Man Fined $5,000 for Importing “Weed”
22-year-old Taylor Mathew Grier of Ariel Close, Devonshire, was this morning [Apr.5] hit with a $5,000 fine for importing 2.03 grams of cannabis through LF Wade International Airport on 24th May 2010.
Charged with the offence of importation of an illegal drug, Mr Grier pleaded guilty and his lawyer, Elizabeth Christopher appealed to the Magistrate for a small fine saying that this was a first offence of this nature; and that the amount was small.
Cindy Clarke, Prosecutor, gave evidence that the drug was found in a twist in the back pocket of the jeans that Mr Grier was wearing; and`that when questioned by Customs, Mr Grier had said that it was “weed”.
On hearing that he was to be fined $5,000, Mr Grier exclaimed loudly: “What?” In the resulting verbal exchange between himself and Magistrate Archie Warner, Mr Grier said that he had a baby on the way and that he was trying to complete his studies at an overseas college. Magistrate Warner suggested to him that instead of buying “weed” he could have bought baby milk.
With the drugs charge dealt with, Mr Grier was then charged with driving whilst disqualified. This offence was alleged to have taken place on 24 September 2010. He pleaded guilty, and Ms Christopher asked that Mr Grier be spared a prison sentence for this offence. Magistrate Warner asked Mr Grier if he recalled being warned about severe penalties when he was first disqualified. Mr Grier replied that he did recall being warned about a possible jail sentence if he disobeyed the Court’s disqualification order.
With that, Magistrate Warner fined Mr Grier $400 and awarded a sentence of thirty days imprisonment on the driving whilst disqualified charge. At the same time the Magistrate ordered that the $5,000 fine must be paid immediately or that Mr Grier must serve thirty days in lieu, but with the thirty days to run concurrent with the thirty day incarceration for the traffic violation.
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$5000 fine for 2grams?!?!?! Are they trying to make back their money for what it took to process this case? this is crazy! 2grams is for PERSONAL USE not SUPPLY!
using their valuations a pound is worth 1.1 million dollars!!!!!!!
The charge was “Importation”.
Must have been come Columbian stuff….stronger the smell the stronger the fine….You’ll get lesser fines for Bermy Homegrown Weed
Bermy homegrown is some of the most potent stuff…If you want to try come St. Geo..Land of Exotics mate
am i reading the last paragraph correctly…he’s been handed a 30 day sentence for the traffic violation and if he doesn’t pay the $5000 he will have to do a 30 day sentence to run concurrently…doesn’t that make the $5000 payment null and void??! he’s doing the time anyway so why would he pay?
you obviously dont know how the law works here..
I know exactly how the law works here…my point was why even mention $5000 if you know it makes no sense for him to pay it!! Only an idiot would choose to sit in prison AND pay $5000 when one cancels out the other!
So why pay the $5,000 for the weed if he already has to serve 30 days for the traffic violation, since the additional 30 days for not paying the $5,000 would run concurrently????
hmmm… sounds like he got off pretty good, but will most likely be on the stop-list, so much for “trying to complete his studies at an overseas college”…
$5000 for importing 2 grams vs a promotion for going $20 million over budget on the new court building…
pretty obvious that the intent is to subsidize mismanagement.
@ Legalize it.
Please dont be so ignorant,have you not been watching the news in Bermuda all this violence and you want a drug made legal ,its 2011 ,wake up.
you are the one who needs to wake up. Its our outdated laws that have caused us to get to this point. It’s ironic you use the word ignorant when it is you who are ingorant to the fact that where drug laws have been modernised to reflect reality, drug related crime and disease have dropped. ie. Portugal, Switzerland, Spain, Netherlands, Canada and many others.
tell me I’m lying!
Ok, jredmond, you asked for it…you’re lying.
The charge here is international trafficking through an airport. There are some countries which have relaxed the laws related to posession of small amounts of cannabis, but that for posession, which is different to trafficking. You’re comparing two different things.
you can’t read, because I wasn’t referring to anything you just commented on. My response was to the above commenter calling legalisation efforts ignorant, when alot the evidence shows otherwise. The defendant in this case is a straight dummy for going through an airport with a little bit of weed in his pocket. I was never trying to argue that. please read fella.
Maybe you need to read fella. You said that laws in the other countries have been “modernised” in some way. They have, but not for trafficking internationally. In respect to international trafficking our laws are not “outdated”. You could argue the laws could be updated with repect to possession, but not for trafficking.
It’s a subtlety that appears to be beyond you.
I wasn’t commenting on trafficking. how many times must i repeat this. you are like arguing with a brick wall.
I was commenting on this statement:
“Please dont be so ignorant,have you not been watching the news in Bermuda all this violence and you want a drug made legal ,its 2011 ,wake up”
This particular statement has no refference to trafficking it. It simpling states that all legalisation efforts are ignorant, to which I offered a valid response. stop being so stubborn
crazytalk,,,u av no clue,,,in europe if you are traficking small amounts such as dat,they give you a fine on the spot and if you cant pay it,they send you court where you also get fined but must pay the courts…for instance,i went to amsterdam and took 30 grams of skunk back with me and got stoped at gatwick and was given a 300 pound fine….i ave been caught 6 times on road with more then 5 grams n less den14 n they issue cautions like a traffic ticket…i travel,to france,spain,portugal,n holland on a regular n the laws in d east are much more humaine then the west…england just last week,guy gets caught,90grams coke,3 trash bags of skunk,100 x pills,some heroin,and he got a suspended sentence and dats real talk…d laws against drugs av changed everywhere besides USA and bermuda
You think the laws have changed “everywhere except USA and Bermuda”…? Everywhere, really?
In many parts of the world drug trafficking (still) carries a death sentence. In the UK it (still) would lead to heavy fine or prison, depending on the amount etc. If you think people in the UK carrying around huge stashes of drugs, including heroin and cocaine, get off without prison, you’re wrong.
For simple possession of small amounts of cannabis, you have a point. But not for trafficking.
But anyway, you think I have no clue. Fine. But you’re wrong about trafficking.
You just made my eyes bleed… Please learn to type.
Wow, Serg, you sound like a real stand up guy. All those drugs, getting caught that many times – all that international travel – you must be some sort of genius. I’ll bet your mom and dad are proud of your accomplishments.
Such a fine role model for our youngsters. (Yea, right)
Yup…. you heard him right. ITS 2011, TAKE THE PROFITS OF THESE SUBSTANCES OUT OF THE HANDS OF CRIMINALS. With all this violence you want to keep these criminals pockets fat, by allowing these substances to remain illegal!!!, wake up lol
@ Ven… u wake up! all this violence is NOT over drugs! these youths are not out there making any money. thats why they rob and steal. Go spend some time in the streets you might just learn something.
Sorry to say, but that fine is just plain outrageous…
I do not support drugs in any fashion i believe in a drug free lifestyle,and you call that ignorant? please.
A lot of people want drugs legalized so they can smoke the rest of thier brain cells out in peace and continue talking about something when they should really keep their mouths closed.
Its grown men in there 40′s and 50′s who cry like little 10 year old girls because people wont legalize.It comes a time in life when u have to put childish things away,and MAN UP,Grow some balls and do something productive with your life.whining like a lil child because you cant have your little smoke is unacceptable.And destructive to the community.
There are countries that have prostitution legal,should we also make it legal in Bermuda and start telling young girls sell your bodies freely because other countries are doing it?
A lot of you guys who will fight to the end for this stupid issue of legalization. You need to pull down your skirts,and start acting like real men..And start looking out for the younger generation and the future of bermuda.
All you care about is your own selfish needs of getting high,you act like legalizing will benefit the communtiy or something.
You can prob fool some people with that BS but not me and others like me.
AMENNNNNNNNNN
Amen, Amen, Amen!!! Wake up Bermuda! Stop smoking dope, you Dopes! Get a job, be a respectable member of society! It’s pretty cool being a respected and appreciated member of society – give it a try!
@ wow – an who said people who ALREADY ARE respected members of society ain’t smokin “dope”??? lmao…u ppl r crazy! and why u care if ppl light up a spliff…at least dey ain’t lightin up de crack pipe bra! haha climb outta de hole ya in!
So true!!
Most of the Dutch, Spainish, Portuguese and Canadians ect. also believe in a drug free lifestyle. But they realise that drugs will always exist and instead of ingoring this fact and keep fighting a loosing battle they take steps towards harm reduction. And amazing they are winning that battle. Just because a substance isn’t “illegal” doesn’t mean that isn’t any longer socially taboo. Push education on the negatives like what is being done with cigarettes and alcohol. All prohinition does is fund crime, it doesn’t remove the drugs from society. Can’t you see that?
dun i see were ya coming from but my point is i think if weed isn’t legal i don’t think that alcohol shud be as well for all of those people who are against weed think of it this way when have you ever herd of somebody being high and going down the road and killing their self? when have you ever seen somebody high and starting trouble? i can say this as a fact every one that i know that smoke WEED are relaxed people no fighting no arguing but yet in a bar there are fights arguments because they are DRUNK. and it is a proven fact by scientist cannabis is safer than the drugs you get when your in the hospital or even most drugs you can buy in any pharmacy. so there for i think it should be legal to an extent where you should be able to have a certain amount for personal use
Ven,,YOUR MY HERO>>>>
at the end of the day legislation is d wrong way to go but decriminalization needs to be considered..i could bet any money u av no clue why these drugs were made ileagal,but dats anotha true story..over 50 years the drug war has gone on and honestly has it worked?has it detered people from useing or selling drugs?no it has not,,and y is dat??the key is regulation and controll,,if you had to go to shop and buy weed you would need to show ID but in d streets dealers dun care how old you are,,also did you know you can make over 5000 different beneficial products from weed??includeing oil?wake up because everything you were told is a lie…and else for prostitution dun act like it dun happen in bermuda,,if it aint girls from court street they bring in escorts from abroad,,,and whats the difference with children knowing bout prostitution but the can sing rhiana song S&M without skipping a beat…….
you make me laugh, no wonder Bermuda and US are so behind the times. The reality is just not there, is it? It’s called a bubble and just because some of you live in it, does not mean that the majority of people do. Open your eyes, think outside the box. Your statement reflects the WHOLE problem and hence why nothing gets done. Let’s just keep doing the same thing over and over and over and over and HOPE for a different result. Bermuda will continue to decline because people do not think outside the box and they let their own emotions dictate what is right and wrong for the greater good of mankind. Someday you will all wake up and say oops and it will be WAY too late.
he was caught with a joint lol where is the profit in that….you say take the profit out of the criminals pockets……if he could afford more than the 2.03 grams than he would be a dealer and not a smoker lol to all you misinformed ppl who think that you know better when half of you arent even any better with your booze cant wait for friday night to come so you can hang out with your friends than you get in/on your vehicles cause you think you are “ok” to drive/ride…..instead of being on Bernews commenting on every article everyday all day do some research
P.S. i am a black female who by the way does not smoke or drink.
never have i heard in my entire life heard someone say ” hey man um high on weed so lets rob a bank its more like maaan um high wheres d munchies man um tired …..lol wow the educated are apparently to educated for thier own good
you all can comment all you like on this comment its mine and i do not argue with the ignorant……and only you will see your response because i have better things to do with my time
So Nelly, you don’t drink, you don’t smoke and your friends ( because you have heard conversation amongst your friends and associates whom apparently smoke Cannabis) never talk about robbing banks or committing crime. Am I reading your comments wrong or I am correct in saying you support the use of illegal drugs. Correct me if I am wrong.
$5000 for 2.03??…. and the intern accoutant that was caught with 2 grams had the charges droppped?… (bernews article march 30th.)
interesting
The charge was importation. Two different charges. Get it str8 ignorance of the law is not excuse.
LOL not so interesting now
Very interesting indeed. The Accountant was caught with more that this guy too (2.3g as opposed to 2.03g)
Seems very unfair…
http://bernews.com/2011/03/accounting-intern-has-weed-charge-dropped/
CAN YOU READ? Two different charges Dip out of the dummy jar……..
LOL
$5000 dollars 4 2 grams lord have mercy, Wat is this island coming 2………..
Maybe if he was an accounting intern he would have got a slap on the wrist! I’m so sick of the justice system here in Bermuda.
The charge was importation. Two different charges. Get it str8 Smh ignorance of the law is not excuse.
LOL
Maybe the harsh fine is to make ppl think twice about bringing in even small amounts of drugs…
Which part are people not grasping?? The heavy fine was because he imported the controlled substance, not just possessed it, 2 different offences.
Ah!!!!! Enough is paying attention. Enough is enough. Stoopid fool. Yes thats what he is. Could have stopped Crwal Hill, picked up a bag on his way home. No problem. Fool. Importation…….
Welcome to the USA STOP LIST……then again you can always go to the UK.
his born ny so iths all good that mon will sleep #0days big up t see wen u get back brooklyn
What are you trying to say? Please put the dope down and open a window for some fresh air.
We need to draw a line in the sand at our ports of entry,literally .After picking up checked baggage travellers should be given a last chance to get rid of ,without penalty ANYTHING that maybe considered contraband .After that point travellers will step into an increased penalty zone.
If people are willing to run the gauntlet they will be extremely sorry if caught…Indefinite Confiscation of passports of Bermudians ,would put a sudden stop to our youmg woman embarrassing us weekly.America will not issue a passport to citizens it determines to be a threat to national security,C’mon Bermuda lets’ get serious….
Why do people insist on ultimatums. Why create an increased penalty zone and then look at taking away people’s passports indefinitely. What happens to the young person who forgot that they left a piece in a pair of jeans they had on the week before? Or the person who borrowed a bag and something was left in it. 2 grams is not a lot you’re talkin about $20 worth of weed away.
With the amount of road accidents and fatalities should we extend this increased penalty thing to traffic violations? “we need to draw a line in the sand….” From now on all speeding violations 60+ should be indefinite suspension of licenses. Also included in this is: any use of a cell phone in a car (been shown to increase chance of accidents); it’s a safety issue, failure to stop at a stop sign, running a red light, or driving through a crosswalk while someone is on it.
Before I leave I’ll point this out alcohol was also illegal at one point and it is a much more destructive product than weed. Bermuda was also known for rum-smuggling, illegal too but it’s a part of our history. Nothing in this world should be absolute the world is more grey than it is black and white.
$5000 was for not supporting the buy Bermuda campaign
lol
+1
Can everyone that demonizes this plant just have a little common sense. The waters get so muddy when you have so much propaganda.
How many people have died from doing weed? Not one death on record. Now, let’s just take into account the amount of deaths due to the fact that marijuana is illegal, ie black market. Now how many lives have been saved from marijuana being illegal??? The answer is a BIG FAT 0. So we have a plant that is illegal and that leads to deaths because of the black market. And that said plant has NEVER killed anyone when you use the substance and it does not save lives being illegal.
So please ANYONE explain how it makes sense to keep a drug illegal when he only thing this does is lead to deaths. IF legal IT WOULD NOT KILL ANYONE, when illegal PEOPLE DIE. If anyone can keep a straight face and say it makes sense to keep this drug illegal, then you just don’t have ANY common sense.
Choices
1) illegal=deaths from black market=0 lives saved
2) legal= 0 deaths due to no black market=lives saved
Hmmmm
@ Do the math – “It just a plant. It just grow like dat! And if you just so happen to set it on fire…der are some effects. But dats not de same as drugs..drugs you got to do s*** to it chemically. You gotta add bakin soda, water, stir it up…I dunno de recipe um just sayin! Is sum s*** you gotta do to it. But why de f*** is it illegal?!?! I dunno, Aspirin is perfectly legal but if you take 13 of dem muthaf****** it’ll be yo last headache!” ~ KATT WILLIAMS
Why do you people choose to completely ignore the obvious? Is the math that difficult to follow.
1) Illegal= lives lost
2) Legal = NO lives lost
WHO IS PROTECTED by weed being illegal?
Aspirin can kill imagine that, weed doesn’t huh ain’t that a kicker. Ignorance is bliss ain’t it?
The funny thing with your statement is I NEVER mentioned ANY other drug, you did. You completely ignored the main point of the post and to be honest, your post does not even make sense, sorry, next, any other takers?
@do the math – who you talkin to bra? I just posted sumthing that I felt summed up ya post. I COMPLETELY agree wit ya statements…weren’t goin against wat ya was sayin. Katt williams just summed de ting up. Time to roll up sheesh!!
LOL…must have been tokin on the good stuff.
Bernews should I sue for slander here or what hahaha LOLOLOL ……………..
LOL
Sorry, I had trouble understanding that post, after reading it a few more times, I see you agree with my statements. Please accept my apologies for misunderstanding your post.
@ Concerned NO I don’t smoke weed, but I am a realist and the fact remains that the only thing that making marijuana illegal has done is caused people to die from creating a black market. It has scientifically proven medical uses that can take the place of harmful pharmaceuticals and beneficial environmental uses from hemp products and several other things that just make it’s illegal status a joke. Imagine creating paper products from the hemp plant instead of chopping down trees so we can wipe our asses.