POT POLICY HALF BAKED

HSU Warns 215 Carriers: Keep Off the Grass

Two days into the semester, minutes into his first class of the day, Andrew
Van Nort fell from his chair, foaming at the mouth and shaking uncontrollably.

Twenty minutes later, a semiconscious Van Nort awoke to see University
Police Officers John Packer and Melissa Hansen standing over him. The same
two officers had confiscated more than an ounce of Van Nort's marijuana on
campus last semester--one of the many ordeals he has gone through since
becoming a card-carrying medical marijuana user a year ago.

Grand mal seizures like the one Van Nort suffered at HSU have become a
reoccurring obstacle for the undeclared sophomore, after an
electroencephalogram (EEG) showed abnormal activity in his brain. EEGs play
an integral part in diagnosing epilepsy--Van Nort was diagnosed as an
epileptic soon after the test.

Six-inch scars on Van Nort's knee and elbow serve as reminders of the
chronic pain he suffers after reconstructive knee surgery in 2001 following
a motor-scooter accident, and elbow surgery after a fall that dislodged a
piece of his bone. Van Nort's neurologist recommended he use marijuana
medicinally for epilepsy, accident-related pain and appetite loss.

Without a lawyer, Van Nort has had two court cases for marijuana possession
dismissed, using his 215 card (a doctor's reccomendation for medical
marijuana) as leverage. He has filed complaints against officers who have
seized his medicine, petitioned in vain to have it returned, written HSU
administrators and met with numerous school officials in an attempt to
provoke changes in campus pot policy.

"I'm not trying to grow 1,000 pounds of pot," Van Nort said. "I'm not
breaking the law. I'm just trying to get through school."

Eight years after California Proposition 215 legalized the use of medicinal
marijuana with a doctor's recommendation, state and federal laws continue
to clash, causing confusion among state officials and legal hassles for pot
patients.

UPD Acting Chief Tom Dewey said California State University-wide
regulations would only allow 215 patients to carry pot on campus with a
doctor prescription, not just a recommendation. The semantics of
Proposition 215 do not allow doctors to issue prescriptions. Instead,
doctors issue written "recommendations," (215 cards). Dewey acknowledged
the law's ambiguity and advised students to follow federal law.

"Keep [marijuana] off campus and make sure to keep proof of your medicinal
status at all times," said Dewey. President Rollin Richmond said as long as
federal law prohibits possession on campus, HSU will not allow 215 carriers
to posess medication on campus.

"If the federal law or the interpretation of [the law] changes, then I
would be willing to think about it," Richmond said.

The line between federal and state law remains hazy, and medical pot
patients are left with little security. Van Nort spent nearly four months
sorting out possession charges after Officers Packer and Hansen confiscated
his medicine last semester. Hansen stopped Van Nort and two friends for a
suspected registration violation as they drove on LK Wood Boulevard. Packer
also responded.

Hansen's police report noted she smelled marijuana in the car, and
questioned the occupants. Van Nort explained his condition, noted he had a
215 card, and produced about a gram of marijuana from his pocket.

Hansen charged Van Nort with a misdemeanor of possession of less than one
ounce of marijuana, while the driver of the car was charged with possession
of another ounce of Van Nort's medicine, which was also in the car.

Van Nort's case was dismissed a month later when he presented the judge
with a valid 215 card. The driver's case, however, was not dismissed until
late August.

"[The] file reflects that the marijuana in the vehicle belonged to the
passenger and they had a valid 215 card," August court minutes said.
"People move to dismiss...there is no hold on the evidence, and it may be
returned to the rightful owner."

Despite the court order, Van Nort would never see his medicine again. A
hearing that took place a month before announced that the case evidence,
Van Nort's marijuana, would be destroyed.

Van Nort said he had neither been informed of, nor attended the hearing.

"The whole situation was really screwy," Van Nort said. "They had been
trying to prosecute us without any evidence." Van Nort had gone to the
court in the days following the traffic stop for information about how he
could request the return of his medicine, only to find the court had not
yet received his case information. Van Nort filed complaints against
Officers Packer and Hansen for what he said was misleading direction to the
court for information about his medicine.

"Nobody would tell me where the evidence was," he said.

Van Nort also filed a request for the return of his property to the
district attorney's office on May 19, to which the district attorney
replied, "Our office has declined to file any charges against you in this
matter. If you wish to receive any property you should contact the law
enforcement agency that has your property."

Van Nort said he attempted to retrieve his medicine from both the UPD and
district attorney's office, who each referred him to the other agency.

"I've been told a number of times that no matter what I did I couldn't get
it back," Van Nort said. "It's wrong that they can take this evidence and
just make it disappear."

Van Nort was on his way to visit his mother in Texas in December 2003 when
he was detained for hours in Las Vegas McCarran International Airport for
carrying half a gram of marijuana and six grams of hashish. Van Nort was
not arrested or charged, though marijuana possession in Nevada is
punishable by up to four years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Charges were
dropped out of court.

Van Nort is not the only one. Van Nort alone said he knows 40 to 50 medical
marijuana users on campus. Last semester, The Lumberjack reported
anthropology major and California Marijuana Party Representative Ryan King
sought to change campus marijuana policy regarding possession and use in
the residence halls. Both King and Van Nort continue to pursue marijuana
law reform.

"I don't want this to happen again," Van Nort said. "I don't want people in
my position to have to deal with this. That's why these laws were written
in the first place."

Last year HSU had 94 cases involving possession, cultivation,
transportation, distribution and importation of marijuana, UPD said. UPD
records did not indicate if any of the cases were 215-related.

Van Nort said his legal troubles will not prevent him from continuing to
carry pot on campus.

"I've told Richmond, [former University police chief Robert] Foster, [Vice
President of Student Affairs Steven] Butler and Dewey," said Van Nort,
"'I'm going to carry my medication on campus, and I'm not going to give it
to you. If you want to take it from me, you're going to have to illegally
search me and illegal seize it, and I am going to fucking sue you."