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| Photo: Cruise Law News |
| Don’t carry your weed to Bermuda. |
An American tourist who said she smoked marijuana for medical reasons was fined $2,000 on Thursday in Bermuda.
Teresa Sheridan, 53, or Oregon, pleaded guilty in Magistrates’ Court to one count of importing cannabis, reports Mikaela Ian Pearman of the Bermuda Sun.
Sheridan arrived on a flight from New York to Bermuda on May 23 at 2:10 p.m. She was selected for a search by Customs officers because a drug-detecting dog had alerted to her seat on the plane.
In the ensuing search, a Customs dog alerted on Sheridan’s groin area. When asked if she had any drugs, she said, “Yes, in between my legs.”
Officers searched her luggage and discovered a black container, a clear herb grinder with traces of plant material, rolling papers and a ceramic pipe made to look like a cigarette.
In a private search room, Sheridan removed a white sock from her groin area. The sock contained two plastic bags, one with coffee grounds and another with three grams of cannabis.
She was arrested on the spot for importing drugs into Bermuda.
Counsel Marc Daniels told the court that Sheridan used cannabis as a treatment for depression. “She uses weed to calm her nerves and should be dealt with by way of a fine,” Daniels said.
“The fact that she had it hidden between her legs would indicate she knew it was contraband,” remarked Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner. “She knew it was illegal.”
Warner fined Sheridan $2,000, to be paid immediately.
Just one day before, Edith Lord Wolffe, a tourist from California, was given 30 days in jail and a $3,000 fine for importing 35 grams of cannabis. The court heard that Wolffe’s physician had recommended cannabis for her chronic illness, Ménière’s disease.
Wolffe’s lawyer, Mark Pettingill, has launched an appeal and a bail application.
Bermuda is notoriously unfriendly to marijuana and tourists who possess it, although politicians there last year called for a debate on decriminalization.
