POT FROM THE POLICE

On Friday, Feb. 4, Thomas Lawrence walked into the Denver Police Station,
picked up a phone in the lobby and said to a police officer, "Hi. I need to
pick up some property."

It wasn't just any old property. It was a baggie full of pot, and when
the Denver police handed it over, it was the first time they had ever
released drugs to anybody.

Rewind two months. On Jan. 11, Lawrence was pulled over by Denver
police officers, who confiscated marijuana they found in his car.
Lawrence tried to explain that the wacky tobacky was medicinal, as is
allowed under a Colorado law passed in 2000. But since Lawrence had
left his pot-smoking permit at home, the cops copped the kind bud.

A month later, Lawrence went to the police station with a court order
to get back his weed. No way, said the 5-O. The order had been
improperly signed. Wow, it sure seemed like a lot of hassle for a bag
full of dried plants.

Finally, on March 4, the police stopped playing keep-away and returned
the Mary Jane to Lawrence. Lawrence said the cops were polite and
apologized for the misunderstanding (yeah right, the fuzz were
probably just confused after sneaking a few puffs of Lawrence's
nuggs). But while Lawrence's lawyer said the cops probably faced a
"learning curve" trying to understand Colorado's relatively new law,
we're not too impressed. How hard can it be: If someone needs to puff
for medical reasons, let them puff. Now, thanks to police meddling,
one man's chronic had to get all dry and shit. Total buzzkill.