Senator jokes he wasn’t arrested for transporting marijuana

By Avery Anapol -
Senator jokes he wasn’t arrested for transporting marijuana
© Greg Nash

A Twitter account for Sen. Orrin HatchOrrin Grant HatchMcConnell names Senate GOP tax conferees Ryan pledges 'entitlement reform' in 2018 Utah governor calls Bannon a 'bigot' after attacks on Romney MORE (R-Utah) on Friday joked that he and his wife were not the octogenarian couple arrested earlier this week for transporting 60 pounds of marijuana.

“You can all stop asking, this isn’t about Elaine & me,” Hatch's account tweeted, referring to the senator's wife. “I’m in favor of medical marijuana research.. but not like this.”

The New York Times reported Friday that a couple, aged 83 and 80, were arrested in Nebraska for transporting 60 pounds of marijuana. The couple told police that they were giving the marijuana away as Christmas presents.

ADVERTISEMENT

Hatch, who is 83, has been a proponent for medical marijuana research. He announced earlier this year that he would introduce a bill removing barriers to the research in a pun-filled statement.

“It’s high time to address research into medical marijuana,” he said in September. “To be blunt, we need to remove the administrative barriers preventing legitimate research into medical marijuana, which is why I’ve decided to roll out the MEDS Act.”

Friday’s tweet was not signed with Hatch’s initials – his profile notes that tweets written by him are signed while others are sent by his staff.