So it seems the Seattle Police Department has released its specific directions to its officers on how to handle medical marijuana cases.
A couple of highlights:
Seattle police are under orders to focus on community safety issues where marijuana is concerned. If you have medical marijuana authorization (properly documented), it looks like the Seattle PD will take a 1-gram sample and admit it into evidence, but leave you the rest up to your legal limit. If you exceed that legal limit, but, again, have documentation, they'll take whatever exceeds it, but leave the rest. This may include actually packaging a useable supply for you (!).
Prosecutors are apparently reluctant to go after genuinely sick people, at least if those people have made a good-faith effort to get their medical marijuana paperwork in order. Also, Seattle police have been asked to try not to arrest the seriously ill.
And again I say, we live in interesting times. I do wonder whether packaging up someone's medical marijuana supply for them and letting them keep it qualifies as some kind of federal violation, but I applaud the Seattle PD's apparent willingness to make sure that sick people get to keep the medicine state law entitles them to.
Having the police package your drugs for you...that would be pretty amusing, I have to say.
ReplyDeleteStill, props to the Seattle PD for putting community health and public service ahead of the letter of the law.
Hm. I'm not sure they're so much putting community health and public service ahead of the letter of the law as putting state and local law ahead of federal law-- which they can probably do because they're not federal enforcers. They're probably well within their rights, legally, to leave the federal enforcement to the DEA. That said, the "packaging it up for you" bit does seem like it's skirting right along the edge of a federal breach. I'll have to look into how accomplice liability works at that level.
ReplyDeleteI have to question drug law in general. It's costly and difficult to enforce. With new developments and legalization it's becoming even more of a grey area with chances for legal abuse. Suits could still occur. It's important to get good legal representation to avoid falling prey to antiquated laws.
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