Parents Arrested For Smoking Weed in Front Of Kid
By The Packet
The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics STING Unit (Special Tactics Investigative Narcotic Group) has charged a mother and father with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Daisy Liliana Ortega and Juan Tolosa Ortega were both apprehended after authorities discovered them smoking marijuana inside a vehicle parked in a public lot, in the presence of their underage child. Upon approaching the vehicle, an agent witnessed the driver pass what appeared to be a marijuana cigarette to a passenger in the back seat, who proceeded to smoke it. The passenger was identified as the Ortegas’ 17-year-old child. Both parents now face charges of contributing to delinquency, while the father also faces felony charges of distributing a controlled substance. The minor child has been charged with the delinquent act of marijuana possession.
During questioning by the agent, Juan Ortega presented a Medical Marijuana Card and claimed legal authorization for possessing marijuana. However, while possession may be permitted under certain circumstances, smoking the substance in a public location or sharing it with others is strictly prohibited for patients prescribed marijuana and holding a state-issued marijuana identification card.
Under Mississippi code 41-29-139 (a) (1), it is illegal for any individual to knowingly or intentionally sell, barter, transfer, manufacture, distribute, dispense, or possess a controlled substance with the intent to sell, barter, transfer, manufacture, distribute, or dispense it. Those found guilty of transferring or possessing with intent to transfer less than two (2) grams or ten (10) dosage units of a controlled substance may face imprisonment for up to eight (8) years, a fine of up to fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00), or both.
“It’s no secret that drug dealers are endangering lives in our community by selling drugs to children. Now we have the added concern of parents providing drugs to their own children,” said Sheriff Eddie Hawkins. “Parents must fulfill their parental responsibilities instead of trying to befriend their children. We anticipate this couple will face the full extent of our justice system.”
