Johnny Jolly gets probation

[Cheesehead Craig]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6403024

I still think he's not coming back to the Packers.

[hoosier]

The judge warned Jolly that if he violated any terms of his probation, "I will send you to prison."

Isn't that what they told him last time? But this time we mean it! WTF?

[Freak Out]

Smart Judge....there is no reason to send him to jail.

[Lurker64]

Isn't that what they told him last time? But this time we mean it! WTF?

Maybe the fact that he only had 3 months left on his pretrial deferment program made the judge go easy on him? Personally, if I'm a judge and a guy gets busted when all he has to do is "stay clean for 3 more months" I would just conclude he's an idiot and sentence him to extra time for idiocy, but I probably shouldn't be a judge.

[Freak Out]

No you shouldn't. :)

[red]

thats unreal

i like the guy and all

but he was on probation and he violated it, and yes he was told by the last judge that he would go to prison if he did it again

seems like bullshit to me

[get louder at lambeau]

thats unreal

i like the guy and all

but he was on probation and he violated it, and yes he was told by the last judge that he would go to prison if he did it again

seems like bullshit to me

Bullshit in a way, in how they aren't doing what they say, but personally, I think it's dumb to waste tons of taxpayer money on long prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenses anyway.

What did Jolly really do? Get fucked up on cough syrup with his buddies. Probably got an addiction going, and possibly distributed the "drank" to his hoodrat buddies. So instead of this guy making money as a football player in the NFL, or at least the UFL or AFL, he's gonna be locked up for years on the taxpayers' dime, probably costing a hundred thousand dollars or more over his long sentence, and then releasing him later in his life as a convict with no real prospects. Why? In an attempt at making prescription cough syrup slightly less easily available on the black market. Yay. Great use of taxpayer money. The War on Drugs continues, forty years later.

[Freak Out]

Bingo bango bongo.

[red]

Bullshit in a way, in how they aren't doing what they say, but personally, I think it's dumb to waste tons of taxpayer money on long prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenses anyway.

What did Jolly really do? Get fucked up on cough syrup with his buddies. Probably got an addiction going, and possibly distributed the "drank" to his hoodrat buddies. So instead of this guy making money as a football player in the NFL, or at least the UFL or AFL, he's gonna be locked up for years on the taxpayers' dime, probably costing a hundred thousand dollars or more over his long sentence, and then releasing him later in his life as a convict with no real prospects. Why? In an attempt at making prescription cough syrup slightly less easily available on the black market. Yay. Great use of taxpayer money. The War on Drugs continues, forty years later.

yeah i guess i can agree with all that

but would the average guy on the street get the same treatment? or is this one of those athletes getting special treatment deal?

[get louder at lambeau]

yeah i guess i can agree with all that

but would the average guy on the street get the same treatment? or is this one of those athletes getting special treatment deal?

Good question. I'm sure he can afford good lawyers, so that must help.

[Freak Out]

How much does Lucas charge for his rehab? :)

[mraynrand]

Thank God. I need my low price codeine come summer.

[RashanGary]

Sending people to jail for using drugs seems no more reasonable than sending people to jail for drinking, and we all know there was a time when that was done too.

He's a person who obviously has issues. He doesn't seem like the, "follow rules, live peacefully with society" type, but if he's not hurting anyone, why in the fuck should we mess with him? I'd be just fine not having him on the team for this though. This shows what kind of person he is.

A person who owns 20 guns could very well be planning to recruit a cult and kill 1,000 people. Should we go in and take guns away from people because they could hurt people with them? Should we take drugs away because they might drive when they take them or because we just don't agree with them? That's a slippery slope, there are a lot of people who dislike guns and they might get laws passed to come take yours. Be peaceful about it though, society decided they don't like guns and you need to follow suit.

All of it is bullshit. If you're going to take people's rights, just be honest about it. Just set some moral guidlines and punish people to high hell for breaking them. If you want people to be free and let them pursue their idea of happiness, then get out of the way and let them do it, until they infringe on society and then punish the shit out of them.

[Tarlam!]

The question of how the law will deal with it has been answered. The real question is how the league will deal with it, becuase, going forward, that might have some impact on TT's draft board. If Goodell takes a leaf out of the ruling judge's book, he might also just shake his finger.

Both TT and M3 are on record as saying how much they liked Jolley, prior to his latest arrest. I admit, I like him. I'd like to see him back in the lineup.

Edit: I am aware that the lockout prohibits any club or league action at this time. I'm sure, however, Murphy has enough cred to get some indication from Roger.

[Lurker64]

Sending people to jail for using drugs seems no more reasonable than sending people to jail for drinking, and we all know there was a time when that was done too.

He's a person who obviously has issues. He doesn't seem like the, "follow rules, live peacefully with society" type, but if he's not hurting anyone, why in the fuck should we mess with him? I'd be just fine not having him on the team for this though. This shows what kind of person he is.

A person who owns 20 guns could very well be planning to recruit a cult and kill 1,000 people. Should we go in and take guns away from people because they could hurt people with them? Should we take drugs away because they might drive when they take them or because we just don't agree with them? That's a slippery slope, there are a lot of people who dislike guns and they might get laws passed to come take yours. Be peaceful about it though, society decided they don't like guns and you need to follow suit.

All of it is bullshit. If you're going to take people's rights, just be honest about it. Just set some moral guidlines and punish people to high hell for breaking them. If you want people to be free and let them pursue their idea of happiness, then get out of the way and let them do it, until they infringe on society and then punish the shit out of them.

The problem ultimately lies with the people who make the laws not the ones who enforce them. Police officers and courts should generally hold people responsible for their lawlessness, as cultivating a general disrespect for the law doesn't help matters.

It does bear mentioning, however, that both cases where Jolly was arrested he was driving a car. In general, driving while under the influence of mood altering substances whether it's alcohol, cough syrup, or horse tranquilizers should be illegal. If Jolly had just decided to sit at home and sip his drank, he would never have gotten in trouble for this.

[Patler]

yeah i guess i can agree with all that

but would the average guy on the street get the same treatment? or is this one of those athletes getting special treatment deal?

I think this might have been a situation in which he was treated MORE harshly because he was "famous". If you recall, there were 2 or 3 others in the car with him the first time, and at least one was found with drugs on his person. Jolly was charged for the open container in a cup holder. The others were given slaps on the wrists and let go, while Jolly was charged, maybe even overcharged. They seemed out to get him to show they weren't playing favorites. The prosecutor dragged it on and on, dismissed and refiled. It took a couple years, with the prosecutor mostly being the cause of the delay. The seemed to want the biggest hammer possible to hold over him.

Now, suddenly with a second charge facing him, its flipped around. A very quick resolution. Mandatory inhouse rehab, and the second charge is dismissed. I think rational heads realized that they were potentially destroying this guy when they really needed to try to help him. By many accounts he is a good guy with a drug problem, not a hardened criminal.

The first incident should have been handled more like this from the start, mandating that he get the help he needs.

He's an idiot for sure, but the source of his idiocy might be his addiction.

[MadtownPacker]

Bullshit in a way, in how they aren't doing what they say, but personally, I think it's dumb to waste tons of taxpayer money on long prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenses anyway.

What did Jolly really do? Get fucked up on cough syrup with his buddies. Probably got an addiction going, and possibly distributed the "drank" to his hoodrat buddies. So instead of this guy making money as a football player in the NFL, or at least the UFL or AFL, he's gonna be locked up for years on the taxpayers' dime, probably costing a hundred thousand dollars or more over his long sentence, and then releasing him later in his life as a convict with no real prospects. Why? In an attempt at making prescription cough syrup slightly less easily available on the black market. Yay. Great use of taxpayer money. The War on Drugs continues, forty years later.Maybe youre not such a POS after all. Excellent post.

He doesnt deserve to go to prison or even jail. He also doesnt deserve to play in the NFL if he cant control his habits just like any other job.

[Pugger]

I have a hard time thinking Goodell is gonna lift Jolly's suspension any time soon after we get a new CBA.

[th87]

Football keeps him off the streets of Houston, so if Goodell's really interested in his rehabilitation, he'd allow him to reconnect with the team.

[Tarlam!]

Football keeps him off the streets of Houston, so if Goodell's really interested in his rehabilitation, he'd allow him to reconnect with the team.

Good thoughts, TH, but Goodell has morphed into a meglamaniac. He's not interested in helping anyone but himself.

[red]

question, i thought originally they were getting himfor distribution because of the amount he had

is this not correct? if he's just having a good time with his friends, well thats one thing. but if he's selling, thats another

[SkinBasket]

Jolly should be executed right next to Vick. Disgusting human beings.

[Tarlam!]

Apparently, the plea bargin is dropping the newest charges and he plead guilty to the original charge, agreed to therapy and 5 years probation. So, despite being caught a second time, he's being re-sentenced for the first offense.

It is a wonderous legal system that sometimes has me scratching my head. FYI, there are no jury trials in Germany....

[Patler]

question, i thought originally they were getting himfor distribution because of the amount he had

is this not correct? if he's just having a good time with his friends, well thats one thing. but if he's selling, thats another

That was part of what was screwed up in his first case, I think. Remember that they dismissed the first charge to allow time to train their analysts in a new testing procedure to determine how much was in the mixture. Then they determined that he had a high amount already mixed with Dr. Pepper in an open glass in the vehicle.

His attorney argued over and over that the charge was excessive, and if they insisted on it he would take it to trial.

[Patler]

Apparently, the plea bargin is dropping the newest charges and he plead guilty to the original charge, agreed to therapy and 5 years probation. So, despite being caught a second time, he's being re-sentenced for the first offense.

It is a wonderous legal system that sometimes has me scratching my head. FYI, there are no jury trials in Germany....

Which makes me think all the more that their first case was not very solid, perhaps not the second one either.

[Tarlam!]

Based on what you've revealed, Patler, I believe Goodell, too, was most excessive.

[Fritz]

This is all so confusing. But it's hard to imagine the Pack wanting him back now. Will he be suspended again by Goodell - can Goodell suspend him if this happened when there was a work stoppage?

[get louder at lambeau]

That was part of what was screwed up in his first case, I think. Remember that they dismissed the first charge to allow time to train their analysts in a new testing procedure to determine how much was in the mixture. Then they determined that he had a high amount already mixed with Dr. Pepper in an open glass in the vehicle.

His attorney argued over and over that the charge was excessive, and if they insisted on it he would take it to trial.

Yeah, I don't think it was ever really clear if he had a realistic distribution quantity or a large personal use dose. It sounded like a major gray area, which favors Jolly. Also in question at trial probably would have been whether it was really his, or one of his buddies' who was with him in the car. All they have to do is generate reasonable doubt, and he'd be found not guilty.

Jolly and his lawyers were probably looking at the first case as winnable, until dumbshit Johnny went and got busted for the same shit again. At that point they would have two cases with similar evidence, reducing their odds significantly, so they made a deal. The DA gets a felony conviction, and Jolly gets a chance at probation and rehab. And the taxpayers aren't paying to feed a 325 lb millionaire for the next five years.

[Patler]

Lots of interesting aspects to Jolly's situation and the NFL:

- other agents/players have already raised the question if acts committed during the lockout are subject to NFL conduct policies or not. Some "in the know" have said yes, others have said no.

- the second case has been dropped, so it both occurred and was dropped during the lockout.

- even if there wasn't a lockout, how severe of a penalty should a player receive for a charge that was ultimately dropped?

- the legal penalty from the first one is very mild, even following his guilty plea and the second incident. Jolly has been suspended for a year for an incident that netted him probation and mandatory rehab?

- if the first one case hadn't dragged on for three years, and if he had gotten probation and rehab right after it happened, I doubt he would have gotten a full year suspension. Players have gotten less than a year for incidents committed against others and for the use of performance enhancing drugs.

Jolly starts rehab on Monday. He will be done before the start of training camp, even if it starts on time. My guess is that if he completes rehab and has a solid post-treatment report, he will be re-instated as a player. To tack on yet more time would throw his suspension way out of wack with what has been given to players who committed acts against others or against the game.

Michael Vick was suspended while he was in prison and for 2 games after.
Roethlisberger did whatever he did and was suspended for 4(?) games.
Jolly has been suspended for 16 games, and counting.

The legal system said enough is enough and is trying to help Jolly start over. The NFL should too, unless they intend to treat the Michael Vicks and Ben Roethlisbergers much, much more severely in the future.

[sharpe1027]

- even if there wasn't a lockout, how severe of a penalty should a player receive for a charge that was ultimately dropped?


Right or wrong, the league has made it clear that it makes its own determinations irrespective of the legal outcome.



Michael Vick was suspended while he was in prison and for 2 games after.
Roethlisberger did whatever he did and was suspended for 4(?) games.
Jolly has been suspended for 16 games, and counting.


True, but before his NFL suspension Jolly violated his parole making it two separate offenses, the second negating any chance he had at arguing that he learned his lesson. Also, I thought it wasn't clear whether there could have also been in view of a failed drug test (which might not have been reported for the first offense).

[Tarlam!]

Jolly has been suspended for 16 games, and counting.

That would be 19 games and counting, plus being denied his NFCC ring and far worse, his Super Bowl ring = a full season. It was bad enough financially that he was suspended, but mentally, it must have been horrible to see your team mates lift the Lombardi knowing that all you did was swallow cough syrup.

[Patler]

Right or wrong, the league has made it clear that it makes its own determinations irrespective of the legal outcome.

True, but before his NFL suspension Jolly violated his parole making it two separate offenses, the second negating any chance he had at arguing that he learned his lesson. Also, I thought it wasn't clear whether there could have also been in view of a failed drug test (which might not have been reported for the first offense).

And Roethlisberger was tied to two separate incidents. The last one happened almost a year after the civil suit was filed in the first one. The NFL put their investigation of the first one on hold, because there was not a criminal charge. Yet Roethlisberger put himself in an even worse situation the second time, a year later.

Roethlisberger is linked to two separate allegations of sexual assault, and gets suspended for 4 games.
Johnny Jolly has codeine in his vehicles on two occasions, and is suspended for a year and counting.

It doesn't make sense.

[sharpe1027]

And Roethlisberger was tied to two separate incidents. The last one happened almost a year after the civil suit was filed in the first one. The NFL put their investigation of the first one on hold, because there was not a criminal charge. Yet Roethlisberger put himself in an even worse situation the second time, a year later.

Roethlisberger is linked to two separate allegations of sexual assault, and gets suspended for 4 games.
Johnny Jolly has codeine in his vehicles on two occasions, and is suspended for a year and counting.

It doesn't make sense.

I'm not saying the standard is applied equally, because I'm not sure what evidence they were looking at; however, there are some factors that might explain some of the differences.

In Roth's situation there was a question as to whether or not he did anything illegal. Even with all the facts it is likely that the NFL decided it could not suspend him based upon the truth of the allegations, rather they suspended him on the general conduct (e.g., contributing to underage drinking and poor judgement in where to have sex). With Jolly on the other hand, there is no dispute that he broke the law by violating the terms of his probation. Plus, he was driving a car with illegal drugs in an open container and I thought it wasn't clear whether there could have also been a failed drug test (which might not have been publicly reported).

It might also have been that Jolly had represented to the NFL that he would be on the straight and narrow when looking for a lesser suspension, and when he broke the terms of his parole the NFL came down hard because of that representation.

IDK. I would think that there were additional factors involved, because otherwise you are correct that it doesn't make much sense.

[red]

if the distribution thing was dropped like you said patler then goodell really dropped the ball the first time around.

i think he was found in a car with 100's of mg's of codiene. and it sounded like a lot at the time. well i got like 3000 mg's of vike an a few 100 mg's of oxy laying around. all prescribed for when i need it, but still. also i think we figured out that they were counting the full drink in that amount of mg's. sp it could of been like one 500 mg pill of codine in a bunch of dr. pepper, right?

if thats the case then godell fuck up big time IMO, he needs to reinstate jolly asap even despite the latest arrest.

to me this is like a guy getting suspended for a year for getting caught with a joint. thats horse shit

i've said for awhile that goddell needs to go, the guy is horrible. a guy that rapes multiple girls gets a 4 game suspention when he should be castrated and hung imo. jolly gets high and he might get kicked out of the league

now if he was caught with like a whole duffle bag full of codine, well thats a little different.

[red]

That would be 19 games and counting, plus being denied his NFCC ring and far worse, his Super Bowl ring = a full season. It was bad enough financially that he was suspended, but mentally, it must have been horrible to see your team mates lift the Lombardi knowing that all you did was swallow cough syrup.

thats very true tar. he was robbed of what might be the greatest moment of his life (besides having kids)

[Guiness]

if the distribution thing was dropped like you said patler then goodell really dropped the ball the first time around.

i think he was found in a car with 100's of mg's of codiene. and it sounded like a lot at the time. well i got like 3000 mg's of vike an a few 100 mg's of oxy laying around. all prescribed for when i need it, but still. also i think we figured out that they were counting the full drink in that amount of mg's. sp it could of been like one 500 mg pill of codine in a bunch of dr. pepper, right?

if thats the case then godell fuck up big time IMO, he needs to reinstate jolly asap even despite the latest arrest.

to me this is like a guy getting suspended for a year for getting caught with a joint. thats horse shit

i've said for awhile that goddell needs to go, the guy is horrible. a guy that rapes multiple girls gets a 4 game suspention when he should be castrated and hung imo. jolly gets high and he might get kicked out of the league

now if he was caught with like a whole duffle bag full of codine, well thats a little different.

See, that's where the uncertainty was - in the amounts. Was it mg or g? when the initial report came out, it said grams, and the reported amount was like 600 grams in a cup (the charge ended up being "over 200grams"). Obviously, 600 grams wouldn't fit in a cup, so either there was a stash of it in the trunk, or the officer made a mistake.

Just for reference, a Tylenol 3 has 30mg of codeine. To collect 200 grams, you'd need 6500 pills!

There was a thread about this at the time, I'm pretty sure Patler was involved in it as well. I think the general agreement was that there had to be a lot more to it than simply being caught with some in a cup, that there were going to be ties to a distribution ring, etc. Goodell (over) reacted to that, and tossed the guy out before there was anything solid. A few years later, nothing materialized, and it becomes obvious there's no reason this guy should not be back.

[get louder at lambeau]

See, that's where the uncertainty was - in the amounts. Was it mg or g? when the initial report came out, it said grams, and the reported amount was like 600 grams in a cup (the charge ended up being "over 200grams"). Obviously, 600 grams wouldn't fit in a cup, so either there was a stash of it in the trunk, or the officer made a mistake.

A 20 oz soda is about 600 grams.

[Guiness]

A 20 oz soda is about 600 grams.

Have to love the imperial system.

I believe you're confusing the two oz measurements (fluid vs weight), not to mention density.

20 fluid oz of water or soda would be 600g. Take another powder, flour, 600g if about 40 fluid oz. I couldn't get any information on the density of codeine, so maybe less. Granted, that will still fit in a 2L pop bottle.

However, and this is where the police's testing equipment came into play...what was the concentration? Pure codeine is a white powder. That's not what he had in the glass, it was mixed with some other things. What was the concentration? 50%? I doubt it. 10%? More likely. So his 20oz can could've had 2 fl oz of codeine. That's about 30 grams.

So, if he had 200g of codeine, as red said above, it was likely in a duffel bag. Hence the quote of 6,500 tylenol 3's.

Did he have a source for pure, pharmaceutical grade codeine, and he was carrying a brick of it? I think that's what many of us thought was possible when the charges came out.

[red]

Have to love the imperial system.

I believe you're confusing the two oz measurements (fluid vs weight), not to mention density.

20 fluid oz of water or soda would be 600g. Take another powder, flour, 600g if about 40 fluid oz. I couldn't get any information on the density of codeine, so maybe less. Granted, that will still fit in a 2L pop bottle.

However, and this is where the police's testing equipment came into play...what was the concentration? Pure codeine is a white powder. That's not what he had in the glass, it was mixed with some other things. What was the concentration? 50%? I doubt it. 10%? More likely. So his 20oz can could've had 2 fl oz of codeine. That's about 30 grams.

So, if he had 200g of codeine, as red said above, it was likely in a duffel bag. Hence the quote of 6,500 tylenol 3's.

Did he have a source for pure, pharmaceutical grade codeine, and he was carrying a brick of it? I think that's what many of us thought was possible when the charges came out.

i've tried looking up the whole deal from the first arrest. from what i can find, he was pulled over for loud music. the cops looked in the car and saw a 20 oz opened bottle of dr. pepper with a purple tint to it, and two styrofoam cups with ice in them. the cops said the cups smelled like codiene, WTF does that smell like?

also, i looked up how to make purple drank. you take a certain kind of prescribed couch syrup and add 2-4 oz into a 20 soft drink. so he couldn't have been caught with a shitload of pills.

that all leads me to believe that jolly was caught with a 20 bottle of pop with maybe 4 liquid ounces of this cough syrup in it, and the 20 oz of pop is the 600 grams of not codiene but 600 grams of purple drank.

which like i said, if thats the case, to me thats not as bad as being caught with a half smoked joint. and the one year plus ban is completely insane

[get louder at lambeau]

Have to love the imperial system.

I believe you're confusing the two oz measurements (fluid vs weight), not to mention density.

20 fluid oz of water or soda would be 600g.

No problem with the measurement systems, I was confused by what you were trying to say. It has always been 600 grams of a liquid codeine cough syrup and soda mixed, as far as everything I remember reading. I just didn't follow your jump through the rabbit hole to where it somehow became 100% pure codeine powder in that cup. It was always cough syrup, and about 600 grams of liquid syrup would be about a 20 oz. bottle, as I said.

I have no idea what the Texas legal measurements of codeine in "purple drank" as reported are based on. I'm not sure if any of us do. They could be based on quantity of cough syrup in it's normal form at it's normal concentration as opposed to quantity of pure codeine for all I (we?) know. I would think it would be much more complicated to try to break it down into base compounds before measuring it, so I would guess it's based on quantity of standard use codeine syrup.

[Guiness]

No problem with the measurement systems, I was confused by what you were trying to say. It has always been 600 grams of a liquid codeine cough syrup and soda mixed, as far as everything I remember reading. I just didn't follow your jump through the rabbit hole to where it somehow became 100% pure codeine powder in that cup. It was always cough syrup, and about 600 grams of liquid syrup would be about a 20 oz. bottle, as I said.

I have no idea what the Texas legal measurements of codeine in "purple drank" as reported are based on. I'm not sure if any of us do. They could be based on quantity of cough syrup in it's normal form at it's normal concentration as opposed to quantity of pure codeine for all I (we?) know. I would think it would be much more complicated to try to break it down into base compounds before measuring it, so I would guess it's based on quantity of standard use codeine syrup.

Fair enough, and that's where the confusion comes from.

Cough syrup in it's normal form? I never assumed that, I figured it has to be some sort of a reasonable concentration. I just checked, and have 3 bottles of various configurations of Robitussin in my cubboard. Guess what, Robitussin AC contains codeine, although I don't know how much. They're 150ml each. 1ml is about equal to 1g. So I've got 450g of codeine here?

That's ridiculous, and that's also what I assume the officer decided in this situation. The charge was for over 200g of codeine, not 200g of a solution containing some amount of codeine. Which is why they had to stay the charges while they got equipment to measure just how much damn codeine was there.

edit: just thought of something else - at Scout camp, any kids that are taking medication of any sort have to give it to the scout leader. I've seen him in possession of 10-12 bottles. So he's got 1500g of codeine? lol

[Guiness]

i've tried looking up the whole deal from the first arrest. from what i can find, he was pulled over for loud music. the cops looked in the car and saw a 20 oz opened bottle of dr. pepper with a purple tint to it, and two styrofoam cups with ice in them. the cops said the cups smelled like codiene, WTF does that smell like?

smells like teen spirit? *ducks*




also, i looked up how to make purple drank. you take a certain kind of prescribed couch syrup and add 2-4 oz into a 20 soft drink. so he couldn't have been caught with a shitload of pills.

that all leads me to believe that jolly was caught with a 20 bottle of pop with maybe 4 liquid ounces of this cough syrup in it, and the 20 oz of pop is the 600 grams of not codiene but 600 grams of purple drank.

which like i said, if thats the case, to me thats not as bad as being caught with a half smoked joint. and the one year plus ban is completely insane

That's exactly what I think happened, and that's why all this has seemed almost unbelievable from the start. I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop, to find out he used his signing bonus to underwrite his buddies set up a distribution ring or something, but it never came.

[swede]

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z236/dsteenswede44/buford2.jpg

[th87]

- the legal penalty from the first one is very mild, even following his guilty plea and the second incident. Jolly has been suspended for a year for an incident that netted him probation and mandatory rehab?



If I recall correctly, Jolly was suspended on the basis of the substance abuse policy - not the personal conduct policy. Wasn't there some rumor that he had failed an astounding number of drug tests?

[th87]

I think I also remember that in Texas, if a banned substance is diluted in a mixture, they charge you as though the banned substance formed the entirety of the mixture. That is, if Jolly's bottle contained 200g of Purple Drank (Sprite + promethazine cough syrup containing some codeine + Jolly Rancher), they would charge him as though the bottle was pure codeine.

This law was enacted so that cocaine dealers couldn't get off on dealing impure cocaine. To attempt to go after Jolly in this way reeks of an overzealous prosecutor trying to make a name for him/herself.

[mission]

Bullshit in a way, in how they aren't doing what they say, but personally, I think it's dumb to waste tons of taxpayer money on long prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenses anyway.

What did Jolly really do? Get fucked up on cough syrup with his buddies. Probably got an addiction going, and possibly distributed the "drank" to his hoodrat buddies. So instead of this guy making money as a football player in the NFL, or at least the UFL or AFL, he's gonna be locked up for years on the taxpayers' dime, probably costing a hundred thousand dollars or more over his long sentence, and then releasing him later in his life as a convict with no real prospects. Why? In an attempt at making prescription cough syrup slightly less easily available on the black market. Yay. Great use of taxpayer money. The War on Drugs continues, forty years later.

ding ding ding!! we have a winner!!