ASA Argues for Return Of Patients' Unlawfully Seized Marijuana

[Jim Finnel]

Ruling from state appellate court could end years of local law enforcement violations

ASA's Return of Property campaign reached a pivotal point this month. Chief Counsel Joe Elford appeared before a state appeals court to argue that any California patient whose medical marijuana is seized in a law enforcement encounter has a right to get that cannabis back as soon as the patient demonstrates that the marijuana is lawfully possessed underCalifornia law.

State law says any wrongfully seized property must be returned, but some law enforcement agencies have argued that they cannot give back medical marijuana because doing so would violate federal law, even though the state Attorney General has said otherwise. California court rulings have split on the issue, with some judges ordering the return of medical marijuana and some refusing.

The appeals court is considering two cases. The first is that of Felix Kha, a Garden Grove patient who had eight grams of medical marijuana confiscated. A Superior Court judge ordered the return of his medicine, but the city of Garden Grove not only refused, it appealed the order. The second case is that of Jim Spray, a Hunt-ington Beach patient who was denied a court order by a different judge in the same Court that issued Kha's order.

"It is bad enough to have your medicine seized by police,” said Elford. “But to then be denied its rightful return shows a blatant disregard for the law."

Over the past two years, ASA has had success getting law enforcement agencies such as the California Highway Patrol to change their policies and has even helped patients get cash compensation for medicine that was destroyed or lost before it could be returned.



News Hawk- User https://www.420magazine.com
Source: Americans for Safe Access
Contact: info@AmericansForSafeAccess.org
Copyright: Americans for Safe Access
Website: asa - ASA's national alert list for medical marijuana

 

[zolar]

wonder what would happen if all the local law officiers who didn't return meds were investigated by the state attorney generals office for theft by unlawful taking if 20 plus percent of the states have medical pot laws shouldn't they have adequete standing to petition the supreme court to demand public congressional hearings on accuracy of the dea scheduling and the validity of the the 1937 law especially in light of racial/ ethnic profiling that appanently do,imatef the hearings in the thirties seems getting the transcripts of these original hearings out would rev up our fastest growing demographic group latinos no disrespect but it it looks real similar to nazi propaganda from the same period just switch the words mexican with the word jewish.........