Rob Ford, Marrion Barry, and drug possession in Maryland

Rob Ford, the now infamous Toronto mayor, is currently facing political turmoil. But most of his woes stem not from public policy decisions, but from his allegedly criminal behavior on both sides of the border.

While currently Mr. Ford only has one serious charge officially on his rap sheet (a 1999 charge for driving under the influence in Miami, Florida, to which Ford pleaded “no contest”), he is currently being haunted by an array of allegations—many of them substantiated by video evidence, and some of which may become official criminal charges in the future. Mr. Ford escaped a marijuana charge as part of his “no contest” plea in the Miami DUI case. Since then, Mr. Ford has been the subject of numerous drunk and disorderly conduct allegations, as well as claims that Mr. Ford was a cocaine user. Most recently, a video has surfaced of Mr. Ford taking hits from a crack pipe. After a brief bit of denial, the Canadian politician has acknowledged the authenticity of the video and admitted to smoking crack (but only in a “drunken stupor”).

If that wasn’t enough, Mayor Ford is also in the midst of a drawn out court case over conflict of interest allegations (read more about that case at Torontoist).

Trouble with the law, whether driving under the influence, drug charges, fraud, or worse, is certainly not a foreign concept for American politicians. Right here in the Washington Metropolitan area we have had our fair share of drug-using, money-laundering elected officials.

The most obvious comparison, of course, is Marrion Barry, who was smoking crack on camera way before there was such a thing as a “viral video.” In 1990, in the wake of an FBI sting operation aimed at nailing Barry on variety of drug offenses, the DC mayor was charged with three felony counts of perjury, 10 counts of drug possession, and one count of conspiracy to possess cocaine. Ultimately, Barry was only convicted on one possession charge, with one charge acquitted, and the rest declared a mistrial and thrown out.

Barry has recently denied the comparison between Ford and himself, telling the National Post that: “Unless he was entrapped by the government, it’s not similar.” But a recent Washington Post article demonstrates the strong similarities between the two men’s run-in with crack cocaine and their evolving responses to their alleged misbehavior.

So far, no charges have been filed, and the current consensus among legal analysts is that even with the video of Ford and the mayor’s loose confessions, there is probably not enough evidence to bring drug charges.

But, if the case was stronger, here are what some of those charges and penalties in Maryland might look like:

• Possession of cocaine: potential sentence of up to 4 years in prison and fines reaching $25,000
• Possession of drug paraphernalia: being found with a crack pipe in Maryland could land you in jail for up to four years (in addition to the chance of a maximum $25,000 fine)

Of course, depending on the extenuating circumstances, all of these charges could be escalated with correspondingly stronger penalties. For example, if the amount of cocaine was large enough to warrant “intent to distribute charges” or if the possession took place in a drug-free zone the penalties could be much stricter. For more information on drug penalties in Maryland, see our page on the subject. And if you’re facing drug charges, and aren’t sure what to do, a qualified Maryland criminal defense attorney can help.