COURT GIVES MARIJUANA BACK

SSU Student's Pot Was Confiscated Despite Doctor's Written Recommendation

In a rare turn of events, a medical marijuana patient got his pot back
Wednesday after a Sonoma County judge ordered authorities to return it.

Earlier in the week, prosecutors dropped a marijuana possession charge
against Ross Benbrook, a Sonoma State University student, who was arrested
in October by Rohnert Park police for having just under an ounce of marijuana.

Superior Court Judge Elliot Lee Daum said the marijuana should be returned,
and on Wednesday it was handed to Benbrook in court.

"It's nice to get my medicine back. I feel this should never have happened
in the first place," Benbrook said afterward.

Medical marijuana advocates said Benbrook is one of a handful of people in
the state to have a judge order that their confiscated marijuana be returned.

It happened once before in Sonoma County -- a year ago when Scott Teeter,
an Agua Caliente man with approval from his doctor, had more than a pound
returned to him by order of Judge Gayle Guynup.

Prosecutors objected to the return of Teeter's marijuana. But on Wednesday,
District Attorney Mike Mullins noted that his office did not oppose the
motion by Benbrook's defense attorney to return his.

Mullins said the Benbrook case is an example of the need for some sort of
statewide, standardized identification cards for medical marijuana patients.

"This is another example of the message I'm attempting to get across. This
statute cries out for clarity," Mullins said of the 1996 ballot initiative
that approved the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Mullins said Benbrook's signature on his driver's license didn't seem to
match the one on his doctor's recommendation. He said police had no
immediate way to verify the approval from his Berkeley doctor.

Benbrook, a 23-year-old psychology major, said he was stopped for allegedly
making an illegal left turn to avoid a sobriety checkpoint.

During the traffic stop, officers detected the potent scent of fresh
marijuana buds.

Benbrook said he showed police the doctor's written recommendation that he
has to use marijuana to alleviate pain for his "traumatic arthritis and
scoliosis."

"In the police report, they said the document appeared to be false,"
Benbrook said.

Benbrook's stash was confiscated and he was released after promising to
appear in court.

Earlier this week, after a jury acquitted Alan MacFarlane on charges of
marijuana cultivation, he vowed to seek the return of his plants, although
most were destroyed by authorities.