In article , AZ Astrea says...


"Tracy" wrote in message
news:WTNQc.84487$8_6.38238@attbi_s04...
Eugene mom guilty of blowing marijuana smoke into children
07:12 AM PDT on Friday, August 6, 2004

Associated Press


EUGENE, Ore. -- A mother who attempted to calm her children by blowing
marijuana smoke into their lungs has been sentenced to almost three years
in
prison.


Rebecca Marie Best, 27, pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of
application
of a controlled substance to the body of another. Other charges were
dropped
in a plea deal.


The crimes happened virtually every time the children visited their mother
in 2003, said Debra Vogt, a deputy district attorney in Lane County.


The father has custody of the children, ages 6 and 8.


A neighbor suspected the activity and reported it to the children's
stepmother, who relayed it to the children's father. He questioned the
children and then reported it to police, Vogt said.


In police interviews, the children reported their mother said she wanted
them to "settle down," although the children said they were usually
engaged
in normal play when their mother would get out the marijuana pipe, Vogt
said.


"She seals her mouth over theirs and then blows it down their throats,"
Vogt
said. "It happened many times."


When Best learned police were investigating, she fled to her former home
in
Tennessee, where she was found.


Best initially told police she gave the children marijuana after they
caught
her smoking it and became curious. She later admitted the children were
being truthful.


Defense lawyer Herb Evans said Best's offenses were "egregious" and will
have a lasting psychological impact on the children.


However, he questioned the wisdom of spending tax dollars to imprison a
woman with lifelong mental problems when she agreed in a settlement
proposal
to terminate her parental rights, never see the children again and
voluntarily commit herself for mental health treatment.
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How many men would they allow to do this? A man would just sit in prison
while his cs arrearage increases. Why should she get off so easy?
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It is still difficult for society to believe that women can screw up totally on
their own, (When she murders her kids, it is probably dad's fault.) so they
shouldn't be held to the same standard as men (who society perceives as
inherently more evil). That aside, I think most older folks remember a time when
sick babies were calmed with whiskey and honey (hot toddy) and teething pain was
relieved with a straight whiskey rub.
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