Father faces charges after his son, 8, tells police they smoked marijuana together

BEAVER COUNTY, Pa. — A Beaver County man is facing charges after police say his 8-year-old son told them he smoked marijuana with his father.

Brian Benson, 32, told Channel 11 News Wednesday that he wasn’t the person who smoked marijuana around his young son. He said he and the 8-year-old were passengers in a car when the driver began smoking the drug.

“I love (my children) with all my heart. (They’re) the most important thing in my life, (and they’re) the only thing that keeps me going every day,” Benson said.

According to a criminal complaint, police were called to Benson’s Midland home after his son’s adoptive mother found three stamp bags of heroin and a needle. An officer said that while at the home, Benson’s son said he smoked marijuana with his father and that it made him “feel funny.”

Benson denied the allegations.

“I did not do that. We were in a car. My friend lit up a joint. My son was in the backseat, and (he) probably got a contact buzz,” he said.

Benson admitted that he made a bad decision, but not a criminal one. He said he’s clean and that his only priority is his child.

“I love him. He is my everything,” Benson said.

The father’s son remains in his custody. Benson told Channel 11 News that he plans to fight the charges, which include endangering the welfare of a child.

Cox Media Group