Sam Hurd Sentenced for Marijuana and Cocaine Deals
Remember Sam Hurd, the Texas-grown wide-receiver who played for the Cowboys and then the Bears, who finished his career with a game-losing move toward widespread distribution of marijuana and cocaine? Newsfeeds report that he was finally sentenced to 15 years in prison, instead of the life sentence that he might have received. He will not be eligible for parole until he serves 85 percent of his sentence. Predictably, he is appealing the ruling.
Hurd’s troubles began in 2011, when he was arrested for purchasing a kilogram of cocaine from an informant accompanied by an undercover federal agent. He actually wanted to purchase up to 10 kilograms of coke per week and 1,000 pounds of marijuana weekly. He stated that his own supplier couldn’t deal in that quantity, and he was looking for a reliable source so that he could distribute drugs throughout the Chicago area weekly.
One has to wonder why someone with an established football career would risk everything by selling drugs. He was good enough so that even when he was arrested, he was not initially cut from the team. The Bears coach issued a statement that he was “a guy who showed up every day for work.” Of course, this new sentence will run a little interference with any future football career plans that he might have.
He not only threw away his football career, but he has also brought financial ruin and shame to his wife and daughter.
Initially, the investigation was launched by the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Hurd bought some cocaine in Dallas and then sold it to a friend, who sold it to an informant. ICE officials subsequently pulled over the vehicle driven by the friend of Hurd’s, who was driving a car owned by Hurd. At that time, Hurd claimed that he had given the money involved in the transaction as well as the vehicle to his friend so that the vehicle could receive maintenance and detailing work. The amount of money provided for this so-called work was $88,000. That’s some kind of detail job.
Hurd dropped his head and emitted “a sigh of relief and tears” after receiving his sentence in this case, according to reports. He also said that he had a lot of regrets and hadn’t considered the consequences. Even the judge admitted that none of Hurd’s charges involved few actual drug deals since the investigation mostly unearthed a series of agreements.
Does it seem difficult to understand what would motivate a young man who had everything to try and build a drug distribution empire? Maybe, like Walter White and his meth, Hurd just wanted to do it because he could.
Hurd has identified himself as a marijuana addict, which is admirable in a time when so many people stubbornly insist that marijuana isn’t addictive. Hurd admits that he was smoking marijuana constantly. He says that everything he has done was for the sole purpose of getting himself more and more marijuana.
The combined use of marijuana and cocaine is pretty common among substance abusers. A recent study notes that while most people shrug off the dangers of these common drugs, they can put the cardiovascular system at risk, and they also cause people to react slowly and do dumb things—Hurd being a case in point.
If you or someone you know needs addiction treatment for marijuana or cocaine, call a local residential drug rehab center. Staff will provide information on how to get started on a new life—one free of worry about breaking the law or financial ruin.
