Possession of MJ carries more penalty than spying for a foreign government

amazing isn't it? sure is silly to incarcerate people for possession of a plant imo.

they will get some agents back for that banch

This is part of a deal to get some people convicted (in Russia) of spying on behalf of the U.S. back into the U.S. -- so it's "spy for a spy" so to speak.

If someone facing charges for marijuana possession has something to offer the prosecution that the prosecutor finds interesting and/or wants (like information on a more serious criminal and/or crime), they can get a deal, too. It sucks, but it is what it is: the way the prosecutor's game is played, pure and simple.

If you want to find better indication of our national criminal justice-related priorities being out of line, look at the sentencing for the crime the defendant is charged with, not the deals they are offered, which are based largely on something other than the crime alleged in the case.

For example, look at the sentence being faced by the fellow accused of contracting to sell shoulder-launched missiles to an FBI agent who was posing as a terrorist, and compare that to the maximum sentence Rob Black could have been hit with if he had been convicted of all the counts in his obscenity trial, instead of copping a plea.

You will not be happy with what you find when you make that comparison.

You can fill a form in to register as a spy?

Pretty standard to just send foreign spies home though so not really massively controversial.

Also, tough-on-pot laws are easy enough to pass in one short term of office and influence your next political career move. Second hand smoke laws are like that. NY is trying to make it fashionable to tax sugary sodas as well. And ban transfats. Popular support seems easy for that stuff.