The stuff she possessed were, to my understanding, known as “510 cartridges” filled with hashish oil. These are screwed into and used with battery-heated “pens” (as they are the size of a pen). The cartridges are about the size of an ink refill for semi-fountain pens. She apparently had several yet not dozens. I don’t know what they’d look like to an X-ray yet they’d certainly be findable in a baggage search (I presume she was subject to this for whatever reason). These are not “Midnight Express” amounts and she likely brought the carts in and was leaving.
IMO she was setup (like a bowling pin) and while I (who have traveled in and out of Russia a dozen times and lived there) would not get such treatment, I am okay with the US State Dept getting her out of there even if there was some trade.
I think it’s relevant here that Griner is not just an American, but a Black, openly gay, American. She represents everything that Putin and Trump fear. The symbolism of her being targeted for arrest is obvious.
Yes, going to Russia at all was stupid, and carrying in cannabis even more so. Doesn’t mean she isn’t a victim.
I highly doubt the political situation is going to calm down any time soon, Putin doesn’t give a fuck about “reasonable”, and I think she was grabbed specifically to force the U.S. into this deal.
Reading that TMZ story, she doesn’t actually admit to having “forgotten” the hash oil was there, or to having “accidentally” packed it or anything like that. She says she doesn’t understand how they got in her bags, but admits that she might have accidentally left them there.
Which seems to leave open the possibility that the “evidence” was planted, and the Russians either knew that she actually did use cannabis (thus making the false accusations more credible) or just got lucky.
They are the most common type of cannabis cartridges, with 510 specifying the thread pattern. Some sellers use a proprietary thread/latching system and you have to use their batteries. Non-510 systems are often called “pods”.
I’ve never heard anyone call the stuff inside the cartridge or pod “hashish oil”. Some sellers call their material “distillate” some “live liquid resin” and there are other terms as well depending on the method used to extract the THC from the plant material.
Ukraine has captured some important Russians. Perhaps one of them is desirable enough for a trade? Griner goes to Ukraine and then home through Poland.
That’s one possibility. But I realize the Russians want Viktor Bout. They can have him resupplied and back in business very quickly. Arming people in conflicts that align with Putins interests.
Customs don’t need a reason, plus any dog will “ping” if the handler wants them to.
I said she was “setup” because of your middle guess - the Russians likely knew what she had and that they would find it. I assume she brought the stuff in - only because I’ve lived in Russia and while I am not a celebrity it is difficult to find anything illegal besides bootleg Vodka.
ETA: Aslo Black Caviar and a liquid sold OTC in pharmacies called “Korvalol” that has appreciable amounts of Phenobarbitol. But good look bringing either abroad
Is there really any reason they’d care about getting this particular guy back? I mean, it seems like all you’d need to be an international arms dealer is some arms and contact info for shady characters around the globe, and Russia could easily provide anyone with both of those. What irreplaceable skills or knowledge does Bout have?
No, two cartridges containing ~0.70 grams between the two of them (obviously at least one had been partially used). Even under the draconian Russian laws, for a Russian resident that would be simple possession and about an $80 fine (5,000 rubles) or 15 days detention. And in fact I can easily buy that she accidentally packed that small of an amount in a jacket pocket or some such thing.
The charges are grotesquely disproportionate to the actual offense.
I don’t know. Viktor Bout does have experience selling weapons and has contacts. His International contacts are 10 years out of date.
Apparently the Russians are interested in a possible trade. The potential deal was covered on Fridays, ABC Evening News.
Griner seems like a good person that’s in way over her head. She had Russians cheering when she played. The change from star athlete to prisoner must be very confusing.
I have seen a lot of commenters of a conservative bent on Facebook saying that Griner should be left to rot in a Russian prison because “she’s proven that she hates America” by kneeling for the national anthem. We’re still dealing with that shit almost two years after Trump left office.