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Police Drop Weed Charges Against Obama’s Half Brother

After arresting George Obama, President Barack Obama’s half brother, on weed possession Saturday, Kenyan authorities dropped all charges against him just hours after detaining him.

Apparently, George Obama, who is in his mid-20s, was caught up in a drug raid while with a group of people who possessed the marijuana.

“Being found with people who are in possession of cannabis is a petty offense,” Nairobi police spokesman Eric Kiraithe told CNN. Earlier reports stated that George Obama was arrested for marijuana possession and resisting arrest. A conviction on those offenses could’ve resulted in large fines or a jail sentence of up to one year.

The president and George Obama have the same father, but have met only once and hardly know one another. George, who didn’t attend his half brother’s Inauguration last month, managed to keep a relatively low profile until last August, when an Italian magazine claimed that he was living in a shack and making “less that a dollar a day.” The report upset George Obama and prompted him to speak out.

“I was brought up well. I live well even now,” he said. “The magazines, they have exaggerated everything. I think I kind of like it here. There are some challenges, but maybe it is just like where you come from, there are the same challenges.”

The younger Obama is studying to become a mechanic, and says he enjoys spending time volunteering at community youth groups.

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