CA Narcotic Officers Want to Arrest More MMJ Patients

The California Narcotic Officers Association issued a pamphlet this summer to help officers arrest more medical marijuana patients. It’s difficult to understand why they have such a hard on for busting patients but they do. More on that later. The publication “The Latest Medical Marijuana Case Law” is written by Seth Cimino, a police officer in Citrus Heights. His prejudice is apparent in the article when he uses quotation marks when writing about patients. For example: “The appellate court decisions in these cases have helped narrow the scope of what is “reasonable” involving possession, cultivation and transportation.” Read the full paper here. (notice how the page numbers are treated differently on each page)

Because of the case law that he focuses on, LEO’s are going to try to get you to make statements that will allow them to search you and arrest you. The best advise is to NOT EVER TALK TO POLICE OFFICERS! That being said, it’s really difficult when you know you are not breaking the law and it’s pretty easy to out smart them. Here are some things you need to know to arm yourself should you have an encounter with law enforcement.

Because of People v. Waxler they have found a way to trip you up if you have cannabis in your car. These are the details that they will use to determine what is reasonable:

1. How much cannabis do you have?
2. How much cannabis do you use on a daily basis.
3. How long are you going to be on your current trip.

If you have more than that they are going to arrest you. He states in a scenario where the patient has more than that (in this case 5 ounces) “they are possessing way too much marijuana for the possession to be considered reasonable for their current medical needs based on time, method and distance. A person possessing or transporting marijuana outside the scope of reasonableness is subject to arrest and seizure of their marijuana.”

The main thrust of the paper is “Street Contacts and Interviewing “Qualified” Patients”. With that title and this statement “Remember to ask the right questions to lock these people into their statements.” we can see that they are looking hard to find ways to arrest medical cannabis patients. 

Question #1 Who is your doctor?

• Where was your appointment?
• Tell me about your appointment.
• Was it like other doctor’s visits you’ve had in the past?
• Would you send your mother or child to this doctor if they were very sick and needed accurate and appropriate medical care? (he adds here, “One of my favorites. You’d be surprised how many people say no.”)

He also adds: “Is their recommendation generic or does it have a specific dosage or plant count on it? Remember per the footnotes in the People v. Kelly decision, a doctor cannot recommend a plant count, only a dosage amount. Is it a blanket diagnosis for all qualified patients or specific per the qualified patient’s current medical needs? Is there a trend of doctor shopping by “qualified” patients?”

Question #2 What medical condition do you have that would require you to use medical marijuana?

• Does their answer meet the “seriously ill” standard set forth in the Health and Safety Code?
• Do they know what their ailment is? (really??)
• Discuss each ailment with them. (HIPAA law allows you to say it’s none of your business)
• Is the ailment/illness short term or chronic?

Question #3 How much marijuana “medicine” do you use a day to relieve your ailments?

• Does it seem like an appropriate amount to use? (They are NOT doctors and not authorized to make this judgement)

Question #5 What time of day do you use? 

• Are they using before work, on their lunch break, at home, before bed? 
• What do they do for a living? Are they driving or operating machinery? (He notes here that “Per 11362.785, an employer may terminate an employee who tests positive for marijuana. Is he suggesting that law enforcement get involved with the Human Resources Department of every citizen’s employer? Outrageous!)

Question #6 What is your preferred method of use? 

• Are they eating it or using it in salves, wraps or tinctures? (This one gets tricky. He states that 90% smoke it and that it’s too valuable to be wasted in edibles and butter. He reminds them that “the manufacture of honey oil involves butane” and is a crime. Making butter or infused oil is not. Neither is bubble hash both of which can take large amounts of cannabis.)

Question #7 Do you cultivate or purchase marijuana? If so, where and for whom? (He advises: “They may admit to growing dope in their home - good probable cause for a search warrant.” He goes on to list a bunch of questions designed to lock you into statements that build his case. Just say “I’m not going to answer that question”.

He quotes an article from the American Medical Association that give us an opportunity to turn it around on them. “Given that medical marijuana is approved for mostly chronic conditions that require long-term dosing, physicians must be aware of the development of tolerance and dependence.” Ok, great. My tolerance after 10 years is so high I need more and more medicine.

This paper is a shocking testament to the fact that law enforcement hates the Compassionate Use Act, doesn’t think the voters have the right to change the law through the initiative process, and isn’t about to enforce the law as most of their citizens want them to. Educate yourself. Don’t share more than necessary if you find yourself in a law enforcement encounter. Donate to a cannabis advocacy non profit today. Cannabis isn’t going to legalize itself and law enforcement wants to force us back into the failed War on Drugs!

Susan Soares
C.A.R.E. Executive Director
www.JustSayCARE.org
www.Facebook.com/JustSayCARE

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