Appeals court: Man who left medical marijuana ID at home can’t be prosecuted
Posted on | June 28, 2012 | No Comments
Court: Pot ID card at home still counts
A Michigan medical marijuana patient cannot be prosecuted for illegal drug possession, despite not having proof of his or her registration at the time of arrest, the state Court of Appeals said Wednesday.
But the court said police were within their rights to arrest the patient, identified in court records as James RG Nicholson of Ottawa County, because he couldn’t establish proof of registration on the spot.
Prosecutors had argued that Nicholson was not protected by the medical marijuana law because he did not “possess” a registry identification card at the time of arrest in May 2011. He told police his registration card was in a car at his residence.
Court: Medical marijuana users can be arrested if they don’t have paperwork
Posted on | June 27, 2012 | No Comments
The Detroit News
June 27, 2012
Court: Medical marijuana users can be arrested if they don’t have paperwork
* By CHAD LIVENGOOD
* / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
Lansing— Medical marijuana users aren’t immune from arrest for possession of the drug without their state-issued paperwork or registry card, according to a new Michigan Court of Appeals ruling.
In a case involving an Ottawa County man who claimed a medical marijuana defense during a May 1, 2011, arrest in Grandville, a three-judge Court of Appeals panel said defendant James Nicholson could be immune from prosecution by producing his medical marijuana paperwork in court.
But state-issued medical marijuana registry cards and applications must be “reasonably accessible at the location” of an arrest for an individual to be immune from arrest, according to the ruling issued Wednesday.
The ruling is the latest legal development in a string of court decisions seeking to clarify ambiguities in the 2008 voter-initiated law.
In May, the Michigan Supreme Court made its first major ruling in the law, upholding the right to mount an affirmative defense to use marijuana for medicinal purposes in court even without a state card. In an April decision, a different Court of Appeals panel ruled medical marijuana cannot be used as a defense for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
Last August, another Court of Appeals panel ruled medical marijuana dispensaries are illegal under the law, effectively shutting down dozens of shops across the state.
During his arrest, Nicholson informed an officer of his right to posses marijuana for medicinal purposes after he “removed a small baggy of marijuana from his groin region,” according to court records.
In circuit court, Nicholson produced a state-issued medical marijuana registry card — dated March 18, 2011, before his arrest — as evidence he could possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis, which the appellate court found to be “sufficient” for a defense.
The appellate court remanded the case back to Ottawa County Circuit Court as it remains unclear whether the defendant was engaged in marijuana use permitted under the 2008 law.
“Defendant still has one more hurdle to overcome to be entitled to immunity from prosecution; he must also establish that at the time of his arrest he was engaged in the medical use of marijuana in accordance with the (Michigan Medical Marihuana Act),” the appeals judges wrote in the decision.
clivengood@detroitnews.com
(517) 371-3660
Exhale, Chicago, A Little Pot May Be Fine(d)
Posted on | June 27, 2012 | No Comments
In Chicago, a new policy on marijuana possession would mean adults who are caught with a small amount of the illegal drug would receive a fine instead of being arrested.
It’s mostly about money and how best to use police resources.
Under current Illinois law, anyone found with less than about 1 ounce of marijuana can be charged with a misdemeanor. If found guilty, they face up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel says that after a ride with Chicago police officers in the gang crimes unit, he knew there had to be a better alternative: Police said they spent too much time on the streets and in courtrooms because of low-level marijuana cases that are dismissed nearly nine out of 10 times.
‘A Different Penalty’
“It’s not decriminalization,” Emanuel says. “It’s dealing with it in a different way, a different penalty. And I want police officers fighting the crimes that need to be fought.”
That means going after the big drug dealers and gang bangers, he says, in a city where homicides have jumped 35 percent. Under the proposed change, a person 18 or older who is found with about a half-ounce or less could get a ticket and go on their way, provided they have proper ID and aren’t wanted for another crime.
Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy says that without an ID, there’d be an arrest. And he says that “on school grounds, in parks and where there is open smoking of marijuana, it will be a custodial arrest.”
Those receiving tickets would face a $250 to $500 fine — but no criminal record or jail time. McCarthy says that would still hold people accountable while not tying up his officers.
“It takes an officer four hours to process and complete an arrest for marijuana,” he says.
The entire ticketing process, though, could take less than an hour. So if two officers in a beat car are making an arrest, double that four hours to eight hours. Chicago police make about 20,000 low-level marijuana possession arrests a year. So when you do the math, you can see how cumbersome a marijuana arrest can be.
Alderman Danny Solis, who is sponsoring the proposal, says it would free up a lot of officers.
“Yes, marijuana is still bad,” he says. “There’s no way I can condone it. But I know that we’re going to have these police officers in these violent neighborhoods. And hopefully, that extra police man-hours will be helping to save lives of young men and women.”
Worries About Effects On Demand For Pot
Alderman Jason Ervin’s ward has a pervasive drug culture, and the violence that accompanies it. He thinks ticketing people is the wrong approach.
“I don’t understand why you believe that this will not have an increase on demand, if you are literally proposing a ticket versus an arrest,” he says.
But Kathleen Kane-Willis, who heads a drug policy consortium at Roosevelt University, says demand “is not tied to criminal penalties.”
“It’s a misconception in the public’s mind that penalty structures influence demand,” she says. “Demand trends are long and do not respond to what the penalties are.”
A number of states and municipalities throughout the country have taken steps to turn possession of pot in small amounts from a criminal offense to a civil one — in large part because of resources. Kane-Willis notes that Chicago’s limit of about half an ounce is on the low end of what other municipalities have set.
No ‘Free Pass’
Originally, Chicago Alderman Ed Burke called issuing tickets for marijuana a slippery slope that would give kids a message that smoking pot was OK. But Burke now says that because police will still arrest juveniles, he’ll support the bill and doesn’t think Chicago will become a haven for marijuana smokers.
“If somebody thinks that they’re going to get a free pass in Chicago,” he says, “that they can stroll down Michigan Avenue smoking dope — that’s not the case.”
Burke says that because the vast majority of low-level pot cases are dismissed under current law, the effort to issue tickets with fines actually creates a policy that has some teeth. Another alderman says it just reeks of common sense.
Transcript
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
Chicago’s city council is taking up the issue of marijuana possession today. It will decide whether police can issue a ticket to adults caught with a small amount of the drug rather than arresting them. As NPR’s Cheryl Corley reports, it’s mostly a question of money and how best to use police resources.
CHERYL CORLEY, BYLINE: Under current Illinois law, anyone found with less than about an ounce of marijuana can be charged with a misdemeanor. If found guilty, they face up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says after a ride with officers in the gang crimes unit, he knew there had to be a better alternative. Police said they spent too much time on the streets and in courtrooms over low level marijuana cases that are dismissed nearly nine out of ten times.
MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL: Now it’s not decriminalization. It’s dealing with it in a different way, a different penalty. And I want police officers fighting the crimes that need to be fought.
CORLEY: Like going after the big drug dealers and gang bangers, he says, in a city where homicides have jumped 35 percent. Under the proposed change, a person 18 or older who’s found with about a half ounce or less could get a ticket and go on their way, provided they have proper ID and aren’t wanted for another crime. Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy says without an ID there’d be an arrest plus…
GARRY MCCARTHY: On school grounds, in parks, and where there is open smoking of marijuana it will be a custodial arrest.
CORLEY: Those receiving tickets would face a $250 to $500 fine but no criminal record or jail time. McCarthy says it will still hold people accountable while not tying up his officers.
MCCARTHY: It takes an officer four hours to process and complete an arrest for marijuana.
CORLEY: The entire ticketing process, though, could take less than an hour. So if two officers in a beat car are making an arrest double that four hours to eight hours. Chicago police make about 20,000 low level marijuana possession arrests a year. So when you do the math you can see how cumbersome a marijuana arrest can be. Alderman Danny Solis, who’s sponsoring the proposal, says it would free up lots of officers.
DANNY SOLIS: Yes, marijuana is still bad. There’s no way I can condone it, but I know that we’re going to have these police officers in these violent neighborhoods and hopefully that extra police man hours will be helping to save lives of young men and women.
CORLEY: In Alderman Jason Ervin’s ward, there is a pervasive drug culture and the violence that accompanies it. He thinks ticketing people is the wrong approach.
JASON ERVIN: I don’t understand why you believe that this will not have an increase on demand if you’re literally proposing a ticket versus an arrest.
KATHLEEN KANE WILLIS: Demand does not go up. Demand is not tied to criminal penalties.
CORLEY: Kathleen Kane Willis heads a drug policy consortium at Roosevelt University.
WILLIS: It’s a misconception in the public’s mind that penalty structures influence demand. Demand trends are long and do not respond to what the penalties are.
CORLEY: A number of states and municipalities throughout the country have taken steps to turn possession of pot in small amounts from a criminal offense to a civil one, in large part because of resources. Willis notes the city’s limit of about a half an ounce is on the low end of what other municipalities have set. Some on the council point out that since under current law, the vast majority of low level pot cases are dismissed, the effort to issue tickets with fines actually creates a policy that has some teeth. Others say it just reeks of common sense.
Cheryl Corley, NPR News, Chicago. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
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Posted on | June 23, 2012 | No Comments
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New Hampshire Governor John Lynch Blatantly Violates Thousands of Terminally Ill Patients’ Rights Out of Spite
Posted on | June 22, 2012 | No Comments
Concord, NH — June 22, 2012. In a rebuke to the New Hampshire state legislature and thousands of patients, Governor John Lynch vetoed medical marijuana legislation yesterday for the second time since 2009, despite strong legislative and popular support. SB 409 passed the New Hampshire House by an overwhelming vote of 236-96, more than the two-thirds needed to override the governor’s veto. However, because of a narrower margin in the senate, an override is less certain. SB 409 would protect the right of qualifying patients to cultivate their own medical marijuana or designate a caregiver to cultivate it for them, and would limit possession to 6 plants and 6 ounces of dried marijuana.
“We applaud the New Hampshire legislature for trying to meet the health care needs of thousands of its citizens,” said Steph Sherer, Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access, the country’s largest medical marijuana advocacy organization. “Unfortunately, a departing governor with an axe to grind is getting in the way of this important and popularly supported legislation. We’re now calling on the legislature to rise to the occasion, and override the governor’s veto.”
Advocates were successful during deliberations to incorporate patient cultivation into the list of enumerated rights, something common to most state medical marijuana laws, but absent from the more recent laws passed in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia. In states without patient cultivation, implementation has lagged thereby causing the rights of thousands of otherwise qualifying patients to be denied. The sluggish pace of implementation is also due in part to threats of criminal prosecution being made by the Obama Administration.
Advocates in New Hampshire also pushed for and achieved the passage of other amendments to SB 409, such as one that would protect organ transplant patients against discrimination. Purging medical marijuana patients from transplant lists is a common practice at transplant centers across the country, including the internationally renowned Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
SB 409 originally called for “Alternative Treatment Centers,” centralized regulated facilities where patients could safely and legally obtain their medication. This provision, however, was stricken from the bill during deliberations. States with older medical marijuana laws, such as California, Maine, Vermont, and Washington, which originally excluded distribution systems, have either recently adopted or are trying to pass amendments that recognize that need.
The passage of SB 409 and Governor Lynch’s veto comes as Connecticut adopted a law earlier this month, making it the 17th medical marijuana state. Medical marijuana laws have been passed in the States of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, as well as Washington, D.C.
Further information: SB 409: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2012/SB0409.html
Source: http://www.safeaccessnow.org