SMOKE DOPE IN MASSAC IF YOU 'JUANA BE BUSTED

Strange stories from here, there and ... the lush Shawnee Forest in
southern Illinois:

If you want to minimize your chances of smoking pot without getting
arrested (not that we here on Page 2 condone such an activity), you might
want to stay out of the southern portion of Illinois.

A recently released survey by the folks at the National Organization for
the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) found that not only does Illinois have
the fourth-highest total of marijuana arrests in the country--trailing only
New York, California and Texas--but the southern Illinois county of Massac
is fourth in the nation among smaller counties.

Massac County (pop. 14,752) is primarily made up of the towns of Brookport,
Joppa and Metropolis. Charlie Short, head of the 16-person Metropolis
Police Department, told Inc. that most offenders are found toking among the
weeds in the Shawnee Forest.

"There's that old saying, `You should always listen to your mother,'" Short
told Inc. "Well, I guess they're not."

[snip]