Harvard instructor Mey Akashah pleads guilty to smuggling marijuana in her underwear to Bermuda

A judge in Bermuda has released a Harvard instructor after she admitted to smuggling a small amount of marijuana into the country in her fine washables, according to The Associated Press.

Mey Akashah, an environmental health instructor at the Harvard School of Public Health, told the court she had carried 6 grams, or about a fifth of an ounce, of cannabis in her underwear when arriving Friday for a weekend trip with her husband, the news agency said.

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Akashah’s personal page at HSPH indicates she recently published monographs on holding people to account for the damage to other’s health resulting from human rights violations and “The Fight and Flight of Environmental Change.”

According to the AP, Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner showed leniency: Akashah was released with no fine even though she could not provide documentation for her claim that the cannabis was prescribed by a Californian doctor for medical use.

A penalty would have an “overwhelming effect” on the woman, who the judge said was visibly distraught.

According to The Bermuda Sun, Akashah, 36, was released conditionally after pleading guilty to smuggling.

The court was told today that Akashah was picked out of a lineup after a drug-smelling dog indicated something was amiss.

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Akashah appeared contrite:

“I am aware that even though it was medication for me, I know it was illegal in bringing it across,” she was quoted as telling the court. “At first, I just wanted to say I am very aware of the implications of my actions."