cannabisnews.com: City Settles Medical Pot Case For $5,000





City Settles Medical Pot Case For $5,000
Posted by FoM on February 10, 2000 at 17:50:11 PT
By Stephanie Thomson, Columbian Staff Writer
Source: The Columbian
While not admitting its officers did anything wrong, the city of Vancouver has agreed to pay $5,000 to a couple whose medical marijuana was seized by police.   The Evergreen-area couple, Steven and Joan Pogue, filed a claim against the city Dec. 29. 
Steven Pogue, 35, has AIDS. Doctors believe he contracted HIV through intestinal surgery in his teens, his wife said. He has a doctor's prescription to smoke marijuana to ease his pain and restore his appetite, as he has lost 47 pounds in the past two months.   Joan Pogue said Monday that she and her husband were relieved to have the dispute settled. They will have to buy a new grow light and power box, which cost about $450, she said.   "We asked for those back, and we were told that wasn't going to happen," Joan said. She said the offer was presented as a take-it-or-leave-it deal. They accepted, she said, even though "it's hard to put a monetary value on what we've been through."   "If we had gone to court, my husband wouldn't have been alive to see it," she said. "So that was another thing."   The city denied liability, said Mark Muenster, the Pogues' attorney.   In November, the couple started growing plants in their bathroom to avoid the cost and risk of buying street drugs.   On Nov. 13, Joan called 9-1-1 because Steven, who suffers from dementia, was kicking the couch where Joan was sleeping and she was scared.   Officers who responded saw the marijuana plants, which they felt was more than the legal "60-day supply" patients are allowed under a 1998 state law.   Mary Jo Briggs, a deputy city manager who oversees Vancouver police, said Monday it isn't clear on what constitutes a 60-day supply of marijuana for medicinal purposes.   "Depending on who you talk to, I think you can get several different answers," Briggs said.   Police Chief Doug Maas said his officers are working with Debra Quinn, a Vancouver assistant attorney, to draft a formal policy for future situations.   "We'll issue a policy," Maas said. "I suspect that will happen in a week or two."   Last month, the Senate Committee on Health and Long-Term Care heard from people who want the law clarified. Sue Shoblom, a deputy director with the state Department of Health, said Senate Bill 5704 would give her department the power to spell out what constitutes a 60-day supply. A representative from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs told the committee members the bill would help officers across the state.   If the bill becomes law, the health department would seek public input before determining the maximum number of plants a patient could legally possess.   Joanna McKee, director of the Green Cross in Seattle, said when Initiative 692 was drafted, there was support for putting in actual figures. Based on what the federal government gives AIDS patients for a 30-day supply 236 grams, or enough for 300 cigarettes patients who need a 60-day supply should be able to have 472 grams.   But 472 grams didn't make it into the law because "most patients don't use that much because the quality of the marijuana they use is better than the quality of marijuana the federal government gives them," McKee said.   McKee said some places, such as Oakland, Calif., have passed specific laws regarding quantity. In Oakland, a 90-day supply equals up to 48 mature plants and 96 immature plants. For a 60-day supply, that would equal up to 30 mature plants and 64 immature plants about three times what the Pogues had when they were busted.   Columbian reporter Jeff Mize contributed to this story. Published: February 8, 2000Copyright © 2000 by The Columbian Publishing Co. CannabisNews Archives & Search Of Medical Marijuana News Articles:http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtmlhttp://www.alltheweb.com/cgi-bin/asearch?type=all&query=cannabisnews+Medical+Marijuana
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