cannabisnews.com: U.S. Court Snags Pot Fight





U.S. Court Snags Pot Fight
Posted by CN Staff on January 24, 2004 at 08:08:56 PT
By Karen Abbott, Rocky Mountain News
Source: Rocky Mountain News 
U.S. authorities moved a conflict between federal and Colorado marijuana laws to federal court Friday, snatching it from a Colorado county judge who has threatened federal agents with criminal contempt for not returning marijuana they seized from a licensed medical user.At issue is federal law that prohibits possession of marijuana under all circumstances, and Colorado law, enacted by voters in 2000 as an amendment to the state constitution, that allows its use for certain medical reasons.
Federal law trumps state law on marijuana, and the federal law recognizes no legal use of marijuana, federal authorities say.The marijuana - about 5 ounces - was seized late last year from Donald Nord, 57, of Hayden.Nord has battled cancer and diabetes and suffers chronic pain. He showed the officers his Colorado certificate allowing him to use marijuana for medical reasons, but the officers ignored it.They gave Nord a ticket, charging him with the misdemeanor crime of possessing marijuana. The ticket ordered Nord to appear in Routt County Court on Nov. 4, 2002. But the government lost its copy of the ticket and failed to file it in court by that date. Routt County Judge James Garrecht dismissed the case and ordered the marijuana returned.Newshawk: The GCWSource: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO)Author: Karen Abbott, Rocky Mountain NewsPublished: January 24, 2004Copyright: 2004 Denver Publishing Co.Contact: letters denver-rmn.com Website: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/Related Articles:Attorney Asks To Dismiss Citations in Pot Casehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18202.shtmlDEA Should Give Back Patient's Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18085.shtmlMarijuana Fight Continues http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18070.shtml
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Comment #4 posted by afterburner on January 24, 2004 at 10:49:41 PT:
For Your Viewing Amusement
Lest we forget:I Am Canabian & Ontario, A Place To Grow:
Miscellaneous with Pot-TV http://www.pot-tv.net/archive/shows/pottvshowse-2433.html
 
Running Time: 3 min 
Date Entered: 21 Jan 2004 http://www.pot-tv.net/ram/pottvshowse2433.ram
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Comment #3 posted by Max Flowers on January 24, 2004 at 09:34:58 PT
They're cowards
That's the way I figure it. What other explanation is there? Every man-hour, every tax dollar that they spend chasing harmless pot smokers/growers/medical users, they absolutely could choose to devote instead to pursuing really dangerous criminals, like big coke and speed dealers, drug cartels operating in the US, etc. Problem is, those guys have guns and shoot back. They obviously ignore those truly bad and violent types to a large extent and focus on peaceful pot people. This has to be the case, because we simply see way too much activity in this area and hear about way too little in the other. I hardly ever hear of a big speed or heroin bust by DEA (here I mean, not by the navy in some Middle East sea), but I hear almost every day about some guy in his little apartment being stomped or a medical cannabis co-op being raided.It makes me sick.
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Comment #2 posted by The GCW on January 24, 2004 at 08:57:35 PT
Feds are scum.
This has some of the feel of what the Feds did in California.State Pot Prosecution Now a Federal Casehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18191.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by Patrick on January 24, 2004 at 08:45:47 PT
Playing both sides
The "official" excuse for not giving Nord back his marijuana is that it is against federal law. Since a "federal" law enforcement officer (DEA) was involved in the raid, federal law trumps state law. Curious then how Nord was given a citation to appear in Routt County Court on Nov. 4, 2002 as opposed to say "federal" court. This, in a state that licensed him to have this medicine?Some time back I brought up this scenario/question as I live near a "federal" facility. The sign on the federal fence says that all person's entering are subject to federal law. I had asked if I or anyone else standing outside of that fence would not then be subject to state law by default? My question still stands. If a "state" permits the use of marijuana and a citizen is not on "federal" property why are federal agents going on pot raids on the other side of that fence?We are no longer governed. We are ruled by a self-serving bureaucracy. I guess this now means that standard judicial procedure is... if the Fed's don't like a ruling they just "snatch" it away and move it where they can better control the outcome. Probably a clause in the Patriot Act. I think lady justice has lost her blindfold. 
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