JUDGE ORDERS COPS TO RETURN POT TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENT

Police must return 8.2 grams of marijuana confiscated from a medical
marijuana patient because he has a valid prescription, a judge ruled.

Donovan No Runner, 23, of Grover Beach was stopped by police Aug. 8 while
smoking pot in public. After he was searched, police found marijuana and
arrested him for misdemeanor possession.

No Runner has a prescription for the marijuana to treat symptoms of his
bipolar disorder. After determining No Runner had a valid prescription, the
District Attorney's Office dismissed the charges on Oct. 1. But police
wouldn't return the $100 worth of pot.

No Runner attorney Lou Koory said police had a right to confiscate the
marijuana until the prescription was validated, but they should have
returned it.

"You can't just hold on to it or destroy it," he said, adding that keeping
the pot would nullify Proposition 215, the voter-approved initiative
legalizing medical marijuana.

Gilbert Trujillo, a lawyer with the City Attorney's Office, argued police
Chief Jim Gardiner could be subject to prosecution under federal law if his
department gives No Runner his marijuana. A 1970 federal statute states
distribution of controlled substances is illegal.

Koory said a similar case from Oregon proves the police can return
marijuana to defendants with prescriptions. In that case, an appellate
court ruled that law enforcement was immune from prosecution when ordered
by a judge to return medical marijuana.

Trujillo asked if police could turn the marijuana over to the court, which
could then return it to No Runner, but Superior Court Judge Barry LaBarbera
turned down the request. Police have 30 days to return the marijuana.

The District Attorney's Office could request an appellate court review of
the decision.

Even if No Runner gets his marijuana back, he may not be able to use it.
Trujillo said the marijuana may have suffered water damage while stored in
an evidence locker.