Shawnee’s voice is shrill, quavering — on the edge of desperate. She clutches her 11-month-old son while trying to comprehend the situation unfolding in front of her.
Her boyfriend — her child’s father, Aaron — is in handcuffs.
“Why are you doing this?” she pleads with police officers standing on the lawn outside her home.
“Your baby doesn’t need to be subjected to marijuana,” an officer replies, in an audio recording made by Shawnee on her cell phone.
But she could explain: The couple have legal prescriptions for the marijuana in their home. His is prescribed for anxiety and chronic pain; hers for depression and anxiety.