A man who got caught with marijuana here allegedly told police he was only celebrating the recent legalization of that drug in two other states.

But since pot is still illegal here, Christopher Lee Queen, 41, of Autumn Ave., was cited to court.

It happened after Cookeville Police Officer Josh Ward stopped a car on 1st Street at 1:30 a.m. November 8.

The officer said he stopped the car after the driver ran a stop sign. He also noticed that the driver was not using a seatbelt.

Queen was the driver, and allegedly he told Officer Ward that he “did not notice the stop sign and that he had forgotten to put on his seatbelt,” the report says.

Officer Ward said he could smell marijuana while he was talking to Queen and said Queen consented to a search.

“I located two clear plastic baggies that contained less than half an ounce of a green leafy substance in Mr. Queen’s front right pants pocket,” the report says.

“I believed the substance to be marijuana based on my training and experience. Mr. Queen said it was marijuana and that he was celebrating the new marijuana laws that passed in Colorado and Washington.”

A search of the car turned up no other illegal substance, the officer said.

“I issued Mr. Queen a citation for no seatbelt and a citation for simple possession of marijuana.”