cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Returned to Sonoma State Student





Medical Marijuana Returned to Sonoma State Student
Posted by FoM on January 31, 2001 at 18:18:49 PT
By The Associated Press
Source: Sacramento Bee
A court Wednesday returned 27 grams of marijuana, confiscated during a traffic stop, to a university student who uses the drug for medicinal purposes. Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Elliot Daum returned the marijuana to Ross Benbrook after prosecutors dropped a charge of possession of marijuana Monday. 
Benbrook, 23, a senior at Sonoma State University, suffers from traumatic arthritis and scoliosis and carries a physician's statement explaining that he uses marijuana for medical purposes. He was carrying that note when he was stopped Oct. 14 by Rohnert Park police for a traffic violation. Police discovered the marijuana and confiscated it. An investigation showed the doctor's note was valid, leading the Sonoma County District Attorney's office to drop the possession charge. "I've got mixed feelings," Benbrook said. "I'm happy I got my medicine back." But, he said, the marijuana was improperly stored, causing it to lose some of its medicinal value. He's also upset that he wasted time and money defending himself when he thought he had the proper paperwork and was obeying the law. "I don't blame law enforcement," he said. "It's the county and state's responsibility to set procedures." Sonoma County District Attorney Mike Mullins agrees. "This statute needs some clarity. It's ambiguous and it's vague." He said state should set a clear statewide standard for Proposition 215. Proposition 215, passed in 1996, allows possession, cultivation and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)Published: January 31, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Sacramento BeeAddress: P.O.Box 15779, Sacramento, CA 95852Contact: opinion sacbee.comWebsite: http://www.sacbee.com/Forum: http://www.sacbee.com/voices/voices_forum.htmlFeedback: http://www.sacbee.com/about_us/sacbeemail.htmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by curendero on February 01, 2001 at 06:43:00 PT:
the solution
 "He said state should set a clear statewide standard for Proposition 215." Here is a standard, tell the cops to leave it alone. PERIOD. Grams?, what a waste of time. The police just don't want to give up that gravy train. Even if the politicians set a standard, (Fat chance the spineless bastards) it will be interpreted in the field by individuals, (Cops and the D.A.) who will work from emotion and personal bias rather than law. 
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Comment #1 posted by John Markes on February 01, 2001 at 00:57:34 PT
It's Easy
It's easy. If they have the appropriate note, then obey the law and leave them alone unless you can PROVE that they are in violation of the law. The law does gaurantee NO PROSECUTION for those people...
Alliance for Reform of Drug Policy in Arkansas (ARDPArk)
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