Pubdate: Tue, 28 Aug 2007
Source: Merced Sun-Star (CA)
Copyright: 2007 Merced Sun-Star
Contact:  http://www.mercedsun-star.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2546
Author: Leslie Albrecht
Photo: Sam Matthews, a local medical marijuana patient, was awarded 
$1,700 by a judge in a small claims suit after police confiscated his 
marijuana in October of 2006. http://www.mapinc.org/images/medicalmarijuana.jpg
Cited: Merced http://www.cityofmerced.org/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

CITY TO APPEAL MEDICAL MARIJUANA RULING

The battle of the buds hasn't yet gone up in smoke.

The city will appeal a recent ruling that awarded $1,700 to medical 
marijuana user Sam Matthews. The money was meant to compensate 
Matthews for pain and suffering and the loss of $300 in pot that 
police confiscated last October.

But Chief Deputy City Attorney Jeanne Schechter says giving Matthews 
the money would be tantamount to the city buying illegal drugs. "We 
believe there's no legal basis in ordering the city to pay for 
contraband," said Schechter.

The city will file its appeal this week in Merced Superior Court.

The legal to-and-fro hasn't dampened Matthews' fighting spirit. He 
now plans to hire a lawyer and sue the city again, this time for $25,000.

"If they would have paid me my small claims money I would have just 
disappeared -- poof!," said Matthews. "But you can sure bet your 
bottom dollar that I'm not giving up. Last time they got slapped, 
this time they'll get Tysoned" -- a reference to onetime boxing champ 
Mike Tyson.

The city's appeal marks yet another chapter in what Matthews calls 
his David-and-Goliath struggle with the city. It's also another 
example of how people like Matthews get caught between conflicting 
strands of federal and state laws regulating marijuana.

Matthews, a 25-year-old Merced College student who uses medical 
marijuana to ease back and knee pain, was handcuffed by police last 
October after he was discovered "medicating" -- smoking pot -- in his 
parents' garage.

Matthews showed police an Alameda County medical marijuana user card 
and a doctor's note, but he was cited for possession of pot. Police 
also confiscated Matthews' "medicine" -- 26.5 grams of pot -- and 
locked it in an evidence warehouse.

In May, Merced County started issuing medical marijuana cards, which 
are meant to prove to local law enforcement that the user is 
following the 1996 state law legalizing medicinal pot.

But Matthews' run-in with police happened months before Merced Police 
adopted a policy recognizing the cards. Officers had no choice but to 
follow the federal law that calls pot illegal, said Police Commander 
Tom Martin. "When there's ambiguity in the law, it leads to the 
dilemma that we're in today," said Martin.

The criminal charges against Matthews were eventually dropped, but a 
judge ruled two weeks ago that his pot be destroyed. Police burned 
the marijuana in an incinerator. Matthews said he doesn't mind that 
his stash went up in flames, especially because its potency had 
likely diminished over the past several months. "To me, it was more 
of a personal thing," said Matthews. "I would have liked to have 
gotten it back to show the police they were wrong."

Meanwhile, Matthews also sued the city in small claims court, seeking 
$7,500 in damages for pain and suffering he experienced when he lost 
his medical marijuana. A judge ruled earlier this month in Matthews' 
favor, ordering the city to pay $1,700.

But Schechter, with the City Attorney's office, said Judge Armando 
Rodriguez offered no legal basis for his decision. She also noted 
that if the city paid Matthews, it could leave the city open to 
paying out similar claims in the future.

But Matthews calls the city's appeal a waste of taxpayer money. "How 
much money has it cost the taxpayers?" said Matthews. "All the city 
had to do was say, We're sorry sir, we made a mistake, here's your money.'"

Schechter said the city has not been tracking the cost of fighting 
the Matthews' case.

However much the city forks out fighting him, Matthews says he'll 
keep fighting just as hard so that his grass is greener. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake