Rhode Island House Minority Leader Republican Robert Watson arrested for DUI + Marijuana Possession.

...is facing charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana possession after a random stop by Connecticut police as he was driving his pickup truck through a checkpoint in East Haven, Conn., Friday night.

A police report said his eyes were “extremely glassy and bloodshot,” his speech slurred, and he had difficulty performing a series of sobriety tests.

Watson, R-East Greenwich, recently slammed [progressive] Rhode Island lawmakers by invoking the image of pot-smoking immigrants. “I suppose if you’re a gay man from Guatemala who gambles and smokes pot, you probably think that we’re onto some good ideas here,” he told his liberal colleagues in ridiculing their legislative agenda.

Watson said he had a small supply of pot with him in case he experienced a recurrence of his pancreatic illness. He said the illness put him in a coma for several days last fall and caused pain that he likened to a gunshot. He turned to marijuana after other pain medications gave him an allergic reaction, Watson said.
Rhode Island has a medical marijuana law, but Watson never sought a marijuana prescription because he wanted to keep his use private.

House Republicans unanimously voted to retain Watson as their leader, a position he has held since 1998.

[link to www.projo.com]

[link to www.wisconsingazette.com]