WRONGLY SEIZED POT MUST BE RETURNED

Appellate Court Tells Garden Grove It Can't Rely on Federal Ban on
Medical Marijuana

The decision by a unanimous three-judge panel of the 4th District
Court of Appeal to uphold a court order directing Garden Grove police
to return marijuana seized from a properly certified patient is a
welcome validation of the law approved by voters 11 years ago. Since
it clarifies the duty of state and local law enforcement agencies -
to uphold state law, not to ignore it and seek to enforce federal law
- - it should end the noxious and widespread practice of simply seizing
medical marijuana from patients who are legally entitled to possess it.

California voters in 1996 approved the Compassionate Use Act, which
carved out an exception to the laws against possessing, using or
cultivating cannabis, or marijuana, for patients with a
recommendation from a licensed physician. A subsequent state law
defined implementation protocols and set up a voluntary state ID card
system for patients.

However, federal law still prohibits (foolishly in our view) any use
or possession of cannabis. That creates a potential source of confusion.

However, the California constitution states that state officials are
bound to uphold and enforce California law, even if there is an
appearance of conflict with federal law, unless and until a federal
court has ruled that the state law is invalid due to the doctrine of
federal supremacy. That has not happened.

During Supreme Court oral arguments in the Oakland Cannabis
Cooperative case, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg asked the government
attorney why she was not invoking federal supremacy. She responded
that this was one of many instances where state and federal laws
differed; the issue in this case was whether federal law could permit
a medical exception.

Now that the appellate court has clarified the issue, state Attorney
General Jerry Brown and Gov. Schwarzenegger should issue guidelines
to all law enforcement personnel. They could be modeled on those of
the California Highway Patrol, which decided two years ago to stop
seizing marijuana from patients.