In 1976, a district court judge in Boston was trying a cocaine possession case but before ruling, he insisted he needed to try cocaine himself. It was the 70s after all.
Roxbury District Court Judge Elwood McKenney was presiding over the case that, according to the Palo Alto Times (11/2/76), was “challenging the constitutionality of Massachusetts’ anti-cocaine laws.”
“My wanting to do this is similar to a judge visiting the scene of a crime or viewing a movie to determine if it’s obscene,” McKenney said.
His plan was to try the coke while under supervision at Harvard Medical School.
From Weird Universe:
About a month later, McKenney abandoned his decision to try cocaine, saying that all the publicity about it had distorted his intent.
But he then proceeded to rule that the Massachusetts statutes forbidding the possession of cocaine were unconstitutional.
Obviously his ruling must have been dismissed or overturned at some point, otherwise cocaine would now be legal in Massachusetts.
Previously: “Lawyer in trouble for being high on cocaine in court and insisting it ‘enhances his performance’“
