\tCops Are Being Sued for Dead Pot PlantsBY MIKE ADAMS · THU JUN 26, 2014 RSS <div style="margin:0px;"> </div>It is one of the greatest pleasures of American law enforcement to kick down the doors of the unsuspecting stoner in hopes of being given the opportunity to seize and destroy a room full of marijuana plants. While cocky cops have been getting their kicks for decades wrecking small-time cannabis operations in the name of the war on drugs, some are finding out now that their destructive actions can lead to a lawsuit. In medical marijuana states all across the country, police responsible for ransacking legally-run homegrown weed facilities are being dragged to court by patients seeking restitution, in upwards of several millions of dollars, for their damaged or destroyed pot plants. This rightful retaliation against local cop shops often happens after a person is acquitted or prosecutors simply dismiss the charges. Unlike the old days, law enforcement agencies can be held liable for their unruly methods of collecting evidence against suspected offenders of marijuana laws. This, of course, has caused a few police departments to revamp their “rip and let wilt†procedure when it comes to gathering pot plants as evidence. Some forces have even employed the use of photography along with a few sample clippings to keep as evidence in order to avoid the potential of having to repay patients for dead weed. Legal experts say that as the marijuana laws continue to evolve in favor of the average homegrown stoner, law enforcement agencies are going to have no choice but to exercise a level of bedside manner when dealing with the gardens of the marijuana community. "Law enforcement is going to have to think more carefully about what their procedures are and how those procedures might need to change in light of changes in the law," Sam Kamin, a law professor at the University of Denver, recently told The Associated Press. In Colorado, state law mandates that police departments return seized medical marijuana back to a patient once they are found not guilty or have the charges dismissed. Yet, in the state of California, even a court order does not guarantee law enforcement will actually comply. Earlier last month the Pasadena Police Department refused to return $8,000 of medical marijuana to Charles Pollard even though they were ordered to do so by the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Pollard's attorney retaliated by filing a motion demanding the department either return the marijuana or be charged with contempt of court. The outcome of that case is still pending. It is up to law enforcement agencies to develop standard regulations in regards to how they handle and seize marijuana plants, said a lawyer representing a $3.3 million medical marijuana dispensary case. Otherwise, the lawsuits are destined to continue.
they are going to return moldy shit on the stem that was bagged in god knows what conditions with other drug confiscated material. great! I'll have some of that- spends months growing high quality just to have them show up and bag the whole plant until the law suit settles than they return it to you. I'm sure they place great attention to curing your crop for you while you wait!
Your missing the point entirely, its the fact that the people of the mmj community have the same rights as anyone else and the police have to respect them. Im not saying its a perfect system but we live in a time where any progress is good we wouldn't be where we are today without all these little steps along the way.
what happens if the grow is mid grow. they will bag up your plants in veg state and then return them to you. For what?? they are no good
That's probably part of the reason a lot of them are getting sued... Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum mobile app
ha ha, to get out of being sued they will have to learn how to process and cure cannabis to be delivered back to the people they took it from in pristine state. sounds good to me, when it is legalized even more the police will be on the up and up on how to cure your own cannabis, ha ha
Note to self: Move to legal state, purposefully get busted (after making doubly sure im within the legal guidelines), when the charges are dropped, sue for millions in damages.
There is a guy in mendo that has sued and won for over 100k 2x and won. It the guy from the show pot cops. He was the fat guy with 3 gardens of 99 plants all under papers. Got all his money back.
I think the DEA, FDA, NIDA, and all state and local drug-task-forces, need to be named as defendents in a class action lawsuit, demanding a minimum of 10 million dollars for each person who has been killed or grievously injured or has had more than 1 year of their lives stolen by this unconstitutional violation of human rights and dignity. And since it would be completely impossible for them to pay that, they should all be forced to forfeit all assets to seizure, be permanently barred from holding any position of authority, and be sent to prison to bust rocks for the next 20 years, to attempt to pay back a portion of their knowingly violently incurred debt to society.
the only problem is the only people left to want to enforce that kind of shit will be on the list you mentioned so you think they will police and prosecute themselves. it would last one day and they would be fleeing to the hills
well then i guess some of the rest of us will have to step up and fill the vacuum. I bet we can find a few people who would gladly embrace the opportunity to serve poetic justice. Hell, maybe some of them could even be reformed and rehabilitated, and allowed to re-enter society... lol, maybe we could even make "prosecute yourself" a part of their reform/rehab.
the suicide rate would sky rocket when people actually see the error of their ways and remorse sets in. to rehabilitate means to come to terms with your actions and be held accountable for the outcomes. we live in a blame the other dude society so full circle consciousness would leave us holding the bag for our own actions leaving a bunch of people in denial and disillusion ( like that is not already happening to everyone!!) .
seriously, Why is it so hard for these close minded cops just to accept the fact that Weed is here to stay. Its like they're trying to get the water out of the ocean but they are getting frustrated on why the water isnt going down at least a little bit......cant fight this Fire bud with Fire cops...Only with lighters and pipes and other assortments. only way to get rid of it.