It's an excuse that's been used time and time again by teenagers around the country, and it's worked a grand total of zero times. Yet one Minnesota man took some major strides for the "oregano excuse" users (see: drug abusers) by weaseling out of punishment at an exhibition baseball game at the new Target Field last week.
The story, which was originally posted on CNN's iReport, has been gaining popularity this week. In it, a teacher says that she (we'll go with "she" even though we don't know the gender of the teacher in question) took three students to an exhibition game at the brand spanking new stadium when a man in the section declared boldly that he would be "the first person to smoke weed at Target Field."
The man then apparently pulled out a homemade bong (made out of a red pepper) and started smoking marijuana.
"I got up immediately with the intent of having security watch him take a hit," the teacher wrote. "I approached security rather than the individual because I was fed up with his stupidity throughout the whole game. Security walked over to him with his smoking device in his hands and gave him a warning. HE DID NOT GET KICKED OUT! They did not even make him throw away his red pepper. The individual claimed it was 'oregano.'"
It's a fun story, but like anything on the Internet, it's not necessarily real. There are photos that appear to corroborate the story, but pictures don't necessarily tell an entire story. Even CNN points out that iReport stories may not be … well, factual.
"So you know," the site explains, "iReport is the way people like you report the news. The stories in this section are not edited, fact-checked or screened before they post. Only ones marked 'CNN iReport' have been vetted by CNN."
The story in question does not have CNN's stamp of approval.
Target Field will open its gates for its first Major League Baseball game on Wednesday, April 14, when the Boston Red Sox take on the Twins. It will be a day of celebration for the fine folks from the Land of 10,000 Lakes. They've got a new, outdoor stadium, they've got hometown hero Joe Mauer for the better part of the next decade, and they've apparently got free license to celebrate in any fashion they'd like.
Photo from CNN iReport.
