Boxer aide charged with marijuana possession

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An aide to Sen. Barbara Boxer was arrested Tuesday and charged with possession of marijuana after he was stopped during a security screening while entering the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington at about noon.

Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Capitol Police, said officers observed Marcus Stanley, 43, with a “green leafy substance that tested positive for marijuana.” He was released later on Tuesday, she said. Stanley had been working for Boxer’s senate office since January 2009 as a senior economic adviser.

“Marcus Stanley is no longer with this office,” Boxer’s communication director Zachary Coile said in a statement. “He submitted his resignation and Sen. Boxer accepted it because his actions yesterday were wrong and unacceptable.”

The three-term Democratic senator and her Republican rival, Carly Fiorina, both oppose the proposed November ballot measure that would legalize the possession and cultivation of marijuana in California.

A CNN/Time magazine poll released Wednesday shows Fiorina and Boxer locked in a tight race. Boxer was leading Fiorina 48% to 44% in the survey, which was conducted between Sept. 2-7 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5%.

The poll suggests the governor’s race is even closer with Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman leading her Democratic opponent Jerry Brown 48% to 46%.

-- Maeve Reston