Polish leader tries to smoke pot in Parliament

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Updated: February 22, 2012 8:03AM

The leader of a new left-wing party in Poland threatened to light up a joint in Parliament on Friday — but just burned incense instead.

Janusz Palikot is campaigning to get soft drugs legalized and to otherwise liberalize the conservative country.

“We’re trying to get into room 143 to burn some grass, in accordance with our announcement,” Palikot told reporters in a news conference held in his Parliament office.

Palikot’s plan, however, put him on a collision course with the speaker, Ewa Kopacz, who vowed not to let him break the law in parliament.

She reported him to prosecutors, and in the end, Palikot simply lit incense sticks containing a tiny amount of cannabis. They emitted a scent of burning marijuana, but Palikot said they were purchased legally in a shop. AP