Two high-profile US snowboarders - one understood to be a Winter Olympics silver medallist - have been arrested and charged with possessing cannabis in Wanaka.
The men had a significant amount of the drug in their possession when police doing a random breath-alcohol check stopped their car on Beaconpoint Rd on Saturday evening, Sergeant Paul Crosswell said yesterday.
One of the men was driving.
No other charges have been laid and the police have declined to publicly identify the snowboarders.
They are scheduled to appear in the Queenstown District Court on Monday.
The men, aged in their 20s, told police they were in New Zealand as tourists.
It is not known whether they intend to compete in the New Zealand Snowboarding Open, which begins in Wanaka on August 11, or the Winter Games NZ starting on August 22.
Attempts to contact US snowboard coach Mike Janowski yesterday were unsuccessful.
The men are not on the list of US entrants received for the snowboard open.
The maximum penalty for a conviction for possession of marijuana is three months' jail and/or a $500 fine.
- OTAGO DAILY TIMES
Top US snowboarders face cannabis charges
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