cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Patient Sues Over Plants





Medical Marijuana Patient Sues Over Plants
Posted by CN Staff on December 10, 2004 at 09:04:23 PT
By Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
A medicinal marijuana user busted for growing pot sued the city of Emeryville on Thursday, saying police refused to return his seized plants -- and later told him that thieves stole much of his property from a secured storage site. James Blair, 45, of Emeryville, said he found it ironic that the same plants that had been taken away from him a year ago could have fallen into the wrong hands.
"What they've done, effectively, is taken a controlled substance and made it available in an uncontrolled way to some members of the public," Blair said. "Their role is to keep drugs out of the hands of people who aren't supposed to have them." The lawsuit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland, asks for a court injunction that would prohibit Emeryville police from "continuing to violate the statutory and constitutional rights of qualified medical marijuana patients" under state law. In 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215, which allows the use of marijuana for medical purposes with a doctor's recommendation. The suit names the city of Emeryville, the police department and Sgt. LaJuan Collier, who led the investigation. Collier declined comment on the suit Thursday, as did City Attorney Michael Biddle and Police Chief Ken James. But James confirmed that thieves broke into the city's Public Works storage building on Horton Street in January or February, cutting off locks from cages and making off with $35,000 in evidence from a number of cases, including some of Blair's property. Also stolen were chain saws, pressure washers, generators and other equipment, the chief said. Investigators had suspected it was an inside job because the thieves had the access codes for the site. No arrests have been made. Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/sueover.htmSource: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff WriterPublished: Friday, December 10, 2004 - Page B - 5Copyright: 2004 San Francisco Chronicle Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ Related Article & Web Site:Americans for Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccessnow.org/Marijuana Evidence Can't Be Returned http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19547.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on December 10, 2004 at 09:34:42 PT
Sam
You are so right.
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Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on December 10, 2004 at 09:14:59 PT
Funny thing
Those darn police evidence lockers must be the most broken-into places in the US! Gee, you would think it would be the safest, given that it's right in the middle of a police station/prison! Sounds like the piggies will have some nice herb to smoke while they do yardwork with their new toys!
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