News has reached Whitelines HQ that two well-known riders have been arrested in New Zealand for the possession of cannabis.

Police apparently pulled over a pair of snowboarders, aged 26 and 21, earlier this month and found “not an insignificant amount” of marijuana in their car. Although the riders were not officially named, local newspapers reported that one of them was “understood to be a Winter Olympic double medallist”.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out from this information that the pair must be Danny Kass and Louis Vito, who were travelling to compete in the Burton New Zealand Open together.

The van in which Danny and Louis were apparently travelling.
Picture from Bleacher Report.

Thankfully, according to news site the Bleacher Report, the amount found on the riders was small enough to enable them to get off with a warning, after agreeing to pay a contribution to a local charity – it would appear they’re pretty chilled about that kind of thing in NZ.

Whether the US Olympic authorities will take a similarly lax attitude is uncertain. If they’re feeling strict, Danny and Louis may find themselves unable to compete in next year’s Vancouver Winter Olympics. Remember what happened when the swimmer and eight-times gold medallist Michael Phelps was busted toking on a bong?

We’d probably guess that Danny and Louis’ sponsors will take a more relaxed attitude than Phelps’ major sponsor Kellogg’s, but it would be a shame if the two were banned from competing. It’s hardly performance-enhancing after all…