[Farm A.C.]

Police return pot to patient three years later

'That's a chunk of hash,' Huntington Beach man says.
BY CINDY CARCAMO
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER


HUNTINGTON BEACH- It was like Christmas Day for Jim Spray. He giggled with glee as he tore into brown paper bags as if they were presents.

These bags, however, were filled with jars of his medical marijuana and other paraphernalia that had been stored for nearly three years at the city's police department.

A court order today forced officials to give it back, marking the second time in a year that Huntington Beach police have had to return seized marijuana to a patient after court rulings stated that the marijuana should not have been seized in the first place.

"That's a chunk of hash," said Spray, a 52-year-old trade show decorator from Huntington Beach. A tall, stocky police official watched as the medical marijuana patient inspected a tiny eye shadow-sized container full of hashish.

"It's still good. I almost forgot about all this," said Spray, who uses medical marijuana because of pain from a herniated disc.

It has been almost three years since Huntington Beach officers confiscated Spray's estimated 4 ounces of marijuana and a $1,000 growing system, which included special lighting and a water-timing system.

While police had destroyed most of the growing equipment, officials returned Spray's marijuana today after an order from Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas Borris.

The order came nearly nine months after the 4th District Court of Appeal ruled that the city must return Spray's marijuana and equipment taken from his home in Nov. 2005. Spray was represented by attorneys with medical marijuana advocacy group, Americans for Safe Access.

The Huntington Beach Police Department doesn't have a policy regarding medical marijuana, officials have said in the past. Officers interpret the Compassionate Use Act as protecting medical marijuana recipients from prosecution, not arrest.

The 1996 law allows people to use medical marijuana in California. Federal law, however, outlaws all marijuana use.

On Aug. 25, state Attorney General Jerry Brown developed guidelines for the first time since the passing of the act. The most notable guideline upholds the legality of medical marijuana dispensaries that operate as nonprofit cooperatives or collectives.

In addition, the new directive essentially tells law enforcement officials that they cannot take marijuana from medical marijuana patients in the first place and are not allowed to charge them if they are carrying less than 8 ounces.

Agencies, such as Huntington Beach, however, are still trying to figure out what to make of Brown's directive since it is opinion and not law, officials said.

About six months ago, Dave Lucas of Huntington Beach also retrieved his purple urkel – a higher end
marijuana – and a couple of smoking pipes officers confiscated from him more than a year ago.

Lucas retrieved his medical marijuana in April, after waiting for the California Supreme Court to decline to review an appellate court ruling, which ordered Garden Grove police to return seized medical marijuana to Felix Kha.

In November, Kha won the right to get his medical marijuana returned to him. A month later, the same court also ruled in Spray's favor.

"Hopefully they'll stop taking people's medicine away," Spray said today out loud in the police lobby.
Spray said he plans to file a claim against Huntington Beach because of his destroyed marijuana growing equipment. Medical marijuana advocates Bill Britt and Marvin Chavez Sr., who were there for support, helped Spray with the about half a dozen bags of once-seized pot.

"Do you know how much of a pleasure it is to take medicine from the department?'' Chavez, a medical marijuana patient and advocate, said. "It's such a victory."

[Dankz]

That's awesome.. That guy is stoked..

[kusher]

it should not have happened in the frist place. the police wonder why nobody has any respect for them. uh duh.

[SmilerG]

I love stories that have happy endings!

When I read about this, I envisioned one of those vintage melodramatic, heavy-handed antidrug episodes of "Dragnet", and imagined Sgt. Joe Friday & Officer Gannon showing up at the guy's door, to return the goods.

First, a “YIKES!”. And then, a “YOW-ZA!”. LOL

[dorknob]

yea besides my bipolar peestain roomate who had a card,neighbors,and finally the police always feared an encounter with h.b. po po thank christ it never happened.

[palmspringsbum]

Originally Posted by SmilerG

I love stories that have happy endings!

When I read about this, I envisioned one of those vintage melodramatic, heavy-handed antidrug episodes of "Dragnet", and imagined Sgt. Joe Friday & Officer Gannon showing up at the guy's door, to return the goods.

Jeez, you must be as old as me, or older. Or did they remake that recently and I didn't know about it?

You know what got me, it seems people talked really fast back then. You ever notice that?

The Untouchables seems to have had the fastest talking, best I can recall.

[Dan the Weed Tracking Man]

Here is the link http://www.ocregister.com/articles/m...ach-huntington maybe they will start to get the message!

[ironchefblue]

Very cool news. Now someone get him to post a report on the "Shelf life of MMJ" thread.

[ASA Field]

It felt like this case was never going to end - we couldn't be happier with the result. Check out ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford's blog about the case for more details: http://safeaccessnow.org/blog/?p=166