Plattsburgh man accused of carrying drugs and indulging in irony
Oh the indignity. DARE doll used as drug mule. Photo: NYS Police
State Police say they busted 22-year-old Gregory Bolognese of Plattsburgh this week for allegedly carrying a potpourri of illegal narcotics at the Greyhound bus station. His stash reportedly including marijuana, half a gram of cocaine, and LSD.
With the North Country jittery over a serious heroin and prescription drug epidemic, arrests like this one are fairly common these days. A lot of young people in the region have been swept up in recent months as police and prosecutors try to put the squeeze on drug offenders and traffickers.
So why does Bolognese’s case warrant a mention? The Clinton County man reportedly was carrying his stash inside a stuffed animal dressed in a D.A.R.E. t-shirt. You know, from the “Drug Abuse Reistance Education” program?
State police distributed a photo of the stuffed-toy-mule, looking sort of like a bedraggled perp in a mug shot. Bolognese was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana and is now in Clinton County jail.
Tags: DARE, drugs, public health
This story is the irony ice cream cone – irony inside of irony with an irony cherry on top.
Cops are buying stuffed toys from China with DARE money? I am picturing a DARE MRAP filled with DARE toys pulling up to a school and DARE officers tossing stuffed toys to kids.
Couldn’t we do something better with our money? Like more music and arts in the schools? Or something?
But knuck then you would have one less thing to complain about. ;)
Brian,
That’s Daren the Lion! I initially thought his name was Leo, but then a quick google …
http://www.dare.org/the-story-of-daren-the-lion/
They introduced that character when I was in DARE, in 5th grade.
“mmmmdrugs are bad, mmmkay”
-mr. mackey-
It’s a good thing stupidity isn’t a crime.
As much as it is easy to make jokes about this, the real joke here is the millions wasted on scare programs like D.A.R.E. that have been so ineffective that they leave kids open to the real dangers of substance abuse.
When we tell kids that marijuana (Schedule 1 drug) is more dangerous than methamphetamine (Schedule 2 drug), or tell kids that taking drugs will ruin their future (Steve Jobs, President Obama, President Bush, President Clinton, Michael Bloomberg) kids know we are lying.
Kids need to learn facts like alcohol is more dangerous than many illegal drugs and that marijuana is very harmful to young brains. Cocaine is a horrible drug, but it is especially dangerous when combined with alcohol, yet educators are not allowed to teach kids this because it sort-of implies that taking drugs is ok. The War on Drugs is over 40 years old, and its failures are very much summed up by a stuffed DARE lion filled with drugs.
“When we…tell kids that taking drugs will ruin their future (Steve Jobs, President Obama, President Bush, President Clinton, Michael Bloomberg) kids know we are lying.”
Finally, a common thread!