Report: Gators Martin, Johnson also cited for marijuana possession in January

By Adam Silverstein
April 24, 2011

Senior cornerback Janoris Jenkins’s two arrests for marijuana possession made headlines this spring, but two other Florida Gators defenders were also picked up on a similar charge, according to a report by the Palm Beach Post.

Redshirt freshman linebacker Chris Martin and redshirt sophomore defensive end Kendric Johnson were each cited with misdemeanors when officers from the Gainesville Police Department found them in their respective vehicles with approximately two grams of marijuana on separate occasions.

According to the Post, Martin was arrested on Jan. 29 when officers “detected the scent of the drug coming from [his] vehicle.” He complied with their request and turned over the cannabis in his possession. Johnson was picked up earlier in the month on Jan. 9 for speeding and the situation unfolded in a similar manner.

Both Martin and Johnson were offered and accepted deferred prosecution by the state and will likely have an opportunity to clear themselves of charges by paying fines and completing community service.

This information comes just one day after Jenkins was arrested for marijuana possession for the second time in under 90 days. Neither head coach Will Muschamp nor a University of Florida spokesperson has commented on any of the three arrests.

24 Comments

  1. David says:

    GPD doesn’t cur the slack other police departments do. I’m not saying it is a bad thing. Just a statement.

  2. wingtee says:

    The top 1 % of the 1 %. an embarassing group of young men. I’m sure more to come.

  3. Luke says:

    The top 1% of the 1%? Have you been around athletes (or any 17-22 yr olds) these days? That’s total coach speak and these are Urban’s recruits, so we’ll see what comes of it. I’m just a little surprised there aren’t regular drug tests so the coaches can (try) to help these kids live straight. By 20, some of these kids have been smoking 5-8 yrs, so kind of hard to just change, especially in Gainesville with that Miami crip and the Gainesville green!

  4. gator alum says:

    i recently got caught too…it really stinks

  5. C3 says:

    They need to hold a meeting, about the importance of keeping your pot inside your apartment and not smoking in public. I honestly don’t care, at all, that they smoke weed, and I’m sure more than half the team, at minimum, does. But it’s beyond stupid to do it in a car or club or any public setting. They should be punished for being dumb enough to bring it outside, if they keep it inside, they avoid it becoming public knowledge and having people like Wingtee act like they are the scum of the Earth.

    • DCgator says:

      Seriously. Smoke at home or make some baked goods for the road. I couldn’t care less about weed but the arrests need to taper off.

    • mentaldiarrhea says:

      Amen. Smoke it up, guys…at home! The car is the easiest place to get caught. Rent a damn hotel if you have to. Just don’t speed on the way there.

  6. Gatorgrad79 says:

    I have no clue about the ages of most readers of this site, but obviously I am older ( class of ’79). Let me say unequivocally that ‘everyone’ DOES NOT SMOKE WEED IN COLLEGE! I was at UF in the 70’s, and it was rampant, but MANY of us were serious students, and aspired to future careers where a drug arrest of any type was DISQUALIFYING! We could not afford RISKY RECREATION which would give us a record and ruin our opportunity at a medical career, etc. My son recently graduated UF with a Master’s, and as he has political aspirations, he did not do this in college , nor did he ever drive drunk, although many of his friends did, and paid a heavy price.
    Using a person’s disadvantaged background as justification for this behavior is B__LLS___T! I grew up poor in the poorest of Florida’s 67 counties, and worked my ass off t get through UF on scholarship and part-time jobs, usually sleeping about 4 hrs a night, and graduating with honors.
    These players have an opportunity that THEY DON’T APPRECIATE AND ARE WILLING TO THROW IT AWAY FOR A TEMPORARY EUPHORIA! Does their life suck so bad outside of football/basketball that they can’t delay some gratification for a couple years in order to secure their future!? Are we recruiting kids with long-term drug habits?!!
    Now is the time to cut this crap out!! Jenkins needs to be DONE, maybe some of the others as well, and UF needs a recruitment policy that includes serious background review. Recruiting kids who have been lionized for their ability and allowed to igore the laws (and sometimes even common decency) always bites UF in the butt. Athletes need to want to come to UF badly enoug that they can demonstrate they can keep their nose clean, go to class, and act responsibly.
    Why no leadership on the Gators last year? Look around! I am embarrassed for our team and our school.

    • CH says:

      I appreciate your stance. Probably in the minority, but still a strong stance that I respect. I also appreciate forgiveness and second chances. Some (majority) of us weren’t as mature as you in college and without second chances how would we prove that we did grow up after college?

    • jay d says:

      I completely agree….I argue with a biased of being a recovering opiate addict…these kids need to deal with the harsh consequences of their risky actions…I personally would like to see every student athlete who has an alcohol or drug bust complete a program to save their scholarships…doesn’t have to be a rehab but deffinetly some kind of an awareness program…if they keep receiving slaps on the wrist they will not change their lifestyle…

  7. Will says:

    I’m moving back to Gainesville. Apparently there is some good stuff down there.

  8. Alex says:

    This should bode well for our football team this year. Generally our success has been directly proportional to the number of weed busts on the team

  9. BigCrunk says:

    Yeh, Gainesville does have the dank weed.

  10. HardToKillGator says:

    When dope is causing a problem and the person doesn’t stop it’s a thing called addiction. Same deal with alcohol.

  11. Bonelldonnell says:

    The hypocrisy here is painful. These kids grew up with a president (Bush Jr.) with a history of doing cocaine and repeatedly getting caught drunk driving. Most every adult they know takes drugs of some sort (alcohol, prescription drugs, or recreational drugs). Then there’s the impracticality of it all. The universities know that the majority of their students drink before they turn 21, but they turn a blind eye to it — even the “dry” campuses. And alcohol is much more dangerous than pot –particularly when it comes to driving under the influence. These kids are in college — the place where most of us tried all these things. Do you think they’re going to be any different because they’re athletes? Human nature trumps logic every time.

    It’s time that they just legalized marijuana and lowered the drinking age. The drinking age in Canada is as low as 16 in some states, and 18 everywhere else. The U.S. and Canada both have about a 4% alcoholism rate.
    All this time, effort, and money to accomplish NOTHING. All it does is demonize these athletes for being normal kids and put university officials in very unfair positions.

    • Gatorgrad79 says:

      There will always be adults who misbehave and break the law – that is no justification for allowing children to do the same. Young people need to be taught that just because you observe someone else doing something RISKY, it is in your power to make a better choice! This is about making choices with the potential to have lifelong effect. Many of these athletes never learn this because they get ‘bailed out’ of their misdeeds repeatedly, and begin to think they are immune from the laws of the land .

  12. wingtee says:

    Bonnell your liberal stance on this makes me cringe because I am afraid that more people think like you than me. I can’t believe this country has been beaten and overpowered by the drug addicts and distributors. As you can see it has had an I’ll affect on our country and basically out attitudes towards life.

  13. Bonelldonnell says:

    It’s not a liberal stance; it’s a logical one.

    What did you not understand from my post? If you’re an alcoholic, you’re a drug addict. If Canada, a country with a much lower drinking age, has the same level of alcoholism, it tells you that addicts are going to be addicts regardless. It’s how people cope with diminished levels of dopamine, seratonin, GABA, and other chemicals in our brains.

    Wingtee – Everybody wants to get high; we just put artificial limitations on certain “highs.” What’s your addiction? Adrenaline? Chocolate? Sex? Video games? Work? Music? Poker? Running? How about books or television? They’re all just ways to increase those chemical levels..

    What I’m saying is that we wouldn’t have any less TV addicts, if you couldn’t watch it until you were 21. Alcohol is the same. Marijuana is the same.

    It seems like your disdain is just a way of making yourself feel better…because their high is more stigmatized than yours. Perhaps you’re addicted to being self-righteous. It generally keeps one from looking at things with an objective viewpoint.

    • Not blaming you but let’s stay away from personal attacks here. This is not a message board where stuff like that goes on. I like to think all my commenters can stick to the topic. Thanks in advance.

  14. wingtee says:

    Bonell , I respect your opinion. I think we do all have addicitions .. Thanks for
    suggesting sex might
    be one of mine although
    my age suggests otherwise. I think smoking pot has a tendency to liner in the body
    if one partakes on a regular basis. I think research tells us it lingers in the body
    longer than alchohol. I would also suggest that those persons who use
    stronger drugs probably started with weed , not a beer.
    Anyway have a great day Gators! Does not matter what I think anyway.

  15. CH says:

    Adam- you got any articles on “stem cell research”?

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