain’t quite as backward as we used to be.” Pot’s been legal to possess and use here in VT for several years and the first retail recreational marijuana shops will open next month.
September 14, 2022 @ 7:18 pm
I was born and raised in Alabama, and Teddy, and the band, already had country music credibility for me, and their other fans, 40-plus years ago. When my sister and I were children, my parents blasted Alabama’s music, loud and proud, in the house, in the car, and everywhere they could, basically. There was a lot of stuff in my childhood that was very painful, even PTSD-level, and that I wish I could just forget, but Alabama’s classic music is one of my best childhood memories. Not a partaker of doobage, myself, but I’m going to play some Alabama now, and loud!! 🙂
September 14, 2022 @ 8:48 pm
They shouldn’t be ashamed for arresting him. He broke the law and got caught. Personally, I think pot should be legal, and it should be taxed and regulated like the other mind-altering and/or smokeable products, as long as I don’t have to smell that shit everywhere I go. I already smell it too much, wafting from passing vehicles and what-not, and it’s only legal for medicinal use here in Florida. Driving while smoking weed ain’t legal use. Neither is smoking it in a movie theater bathroom or a restaurant’s parking lot, which are other places I have smelled that skunk weed lately. Smoke your shit at home with the doors and windows closed, potheads!
September 14, 2022 @ 9:27 pm
You knocked this one out of the park Trigger. Grand Ole Slam. Laughed on the frontend, and a hell to the yeah on the backend.
September 15, 2022 @ 5:37 am
I actually don’t see a problem with his arrest and I’ll explain. First, though I have no problem with MJ or people using it even though smoking it is terrible for you.
I also think it should not be legal to arrest someone for possession or use in most cases.
HOWEVER
When you decide to use a mind altering substance and GET BEHIND THE WHEEL of a vehicle then you are going beyond the harm you are doing to yourself smoking it and now putting others at risk DRIVING A VEHICLE.
Ok when I first read this I thought he was out in public walking down the street or sitting somewhere having a toke. NO not the case. And I’ve smoked enough of it too to know that it messes with your cognitive ability and I know enough dead people killed from impaired drivers or killed by themselves driving impaired that I really don’t have any sympathy for him.
He made a choice. A choice that put others at risk. A stupid game and a stupid prize.
Smoke all you want but do it properly.
Again it’s stupid as hell to arrest people for MJ but again also it is stupid as hell to drive impaired as well.
September 15, 2022 @ 8:31 am
I like Alabama, the band. I don’t think anyone needs to be put in a jumpsuit for marijuana possession.
That said, it’s not a harmless substance. I know a number of long-term users who it has harmed in various ways, from psychological dependence to a panacea for deep psychological issues. It also does lead some to harder stuff. It’s especially dangerous for those with existing depression or predisposition to psychotic disorders.
Truth be told, if I to choose between living in a state where all drugs are decriminalized (like OR) and a state where marijuana is illegal, I’d choose the latter every time.
September 15, 2022 @ 8:37 am
Geez,you’d think Teddy was,um,BLACK,the way he was arrested for POT POSSESSION !!!!
Anyway,I hope Alabama puts out some new music soon; it’s been a long time,boys !!!!
September 15, 2022 @ 8:48 am
My God, how many times has Willie Nelson been arrested for it. Give the man a break, he us 70 years old, maybe the drug helps with pain. The treatment he received was a little excessive. I’ve been an Alabama fan since the 70’s so this little thing isn’t going to change my opinion. They will always be my favorite.
September 15, 2022 @ 11:07 am
There is no one who can claim to be a conservative and, at the same time, be against the decriminalization or legalization of virtually all drugs. I know that, in my corner of the world, each drug arrest costs ME and other CONSERVATIVE taxpayers THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS in law enforcement salaries, incarceration costs, prosecution costs, probation costs, etc. And, as soon as the perpetrators are let out of jail, virtually all of them immediately go back to using whatever drug they were busted for. I’m am beyond tired of my hard-earned money going to pay for USELESS AND DEMONSTRABLY INEFFECTIVE jail time. For those of you conservatives who disagree with me, then answer the following: We have had a “War on Drugs” in this nation for over fifty years. If that “War on Drugs” has been a success, then describe what its failure would look like.
September 15, 2022 @ 5:45 pm
….”There is no one who can claim to be a conservative and, at the same time, be against the decriminalization or legalization of virtually all drugs.”….
You might be right, which is another reason why I’ve steered away from calling myself “Conservative” in recent years. Conservatives are leftists, minus 10 years of advancement and balls.
Drugs deteriorate civil society. If not civil society, what are you trying to conserve?
September 15, 2022 @ 7:40 pm
Drugs are not the only things that deteriorate civil society. If you don’t believe me, then take a look in the mirror, assuming, of course, that your Section 8 hovel has such.
September 16, 2022 @ 4:09 am
That’s it? That’s your answer? I was hoping you’d eloquently explain to me the “Conservative” case for legalizing drugs, and the net benefit to civil society.
September 16, 2022 @ 6:42 am
You did NOT respond to my query, which is, if the 50+ year War on Drugs has been a success, then how would you define a FAILURE? From 1920 to 1933 the USA was under constitutionally-mandated PROHIBITION of alcoholic beverages. How did that work out?
Why do you love the drug cartels? Why do you want to enrich CRIMINALS?
Now, let’s test just how far you’re willing to go in your zealously misguided campaign. I’m already paying more than enough in taxes to support law enforcement, the prison system, the probation system, the prosecutors, et al. How much of your money are you willing to send me so that I can make a donation, on your behalf, to my local law enforcement to continue the never-ending WAR ON DRUGS?
September 15, 2022 @ 12:16 pm
In my country (Italy) it’s totally illegal. everyone i know is puffing. who benefits? Mafia.
September 15, 2022 @ 6:24 pm
One of the major reasons our country is going to shit is because we have lost respect for our institutions. We don’t respect the govt. because we’ve seen that most all politicians are for sale and their loyalty to party supersedes their loyalty to US citizens. We also have the insane hypocrisy of allowing alcohol to be legal and not marijuana. Alcohol is far more destructive to people and society than pot. The politicians, whether it be on a national level or in a small town in Alabama, lose respect when they aren’t intellectually honest. With each passing decade, we are becoming more of a banana republic. It’s sad that we continue to create these self inflicted wounds when we desperately need leaders that demonstrate integrity and intellectual honesty. To do what they did to Mr. Gentry is crazy. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have crazies in some states refusing to reasonably punish murderers and rapist. I fear for my grandchildren because of the country they will live in if our leaders keep making decisions that further erodes our trust.
September 15, 2022 @ 7:19 pm
This is off the subject of pot, but still pertains to Alabama. I know that Mark Herndon was sued by the band sometime ago, but I never got the full story of why? Supposedly he made more money than he was supposed to on their last tour together? Can anybody shed some light on this?
September 16, 2022 @ 6:31 am
Herndon maintains that after a three-year battle, the courts ruled in his favor, with Alabama forced to pick up his legal fees. https://www.billboard.com/music/country/alabama-drummer-mark-herndon-autobiography-7271744/
September 16, 2022 @ 6:28 am
Haters get ready, here I am again! hahaha So if it’s illegal in that particular area, and he can’t bother to follow the laws (regardless how idiotic they may be), then he should be arrested. Why doesn’t he put his extensive bank account and reputation toward changing the law? When I don’t like an ordinance in my township, I go to the township meetings regularly and make appeal after appeal to the supervisors and my neighbors to get the ordinance changed. Yeah, it’s hard, time consuming work. But it beats a mugshot. Speaking of which. This sentence: “But handcuffs, mugshots, orange jumpsuits, and prison bars should be reserved for people who are a danger to themselves or others” is a typical “rules for thee, not for me” kinda attitude. Again, work to change the laws. Otherwise, bear the consequences.
September 16, 2022 @ 11:41 am
The do-gooders are actually causing great harm to America when it comes to the hysteria over drugs. I have an elderly friend, who, because of a serious tractor accident, severely damaged his spinal cord. He has had multiple back surgeries, including one at the Mayo Clinic, seeking relief from debilitating, crippling pain. He finally found an orthopedic clinic that prescribed him two types of narcotic pills. He would take one of the pills in the morning and one in the evening. I watched the man, as a result of the narcotics, go from literally hobbling, stooped-over on a walker, to leaving the walker behind, straightening up, and walking almost normally. He progressed so well that he was able to drive his pickup on a several-hundred-mile round trip to check on a farm he owns out-of-state. After about a year of freedom from debilitating, crippling pain, the clinic informed him that the “do-gooders” in the DEA had determined that the clinic could be held legally responsible if he became addicted or had an accident while taking the meds. So . . . you guessed it. They cancelled his prescriptions and, now, he’s once more bent over on his walker, hobbling, taking baby-steps, and grimacing in pain all the while. THANK YOU, DO-GOODERS, for ruining a good man’s life!
September 16, 2022 @ 4:31 pm
Sick anecdote, dawg. Now do the destroyed communities, families, and lives left in the wake of opioids.
I’ve got a great anecdote too, if you wanna hear it.
September 16, 2022 @ 8:17 pm
FAIL! You have FAILED, once again, to answer the questions I have posed. WHY ARE YOU AFRAID TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS? Has the “WAR ON DRUGS,” initiated by the Nixon administration in 1971, been a SUCCESS? If it HAS, then WHAT THE HELL WOULD FAILURE LOOK LIKE?
Are you a member of a Mexican cartel, by the way?
Answer my questions, and stop trying to change the subject.
September 17, 2022 @ 7:32 am
If you want drugs to be legalized as a matter of principle, just say that. And then we can agree that the negative affect drugs have on society isn’t important to you; and that having a happy, civil, orderly, productive, moral society isn’t important to you.
As for the War On Drugs question, I thought you wanted a “Conservative” to answer it, and I told you I’m not one. But if you want me to answer it anyway, here’s my answer:
I need to know how many people didn’t die, and how many families, lives, or communities weren’t destroyed by drugs, as a result of the War On Drugs. Obviously there’s no way to quantify that. But we can look at drug-related arrests and deaths.
I need to know the data for drug-related deaths and arrests prior to 1971, by year, and post 1971, by year. It’s difficult to give you the type of answer you’re asking for, without the data. Because you apparently believe it was a failure, I assume you have the data handy. Can you please provide it?
To be clear, regardless of the War On Drugs’ success or failure, drugs destroy lives, and should be illegal. If you disagree, take your logic to its conclusion and apply it to murder.
September 17, 2022 @ 8:57 am
So, now King Honky of Cartelshire, the drug-runners’ best friend, is now comparing drug use to MURDER. You can’t make this stuff up, folks! Here’s a question for you, King Honky of Cartelshire: Does putting people in jail or prison for victimless crimes DESTROY the lives of the incarcerated AND the FAMILIES of the incarcerated? Are you FINE with having your TAX DOLLARS support the families of those drug users who are in prison?
What else should be prohibited, King Honky of Cartelshire? Should ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES be made illegal? I can point to families whose lives have been negatively impacted by alcohol use. Should we return to PROHIBITION?
Obviously you have not studied all the facts and ramifications of the disastrous “War on Drugs,” so I am providing a link for you to begin your educational process with respect to same. Please try your best to get your EMOTIONS out of the way and rely on FACTS to form an opinion.
Got it, King Honky of Cartelshire?
https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/four-decades-counting-continued-failure-war-drugs#
September 18, 2022 @ 12:01 pm
….”So, now King Honky of Cartelshire, the drug-runners’ best friend, is now comparing drug use to MURDER.”….
You’ve intentionally taken my suggestion out of context to score internet points. Should bad things be legal, based on your logic of, “People are still gonna do it.”? If yes, are you willing to take that logic to its conclusion?
….”Does putting people in jail or prison for victimless crimes DESTROY the lives of the incarcerated AND the FAMILIES of the incarcerated?”……
Sorry, Homes, I’m not granting the premise that drug use is generally victimless. I’m 100% for my tax dollars going toward the funding of law and order.
….”Obviously you have not studied all the facts and ramifications of the disastrous “War on Drugs,” so I am providing a link for you to begin your educational process with respect to same. Please try your best to get your EMOTIONS out of the way and rely on FACTS to form an opinion.”…..
Thanks for the link. I read through it, and now have a better understanding of why you hold the position you hold; although in my estimation you are the one allowing your emotions to creep into your decision-making on this issue. I would also caution you against relying on the Cato Institute as a source to draw your conclusions from. Many of the things stated in that article were false, particularly on the issue of race. Also, Libertarianism is not Conservatism.
I don’t know that you can definitively call the War On Drugs a failure, because you cannot see how things would’ve gone without it. On the other hand, you can’t call it a success, for those same reasons.
September 18, 2022 @ 1:21 pm
I have a reference point with the Cato Institute. You have none, except, possibly, the film “Reefer Madness.” In fact, that makes PERFECT SENSE! Your whole reason for wanting to imprison people for victimless crimes stems from you being a fan of that movie, “Reefer Madness!” No doubt that film got your emotions stirred up to the point that your standard response to victimless crimes now goes like this: “By God, them there hippies ‘en them there jazz musicians smokin’ that there dope should all be in prison, ‘cuz I seen that there movie, ‘Reefer Madness,’ en, by God, it proves that that there dope makes them pipple CRAZY, and they start rapin’ en murderin’ folks wid just one ur two puffs!”
By the way: The Cato Institute is FAR from the only organization that has chronicled the ABSOLUTE FAILURE of your “War on Drugs.” I am not surprised you do not know that, however.
Now, King Honky of Cartelshire; take your hatchet and go down to the corner liquor store and demolish all its inventory! DO IT, NOW! That’ll teach them drunkards, by God!
Oh, yes . . . one more thing.
September 18, 2022 @ 4:03 pm
You seem really upset.
Without getting even more upset, tell me what you’re trying to conserve. Also, please confirm that you believe drugs are harmless.
September 19, 2022 @ 10:48 am
Hey, King Honky of Cartelshire: The only thing that upsets me is the fact that, in this day and time, September 19, 2022, there are still Neanderthals such as you, who learned everything they ever needed to know about drugs, by God, from watching the movie, “Reefer Madness.”
What am I trying to conserve? It’s called FREEDOM, Bubbaboy. It’s called LIBERTY, Bubbaboy. It’s called CONSERVING MY TAX DOLLARS, Bubbaboy. Are all drugs harmless? NO. Are MOST of them harmless? YES! But Neanderthals named “Bubbaboy” don’t have the knowledge to determine what is or what is not harmless.
I have already detailed the plight of my elderly friend, who, thanks to you and other drool factories, is once more consigned to a crippling existence as a result of his MIRACULOUS PAIN-KILLING PRESCRIPTIONS being cancelled.. But, BY GOD, you and the other fans of “Reefer Madness” know that those drugs he was taking were EEEEEEVILLLLL, BY GOD!
Sorry Bubbaboy, but neither you nor any other Neanderthal has the right to dictate what any adult can or cannot ingest. I don’t do drugs. Never have. Never will. But I have conducted enough research to know that the great, unwashed ignorami (look in the mirror if you don’t understand that word) don’t have a clue that IMPRISONING PEOPLE FOR MERELY POSSESSING DRUGS does not work. It is not working now. It has not worked in the past. It will not work in the future.
But you continue to evade my questions, Bubbaboy. I stated that I have known of families that have been adversely affected by alcohol. SHOULD ALCOHOL BE BANNED, Bubbaboy? WIPE THAT DROOL OFF YOUR FACE, THUMP THAT BIG OL’ BIBLE, AND ANSWER THE DAMNED QUESTION, Bubbaboy? SHOULD ALCOHOL BE BANNED?
(Watch Bubbaboy evade the question once again, folks.)
September 17, 2022 @ 9:41 am
Up in Pennsylavania the democratic candidate for governor said we could let non-violent offenders (drug charges, mostly) out of prison without compromising public saftery, and the republicans are crapping themselves warning people that its the end times if he gets elected, so y’all need to decide if you’re for or against law and order, which laws and in what order…
September 17, 2022 @ 6:57 pm
Not remotely similar. Fetterman wants to release all manner of criminals, including thieves, burglars, embezzlers, and all manner of lowlifes who have perpetrated crimes against the innocent. What you are intimating is not remotely related to the discussion at hand. Thieves deserve to be in jail or prison. Persons smoking weed DO NOT. Do you understand the difference?
September 17, 2022 @ 7:07 pm
“If you’re gonna live in Bama, don’t have marijuana in your van..”
September 25, 2022 @ 2:49 pm
5 points
September 21, 2022 @ 5:21 pm
Alabama (the state) is a third world shithole with lawmakers like Jeff sessions and Roy Moore. What do you expect?
September 21, 2022 @ 5:36 pm
California (the state, not the hotel) is a third world shithole with lawmakers like Gavin Newsom (Auntie Pelosi’s, Boy). Gavin is a first class embarrassment for California, let alone the U.S.
October 6, 2022 @ 4:01 pm
I’m from Pennsylvania, home of the shoo fly pie
October 6, 2022 @ 7:45 pm
There is a lot of beauty in the state of Pennsylvania.
September 30, 2022 @ 8:02 pm
The war on drugs has long been my opinion to be a complete failure if they can’t win the war on synthetic/fake drugs more less what we define as the war on drugs.
Here in my home state Kentucky they would sentence drug offenders to capital punishment if they could it’s not brain surgery that lawmakers here in bluegrass state has no intention of other forms of grass i guess. my radical views on war on drugs is why non violent drug users should not be sent to prison just to end up buying drugs from guards instead of drug dealers at Kentucky State Reformatory
December 29, 2022 @ 9:39 am
I am guessing that perhaps he was operating a car at the time. If so, that does make him a danger and he should have been arrested. I was not raising a stink about Brittney Griner nor do I care that Mr. Gentry broke the law and was arrested. That is the whole reason for laws.
February 16, 2023 @ 11:10 pm
Irony; the act of writing a story that makes an issue out of someone making an issue out of a story. Two misdemeanors. A fine and maybe some community service. Doesn’t matter what we think as long as what he did was a crime. And until you change minds and change the law, what he did was illegal. I like Teddy and knew him in Myrtle Beach when the guys played at the Bowery. I figure he’s more embarrassed by all this attention as much as he was by being arrested. Pay the fine. Write a song that tells the story. He’ll have is money back in no time and laugh about it all the way to the bank. Sad he was arrested but it WILL make a Hell of a song!! Here’s a toast to the boys for all the great memories I have today!! SALUTE!!
May 11, 2023 @ 9:57 am
theAMAZINGcool perused this thread !!!
June 17, 2023 @ 9:35 am
Don’t you all thank this outlaw business done got out of hand, We were wrapped up in our music that’s why we never saw, the cars pull up the boys get out, the room feels up with law, they got me for possession of something that was gone, gone, gone. After running brother Teddy’s driver’s license this arresting officer knew who he had now he’s thinking if I can arrest this guy then I’m gonna make head line news for arresting a member of one of the greatest country music bands of all time and what a story he can tell his grandkids years from now, how he arrested a very hardened 70 year old dangerous band member for having in his possession a plant that is often used for pain and other medical purposes, brother Willie has used this plant most of his adult life and he just turned 90 year old, many brothers and sisters in the music industry use this plant on a daily basis and it’s something they don’t try to hide, this plant has been legalized in many states. What this arrest boils down to is getting the title of having arrested a country music star, nothing more, in the end brother Teddy will most likely have to pay a huge fine and the arresting officer can walk around with his chest stuck out saying look at me, I’m the one that arrested a country music star, give him a pat on the back. And just in case you reading this Mr famous officer who arrested a 70 year old country music star from one of the greatest bands ever for having a plant that is legalized in several states, in my opinion what you did just to have the big name of doing it is total BS. I wish Teddy the very best through this uncalled for incident.
February 6, 2024 @ 5:06 am
Reading through the comments makes me realize that I am unsurprised by the majority of the responses. Situational “Law & Order”. The barometers of the commenters are broken. It depends on “who” the person is breaking the law that determines if they are to be arrested or prosecuted.
I commend the officers who made the arrest and followed the law.