If you live in your mom's attic and you're growing pot for sale, you better buy her a good TV

The Massachusetts Appeals Court today upheld the drug convictions of a Townsend man whose pot and mushroom stashes came to light when a local cop doubling as a firefighter went through the house investigating a report of smoke.

During his fire search, the officer ran across pot, pot-growing implements and numerous bongs. When done, he and an officer directing traffic outside asked Jeremy Farnsworth's mother's permission to search the house, which she gave.

Farnsworth argued his mother had no right to give the cops permission to go through his stuff - which also included a strong box with psilocybin mushrooms inside. The court basically said it was her house, her rules: She freely gave them permission to search the house and Farnsworth himself had never barred his mother from his loft room himself, so she had authority to allow a search even in his room. He had also given her a key to the strong box.

According to the ruling, the origin of the smoke turned out to be a faulty TV.

Complete ruling.