Medical Marijuana Payback Burns Colorado Police

[Bubble Bags Australia]

If police in Colorado take or destroy a medical marijuana crop and take paraphenalia during a raid they have to give it all back or pay what it is worth

 

http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=5387

[67Special]

Medical Marijuana Payback Burns Colorado Police

 

Aurora Pot Grower Blazes New Legal Trail

 

by Emil Steiner, Washington Post

January 8th, 2008

 

Policing pot in Colorado is about to get a lot more complicated. The kick-in-the-door raids SWAT teams have long employed could now cost cities hundreds of thousands of dollars following two landmark court decisions upholding the state's constitutional protection of medical marijuana. Under the rulings, police departments are required to return any marijuana and paraphernalia taken from state-sanctioned growers, and can be sued by those growers if the crops aren't preserved.

 

The largest case thus far involves Kevin Dickes, who intends to sue the Denver suburb of Aurora for over $360,000 in pot damages. It comes less than a month after a judge ordered the return of an estimated $200,000 of medical marijuana to a couple in Fort Collins.

 

Dickes, a 38-year-old Desert Shield Marine who suffers from debilitating pain after catching grenade shrapnel in the Gulf, says he was treated worse by Colorado police than by anyone in Iraq. In April, 2007 officers raided his home after receiving a tip from a neighbor and, according to his lawyer Robert J. Corry Jr., threw the disabled veteran to the ground, held him at gunpoint and ransacked his home. They found 71 marijuana plants, at least 65 of which they confiscated illegally, and they charged Dickes with felony cultivation. After eight months of legal wrangling, the Arapahoe County district attorney dismissed the charges, determining that Dickes was in fact a certified grower. But, by then, his plants were long dead.

 

Thanks to a referendum passed in 2000, Article XVIII, Section 14 of the Colorado State Constitution stipulates that "any property... used in connection with the medical use of marijuana... shall not be harmed, neglected, injured, or destroyed while in the possession of state or local law enforcement officials." Not being equipped with the growroom or know-how to maintain them, Aurora police simply uprooted the plants and threw them in the evidence room. Det. Shannon Lucy, an Aurora police spokesperson, illustrated her department's cultivation ignorance, explaining that they kept only the leaves, which she called the "only thing of value," not the buds in which most of the active ingredient, THC, resides.

 

After obtaining a court order, Dickes attempted to pick up his property yesterday afternoon from the Aurora police department. According to Corry though, what the police returned was "dry and useless." Of the 71 plants, only an estimated 3 ounces remained, none of which were usable "from a medical perspective." He compared the incident to police seizing a person's car which they believed was stolen, "smashing the windows, pouring sugar in the gas tank, and then returning it," after discovering it wasn't stolen after all. Applying this general principle of law it seems natural to seek compensation and using the DEA standards for marijuana valuation, ($5,200/plant) Dickes will seek $369,200 in lost medicine.

 

Aurora Police Chief Daniel J. Oates, called that sum "absurd" and disputed the quantity of marijuana seized. He claims that at no point during the April 27th raid did Dickes inform police that he had a permit, though he also admitted that officers did not ask if he had one. It was only after Dickes was removed from the scene that a permit was found. "Frustrated" by the negative press over the incident, Chief Oates stressed to me that police immediately stopped their search when a permit was located, and got on the phone with a senior prosecutor who instructed them to leave 6 plants and all the grow equipment. Nonetheless Dickes was held and charged even after the permit was uncovered.

 

Despite the district attorney's dismissal and subsequent court order for return of the marijuana, Oates believes his officers acted correctly and finds the idea of compensating medical marijuana growers to be "absurd." And while refusing to give examples on the record, he further asserted that the "current process for medical marijuana certification could easily be abused by people who want to grow it illegally." If compensation becomes the status quo, he argued "it is going to place more and more departments in a dilemma" that conflicts state and Federal law.

 

Medical marijuana advocates disagree, stating that Colorado police are charged with upholding Colorado law and not federal law. "He is just saying the law is inconvenient," says Corry who also points out that Oxycontin laws can be abused, but that it is still a medicine that is legally prescribed to patients. Colorado voters decided in 2000 to protect patients who use marijuana as medicine, not those who use it recreationally. "Police take an oath to protect the law, you don't get to pick and choose which laws to follow."

 

Dickes plans on filing his suit later this month. If he wins it will be the single biggest payout for the illegal seizure of marijuana, and may open the door for other cash strapped cities to be sued for tactics which elsewhere are a common part of drug enforcement. Whether such a historic payback will motivate police to change their policies for raiding grow houses or motivate Colorado citizens to reexamine their constitution remains to be seen. For now, though, it appears that Centennial State Constitution is a pot farmer's best bud.

 

[WantDaChronic]

while it sucks he got raided, im glad he is using the police pricing figures against them with any luck he'll get the money, the pigs will rethink their pricing of marijuana and raids will become a knock on the door, the pigs asking if they have a grow permit and entering peacefully instead of charging in, throwing people to the floor and putting guns to their heads

[amarkrieder]

I wish them luck

The first time I was busted in the 80s they took all my growing lights and gear, when I went to court I ased the judge if I could have all my Lights and gear back as I used them for other plants as well as cannabis.

The judge ordered the police to return all my stuff even after giving me a $800 (aust) fine and 18 months probation.

When I went to the police station to pick it up I was informed that it had been destroyed in anticipation of the court ordering it destroyed. I then asked how I could be compensated for my stuff and got laughted at.

Not knowing what to do as no lawyer was willing to even discuss the issue with me and the police refused to help me,

I had to leave the matter alone, A win here would be good for people who have been in the same position as me.

 

Oh and by the way if anyone has any suggestions about how I can right this wrong today

Pease let me know.

 

man i hope they win

[WantDaChronic]

if i was given my equipment back by the court but found out it had been destroyed already by the police i wouldnt have taken it lightly at all. first thing i would have done is ask for all the details of the police involved in the destruction of the equipment and then asked them politely to replace the equipment or risk being arrested for theft. they would probably arrest anyone at that point who wasnt lawyered up for threatening an officer of the law or what ever charges they can stick to you, but you have a legal right to expect that equipment back because of the court order and the police involved in the premature destruction of your property can be charged like any normal member of society because they unlawfully destroyed your property.

 

it would be one hell of a rollercoaster ride getting that case into a court room and any number of charges can be laid upon anyone at any given time by the police if they hold a grudge so instead of looking at a cultivation charge only, you coud be looking at half a dozen new charges but if the matter made it into a court room and you can prove that your eqiupment was prematurally and unlawfully destroyed, you can expect just compensation regardless of who is on the recieving end

[amarkrieder]

Hi WantDaChronic

This was ~1982-83 about 2 years of marriage and 2 young ones, 1 year after qualifing as a tradesman Fitter and Machinist.

I was still working in one of the highest paid mine sites in Australia, Savage River Mines, Tasmania, nearly 3x average fitters income for the time.

It was made clear by everyone that I risked losing everything should I make a fuss and was it fair to put a pregnant wife with 2 young ones through the stress. so I spent one near full pay and replaced most of it within 2weeks went back to work where it was common knowledge that I smoked now and with no-one caring as long as I continued to work as hard as i normally did, it was not a prob.

I left them alone as long as they left me alone,

then while at UNI, Launceston, Tas. I recieved a parking ticket for a car I had sold to a friend, I go to the police station and ask to speak to someone who I can tell that my friend was willing to declare he owned the car at the time of the offence and pay the fine.

I ended up speaking to the police prosercuter (PP) and he told me when the computers were up he would straighten it out and when I asked I was told I would not need to go to court so I did not attend.

Weeks later I was arrested one morning at home and taken straight before the judge for failing to attend court, after explaining why, the court jumped up with people calling out you can't say that. When the court settled the judge told me I had accused the PP of trying to do something he was not allowed to do once a matter hit the court system and I better have proof if I was going to say that in open court. I then told him that the sergents desk had 3 vidoe recorders and one camera watching the desk and one watching the closed waiting area where he spoke to me. The judge told me that will do and he would see me in a week, when I returned he dissmissed the case.

Months later I awoke to a knock at the front door and found four police officers, one very happy looking and 3 not so happy, the happy one looked familiar, after only finding a couple of seeds and 1 empty pipe the happy bloke was not so happy in fact pissed off and left before the others.

Looking at the others I had to ask why they were all grinning so much at which point they told me that the other bloke had gone down the list of names reported during operation NOAH and seen my name then wanted to raid my place even when they told him that I was just a smoker and not worth bothering, he insisted and they wanted to know what i had done to upset him, I could not tell them as I could not remember . It wasn't till they were driving away that I relised it was the PP

Now years later I have been busted again maybe I can use some of the "police compensation" to pay any fines they give me

if I can still get it after all this time

Edited January 27, 2008 by amarkrieder