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Brittney Griner, Hash Oil … and a Double Standard?

“Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney. It’s unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates.  My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible.” ~ President Joe Biden

 In February 2022, WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner was arrested in Russia for bringing to the country two vape cartridges containing 0.252 grams and 0.45 grams of hash oil, a total of 0.702 grams. Griner said the hash oil was for her personal use and that she’d mistakenly packed the cartridges with her other belongings.

Mistake or not, according to Russian law, bringing the 0.702 grams of hash oil into Russia is considered smuggling a “significant amount” of “narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances.” The penalty for such an offense is a sentence of five to 10 years in prison.

At her July 2022 trial, which took place over four months after her February arrest, Griner’s attorney presented the court a U.S. doctor’s letter recommending she use medical cannabis to treat pain. However, both recreational and medical use of cannabis is illegal in Russia, and like the United States, ignorance of the laws is no defense in Russia. Griner pled guilty to the charges and was subsequently sentenced to serve 9 years in prison.

But more on Griner and her situation in a moment. First …

What Are Vape Cartridges?

Pre-filled THC oil cartridges are mini containers filled with oils extracted from marijuana plants. This extract is often referred to as hash oil. To consume the oil, cartridges are typically attached/screwed to vape pens or other similar devices. These gadgets contain a small heating element/atomizer that transforms liquid (hash oil, etc.) into airborne droplets.

To activate the battery-powered heating element, users simply press a button on the side of the pen. Some vape pens switch on automatically when the user inhales through it. With either method, embedded software and sensors take over operations the moment the element is engaged. The battery controls the temperature of the oil as it’s delivered to the user; therefore, all a user needs to do is press and hold the button and inhale.

Most vape cartridges hold approximately ½ to 1 gram of THC oil, which equals around 200-400 puffs, or so.

Vape Pen

THC

THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is found in the resin of the marijuana plant. Secreted by glands within the plant, it’s the chemical responsible for most of the effects experienced by users. These glands are abundant around the plant’s reproductive organs, more so than on any other area of the plant.

The human body naturally produces cannabinoid chemicals—endocannabinoids. Cannabinoid receptors situated within certain areas of the brain have a direct association with thinking, memory, gratification, dexterity.

When consuming marijuana products, users take in THC. THC then attaches to the cannabinoid receptors in the brain. As a result, the THC activates those receptors which, in turn, affects a person’s sense of pleasure, sensory and time perception, movement and coordination, thought processes and concentration, coordination, and sensory and awareness of time.

In addition, THC incites cells in the brain to release dopamine, creating the sense of euphoria. It also interferes with how information is handled in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for forming new memories.

Hash Oil

DEA Image

Hash oil comes from cannabis plants and, like other marijuana products, it contains THC. However, hash oil contains greater amounts of THC than typical marijuana, therefore it’s far more potent. For example, a few common forms of hash oil by name whose THC content are above 60%:

  •  batter, budder – 70-80 +/- % THC
  • butane hash oil (BHO), AKA butane honey oil, honey oil – 60 +/- % THC
  • wax, AKA earwax – 80 +/- %THC content

*THC percentages listed above vary depending upon the source.

For comparison, the average THC content in other marijuana plant products and plant material is roughly 12-20 % +/-.

“Hashish oil (hash oil, liquid hash, cannabis oil) is produced by extracting the cannabinoids from the plant material with a solvent. The color and odor of the extract will vary, depending on the solvent used. A drop or two of this liquid on a cigarette is equal to a single marijuana joint. Like marijuana, hashish and hashish oil are both Schedule I drugs.” ~ Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)

Marijuana/cannabis is a Schedule I drug in the United States and, according to federal drug trafficking guidelines, any person caught traveling/flying/transporting hash oil is subject to arrest and incarceration.

Below is the U.S. Federal Sentencing Guideline for merely possessing one gram or less of hash oil (Griner carried/trafficked 0.702 grams into Russia). Keep in mind, though, that some U.S. state laws may permit possession of hash oil. But remember, as previously stated, it is illegal to possess any form of cannabis according to federal law. And trafficking it into the U.S. is a big deal.

Federal penalties regarding possession of small amount of hash oil

Hashish Oil (small amount)
1 kg or less
First Offense: Not more than 5 years. Fine not more than $250,000
Second Offense: Not more than 10 years. Fine $500,000

Now, with this said, let’s circle back to President Biden’s statement for a moment.

“Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney. It’s unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates. My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible.” 

Griner violated Russian law. So why is she wrongfully detained? What’s different about Griner’s arrest and incarceration that sets it apart from the arrest and incarceration of people in the U.S. who committed similar or identical crimes?

Again, Griner clearly violated Russian law. Why are President Biden and other government officials not offering the same help to the folks serving time in U.S. prisons and jails for similar or identical offenses?

What is it that makes Griner deserve her freedom over an individual who’s not of high-profile status? Why are U.S. prisoners who are/were convicted of violations of cannabis laws not wrongfully detained but Griner’s arrest and incarceration is woefully egregious?

Is this not a prime example of the double standard of what’s good for some is not so hot for others?

The Double Standard

Some say when the rich and famous use drugs it’s cool and chic and fun. However, when poor people use drugs they’re a blight on society and, well, lock ’em up.

 

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Solving Murders Using Maggots and Canned Tuna

Female blowflies lay eggs, hundreds of them, on moist and juicy decaying matter that’s rich in microbes. These egg-laying sites include, among others, rotting food and the decomposing corpses of animals and humans.

Immediately after hatching, the creepy offspring of their fly parents—maggots—go to work using enzymes and bacteria to break down their food source into a mouthwatering broth.

Blowfly maggots consume their tasty meals much in the same way as gluttonous Sunday afternoon diners at all-you-can-five-dollar-buffets—heads down and without stopping to breathe.

Maggots, though, have an advantage over human buffet-eaters. They’re able to enjoy their feasts while simultaneously breathing through their specially adapted rear ends. Humans, however, are forced to come up for air at least once or twice during a roadside steakhouse feeding frenzy.

In addition to having poor table manners, maggots are a useful tool for homicide investigators. In fact, the first known instance of flies helping out in a murder case was during the 13th century, when Chinese judge Sung T’zu  investigated a fatal stabbing in a rice field.

Flies Don’t Lie

At the scene of the murder, judge Sung T’zu instructed each of the workers to lay down their sickles. Soon, attracted by the smell of blood, flies began landing on one of the sickles, but not the others. Sure, the murderer cleaned their weapon prior to the judge’s arrival, but the faint odor of the victim’s blood was still present. It was clear to T’zu who’d committed the killing. In 1247, T’zu wrote about the case in the book The Washing Away of Wrongs, the oldest known book on forensic medicine.

Today, in murder cases, a maggot’s rate of growth can help estimate time of death. For example, when detectives find maggots on a body that are in their early larvae stages, when they’re 5mm in length, officers then will have a pretty good idea that the victim has been deceased for only a day and a half, or so.

When maggots ingest human tissue as nourishment, they simultaneously absorb remnants of substances previously consumed by the deceased, such as illegal and prescription drugs, and poisons. Subsequently, traces of those substances are retained within the bodies and exoskeletons of the maggots.

An insect’s hard external skeleton is made of chitin, a substance that’s similar to the keratin protein from which hair is formed. Since an insect’s chitin stores consumed toxins for a long time, and blowfly maggots shed their exoskeletons twice as it passes through each of three larval stages, a toxicology analyses of those exoskeletons could be helpful in determining the drug use of the victim, poisoning as a murder weapon, and more. This is an especially important tool when working with skeletal remains. In fact, a forensic analysis of insects is more dependable than hair as a means to detect drug use immediately prior to death.

Mummy-“Flied”

How long are substances (toxins, etc.) retained in an insects exoskeleton? Shed fly puparial cases been used for toxicological studies of mummified bodies found weeks, months, an even years after death. Some scientists believe it’s possible to detect drugs in the insects associated with ancient skeletal remains. After all, cocaine has been discovered in the hair of 3,000-year-old Peruvian mummies, so why not the same for the bugs who once feasted on those bodies?

Most evidence, of course, comes from live maggots collected from the body at the crime scene. Those specimens are gathered by crime scene investigators and transported to a forensics laboratory for testing. The trick is keeping the wiggly maggots alive until an analysis is performed. Therefore, some scientists recommend that crime scene investigators stock cans of tuna as part of their evidence collection kits.

Pop the top on the can and maggots are then able to feed on the tuna until they’re properly secured and handled by a qualified forensic entomologist.

It’s also important to place maggots in a container with air holes (even though they breathe through their butts, they’ve still got to breathe to survive).

Now, who’s having tuna for lunch today?

Yum …

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