Cool, Kansas Is Ripping Kids Away From Medical Marijuana Advocates Now

Suppose you are a medical marijuana advocate, having successfully used cannabis oil to treat your own Crohn's Disease. And suppose you lived for a time in Colorado, where medical marijuana is legal, but then, because fate apparently hates you, you were sentenced to move to the ugly state next door, Kansas, where marijuana in all its forms is illegal. And suppose you have an 11-year-old son who was forced to endure a fact-free anti-drug session at school, where he decided to point out that, hey, some of reefer madness talking points are not true. Would you think the state would take your child from you that day? Because that's what happened to Shona Banda of Wichita:

A medical marijuana advocate has lost custody of her 11-year-old son at least temporarily and could face possible charges following comments the boy made during a drug education program at school.

The case of Shona Banda, 37, was forwarded Monday to the district attorney's office for a decision about charges, Police Capt. Randy Ralston said. Possible charges include possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia and child endangerment, the department said in a news release.

No arrests have been made.

Of course, they're treating her like a drug-addicted untouchable, even though Banda is a well-known activist, and author of the book  Live Free or Die: Reclaim Your Life... Reclaim Your Country! , which tells the story of her own experiences with the medicinal healing properties of the drug. Since it's available for purchase, maybe the Kansas thugs who have taken her son away should spend some time reading it! Or maybe the kid could summarize it for them. We haven't read the book, but we're guessing there aren't any chapters about how she neglects her son and feeds him crack cupcakes for breakfast. We could be wrong, of course! If you have read the book, please let us know in the comments, which are not allowed!

Of course, said Kansas thugs have a different version of the story, claiming that "the boy told school officials that his mother and other adults in his home were avid drug users and that there was a lot of drug use occurring at the home." Yes, we are very sure that's what happened, because Kansas government has such a good reputation for being levelheaded and honest.

So what did the kid actually say at school? Banda told journalist Ben Swann her son told counselors his "mom calls it cannabis and not marijuana," and he explained to them that he was actually educated on the facts of medical marijuana usage. Call in the SWAT Team!

So what did they find at Banda's house? Not much really, considering that she is, again, a medical marijuana activist, and not some lady sitting on her ass all day firing up the bong and feeding her kids stale Cheetos, but that didn't stop the judge in the case from suggesting there may be felony charges coming:

During the raid, authorities confiscated an alleged mere 2 ounces of cannabis flower and 1 ounce of cannabis oil. Banda has yet to be charged and was able to go home after the raid.  Shona had a hearing, which seemed to be going her way until the judge spoke up about how many charges she was going to be facing as a result of the raid on her home.  It was recommended that her son be placed into the custody of her ex, the boy's father.

Oh, but the ex committed the unfathomable crime of letting Banda see her son, HORRORS, so they took the child away from his dad as well. Well done, Kansas, breaking up an otherwise seemingly healthy broken family!

Banda, for her part, says that she's completely proud of her activism, and that also she loves her son and she plans to get him back from the insipid shit goblins of Kansas who have deemed her unfit as a mother. She also told Ben Swann that she's not mad at her son, who is obviously better informed than the people currently looking after him:

“For him to have spoken up in class I can’t be upset about because he hears me daily on the phone talking with people, encouraging people to speak up and speak out. We did have the talk about how it’s not OK to bring this up in Kansas, because it’s a different state [than Colorado]. It’s very confusing for a child,” said Banda, noting how difficult it can be for children to understand how something could be considered legal medicine in one state and contraband in another.

It doesn't make sense to adults either, kiddo. There is a GoFundMe set up to help pay for Shona Banda's legal defense, because everything   has a GoFundMe now. Rule 34 of the internet will soon have to be amended to say that "If it exists, there is porn of it. And also a GoFundMe." But at least this one is for good reasons, as opposed to "homosexuals tried to force me to arrange flowers for their wedding WAAAAAH!" If you feel so inclined, Wonkers, go drop her a five-spot. 

[ CBS News / BenSwann.com ]