Report: Congressman Frank was present during 2007 marijuana bust

Tipped off by two unnamed individuals, MyFox Boston claims to have unearthed a police report placing Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) at the home of his longtime partner when police arrested the man and charged him with marijuana cultivation, possession and paraphernalia.

In a telephone interview, Frank acknowledged he was present for the bust but denied knowledge that James Ready was growing cannabis. He reportedly told police during the August, 2007 incident that he only smokes cigars and would not be able to identify marijuana if he came across it.

Charges against Ready were dropped after he admitted to possession and paid a fine, MyFox added.

Congressman Frank, while professing to be unable to identify cannabis if he came across it, is no stranger to progressive positions on its prohibition. In April 2008, he proposed federal legislation that would have removed penalties for adult possession of the plant. Appearing on Real Time with Bill Maher, he jokingly referred to it as the "Make Room for Serious Criminals Bill."

“I think it is poor law enforcement to keep on the books legislation that establishes as a crime something which in fact society does not seriously wish to prosecute," he said in a media advisory. "In my view, having federal law enforcement agents engaged in the prosecution of people who are personally using marijuana is a waste of scarce resources better used for serious crimes."

Frank was of Rep. Ron Paul's (R-TX) bill that sought to legalize the farming of industrial hemp. Hemp is a drug-free relative of cannabis and can be used to make thousands of commercial goods, from food to paper, clothing, hygiene products and more. It is currently illegal to grow hemp in the United States.

Speaking to MyFox Boston reporter Alison Bologna, Frank called the arrest of his partner "one of those unfortunate incidents that happened in the past." Pressed by the reporter on whether he had seen Ready's cannabis, he said, "I didn't see it, the police didn't charge me with seeing it. It was out of sight of where I was; it was around the other side of the house."

Court records did not mention Frank's presence at time of the arrest, the report noted. However, sources who tipped off the news organization claimed the original police report listed the congressman as a witness.

This video is from MyFox Boston, broadcast Nov. 6, 2009.