cannabisnews.com: Judge Gives Marijuana Back To Man Judge Gives Marijuana Back To Man Posted by FoM on April 22, 2001 at 15:34:24 PT By Michael Parnell Source: Sierra Vista Herald A Douglas judge dismissed charges against an Oregon man who brought marijuana from Mexico into the United States — and ordered sheriff’s deputies to give back the pot in what may be the first successful medical marijuana case in Cochise County courts. The man cited Oregon’s medical marijuana program, but the ounce and a half he possessed violated even that state’s permissive law. Oregon allows medical marijuana patients to have no more than an ounce when away from home. “He clearly broke the law,” said Kathleen Smail, manager of health care licensure and certification for the Oregon Health Division. In a letter, County Sheriff Larry Dever wrote he would not have allowed release of the marijuana had he been informed of the matter earlier. He has ordered his personnel to defy judges who issue such orders in the future. “It is my belief that the order to release contraband is, in actuality, an order to commit a felony and therefore is not valid,” Dever complained in a letter to the court. “Please be informed that I have given firm instruction to my personnel that no illegal substances are to be released in the future, regardless of a court order to do so,” the sheriff wrote. Judge Michael Herbolich, however, wondered Saturday what all the fuss is about. He called it “a unique case ... I didn’t think I was doing any groundbreaking. I saw a guy who had a medical problem. I didn’t think about upsetting Sheriff Dever.” The judge compared it to those Americans who bring across the border prescription drugs without a valid prescription. “We’re not talking about somebody coming across the line with a truckload of it. ... It was hardly a significant amount,” Herbolich said. “I’m not on any crusade here. I’m not trying to legalize pot. ... I see people every day with anywhere from 40 to 100 pounds” of marijuana, the judge said, and he convicts them and sends them to jail. Frederic Henry Starkweather, 56, of Gold Beach, Ore., was arrested by U.S. Customs inspectors at 11:20 p.m. March 19 when he crossed the border at Douglas carrying 41 grams of marijuana. Entering as a pedestrian, he declared his allergy medicine, but not the marijuana. He admitted having it when Customs Inspector Dan Mellon noticed a bulge in his right pocket. Starkweather showed his medical marijuana card to the inspector and told him he did not purchase the drug in Mexico, but had it when he entered that country. He was detained by Customs, then turned over to Sheriff’s Deputy Carlos Trujillo. Trujillo informed Starkweather that possession of marijuana is illegal in Arizona notwithstanding medical uses of it. He cited and released the Oregon man. The marijuana was stored in an evidence locker at the Douglas sheriff’s substation. On March 20, Herbolich dismissed the charge in Douglas Justice Court after Starkweather produced his medical marijuana program card. The judge then ordered sheriff’s deputies to return Starkweather’s marijuana. Deputies balked and asked for an opinion from the Cochise County Attorney’s Office. They were told to comply with the judge’s order. “Basically, what I said is if the judge orders you to give it back to him, you do what the judge orders you to do,” said Deputy County Attorney Ed Rheinheimer. “I didn’t know exactly what the circumstances were ... but I assumed Herbolich would have good reason,” Rheinheimer said, adding, “I’m just going to be real, real careful about telling a deputy not to do what a court tells him to do.” The attorney’s office could have appealed for a stay of the judge’s order, but Rheinheimer noted that Arizona voters also have approved a medical marijuana law He acknowledged that the defendant appeared to be in violation of federal law, and advised deputies to contact the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. Deputy Sean Gijanto did, and reported that Sierra Vista agent Barry McColley told them DEA would not get involved in a personal-use marijuana case and to comply with the judge’s order. Dever seeks clarification of the legality of returning the pot. In an April 6 letter to Cochise County Presiding Judge Stephen Desens, he wrote, “I believe Judge Herbolich seriously erred in issuing the order to release the marijuana. I also believe the prosecutor erred in rendering his opinion that the order should be obeyed and have expressed my concern in that regard to the county attorney.” Arizona voters overwhelmingly approved a medical marijuana law in 1996 that allows doctors to prescribe pot for select conditions. But there has been no enabling legislation to put the law into effect and doctors have been threatened with prosecution under federal law should they prescribe marijuana. Oregon’s law, approved in 1998, does not allow doctors to prescribe marijuana, only to affirm that their patients have a specific medical condition — terminal cancer, glaucoma and AIDS among them. That enables patients to obtain a medical marijuana card and to grow and use a specified amount of the drug to relieve pain and nausea. Starkweather, who could not be reached for comment, is one of more than 2,000 Oregonians who have a medical marijuana card. It could not be learned what his specific medical condition is. Dever and County Attorney Chris Roll could not be reached for comment Friday. Note: Drug charges dropped when Oregonian shows health card. Source: Sierra Vista HeraldAuthor: Michael Parnell Published: April 21, 2001 Copyright: 2001 MyWebPal.comContact: info mywebpal.comWebsite: http://news.mywebpal.com/index.cfm?pnpid=798CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by dddd on April 22, 2001 at 16:48:52 PT A ray of hope Finally,a judge who is actually being real.....Astounding!dddd [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: