Medical Marijuana No Longer Contraband
...by Kathy Malone (from press release by Hannah Nelson)
On April 22, 1999, at 1:45 pm, Christopher Brown walked out of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Department with approximately one half pound of marijuana which was finally returned to him by law enforcement officers. It is believed that this is the FIRST TIME THAT MARIJUANA WAS RETURNED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT TO A MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENT PURSUANT TO A COURT ORDER. The return, which followed a two-year court battle, occurred without incident. Mr. Brown's attorney, Hannah Nelson, was present to make sure that the order she fought for and obtained was properly carried out.
The case originated in February 1997 when Mr. Brown and his wife were arrested for cultivation and possession of marijuana. At the time, the couple informed law enforcement officers that the marijuana was grown and used for medical purposes. None the less, it took many months for Ms. Nelson to convince the District Attorney's office to dismiss the criminal charges based on valid medical marijuana use under California's Proposition 215. After the dismissal of the criminal case, Ms. Nelson filed a motion for return of seized property, including the marijuana. The motion made its way through the courts over the past two years, eventually reaching the California Supreme Court.
An order for the return of the marijuana was initially granted in December 1997. From there, the California Attorney General's office pursued numerous appeals and writs. The Superior Court of Mendocino County upheld the initial order and denied the state's first writ. Then, after extensive briefing, the California Court of Appeals (first District) also denied the state's writ. Unsatisfied with the undisturbed order, the state applied for and was denied a writ by the California Supreme Court last November. Once again, unsatisfied, the state then petitioned the lower court for a re-hearing on the issue of whether the marijuana was lawfully possessed for medical purposes. The Court, having already made a factual determination that the marijuana was validly possessed under Prop. 215, denied the Attorney General's request for a re-hearing and reiterated its initial order requiring the return of the marijuana.
Finally, in a last ditch attempt, the Attorney General requested that the marijuana be returned through Mr. Brown's attorney, Hannah Nelson. The state argued that the officers ordered to return the pot would be better protected from possible federal prosecution if they returned the property to Ms. Nelson rather than Mr. Brown. Once again the matter came before Mendocino County's Judge Orr, who agreed with Ms. Nelson that the property was no longer considered contraband and therefore should not be treated any differently than any other return of seized property, and should be returned directly to Mr. Brown. Ms. Nelson was pleased to finally have the medicine returned to her client and was pleased to have helped set precedent for the return of medical marijuana to medical marijuana patients.
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