S.F. COPS FUME AS THEIR POT CASE WAFTS AWAY IN COURT

Beat the rap, get your pot back -- on doctor's orders.

In a move that has the cops spinning, a San Francisco judge -- without any
objections from District Attorney Terence Hallinan's office -- has ordered
police to give back the marijuana and hash oil they seized when they pulled
over a couple of guys for allegedly tossing bottles around the streets in a
drug- and alcohol-fueled ride through the city's west side.

"And you wonder why things are the way they are out on the streets," said
one officer close to the case.

It all started when James Rivers, 23, and Babu Lal, 24, were pulled over
after one of them allegedly threw a liter bottle at another car while they
were driving along Geary Boulevard.

According to the police report, the car reeked of booze and reefer. Rivers,
who was behind the wheel, allegedly had "bloodshot eyes that were glazed"
and eyelids "drooping to closing."

Lal, who was in the passenger's seat, appeared to be "toasted," one of the
officers said.

From the get-go, officers said, Rivers was belligerent, refusing to
cooperate with tests to measure his blood alcohol level.

Lal, on the other hand, was passive -- his only move was to show officers
the medical marijuana card he'd been issued by the city Health Department.

The cops ignored the card, searched the car and found about an ounce and a
half of weed in an M&M's bag and in a tin. They also found a vial of hash
oil on the car's console.

Rivers was charged with driving under the influence and with possession.
Lal, who owned the car, was charged with possession.

And then they got to the courtroom.

In short order, Lal's attorney, Brian Petersen, moved to have the charges
dismissed on the grounds that the drugs were for medicinal use.

Faster than you can say "roll 'em," the district attorney agreed, and the
possession charges were dismissed -- including the charges for possession of
hash oil.

Petersen then made a motion to have the drugs returned to Lal. When the D.A.
didn't object, Judge Wallace Douglas signed the order.

The cops, however, took one look at the judge's order and said, "No way."
They've since asked for a rehearing on the matter, which has been scheduled
for May 1.

But from the looks of things, Hallinan doesn't feel there's any problem with
the judge's order.

"On the basic question of whether the police should return marijuana
confiscated from a bona fide patient, I agree with the Oregon Court of
Appeals (which recently ordered cops to return medical pot they seized from
someone's home)," Hallinan said.

But isn't toking up while driving a slightly different matter? "In this
case, the patient's medicine could be returned to him, and the police could
testify that he had it on him," Hallinan said.

All this could have an interesting domino effect on the charges against
Rivers, who is also accused of possession.

As Rivers' lawyer, Clifford Gould, points out, if Lal gets his drugs back,
then a good deal of the evidence against Rivers "goes up in smoke."

[remainder of column not related to drug policy snipped]