The owners of a Tacoma medical-marijuana dispensary on Friday lost their bid to get back pot seized during a police raid nearly two years ago, but a lawyer for one of the men said he hopes the case will prove a winner in the long run.
Issuing a ruling in what he called “a case of first impression,” Pierce County Superior Court Judge John Hickman denied motions by Guy Casey and Michael Schaef asking him to force police to return marijuana confiscated during a series of law enforcement actions in May 2010.
Aaron Pelley, who represents Casey, said he and his client were disappointed in the ruling, but Pelley said there is “a silver lining.”
A successful appeal – and Pelley said he thinks there are grounds – would establish the first case law in Washington state about how forfeitures are handled when it comes to medical marijuana.
“We might get case law out of this,” he said. “Right now, there’s nothing out there.”
Hickman acknowledged as much in remarks before his ruling, saying interpretations of the state’s medical-marijuana laws change from town to town and county to county.
“This area of the law is what I would call a moving target,” the judge said.
Casey and Schaef contended they were qualified to possess the cannabis under the state’s medical-marijuana laws and that law enforcement had no legal interest in keeping it once prosecutors dismissed a criminal case against them.
Law enforcement officers raided Club 420 and the two men’s homes in May 2010 as part of a drug case. Detectives seized dozens of plants and about 11 pounds of harvested pot during the raids.
Casey and Schaef were arrested and charged with multiple drug crimes. Those charges later were dismissed when prosecutors expressed concerns about the veracity of a confidential informant who helped police make their case.
The two stood to get 24 ounces of processed pot and 15 plants – or cash equivalents – had their forfeiture request been granted.
Hickman said it was his view that someone requesting the return of medical marijuana seized during a police action had to overcome two hurdles.
First, the person must prove to a judge or jury, through medical records and a doctor’s testimony, that he or she was a qualified medical-marijuana patient, the judge said. Second, the person must prove he or she has been in “total compliance” with the state’s medical-marijuana laws.
Schaef, the judge said, did not overcome the first hurdle, despite arguments from his attorney, Kent Underwood, that his client had a qualifying medical condition at the time of the police raid, even if he couldn’t produce a medical-marijuana card from that time.
“There is not sufficient evidence to find he was a qualifying patient in May 2010,” Hickman said.
So Schaef was done.
The judge then ruled Casey was a qualifying patient but said the fact law enforcement officers seized 76 marijuana plants at Casey’s home – and thousands of grams of processed marijuana at Club 420 – during the raids meant he wasn’t in total compliance with the state’s medical-marijuana laws.
The law allows a 60-day supply, which equates to 15 plants and 24 ounces of processed pot.
Therefore, Hickman said, he has no right to his pot back.
Casey stormed out of court muttering under his breath after the ruling. Schaef followed, shaking his head as he went.
The ruling ended a nearly yearlong fight that was nasty at times.
Deputy prosecutor John Sheeran, who represented the state, called Casey and Schaef drug dealers who were trying to take advantage of the state’s medical-marijuana laws.
“You don’t get to deal drugs and then say, ‘Oh, the pound-and-a-half of drugs I have is for my bad back,’” Sheeran said during a hearing Thursday.
Attorneys Pelley and Underwood said police had no right to hold their clients’ “medicine” once the criminal case fell apart.
Hickman said his ruling should not be construed as an attack on the Medical Use of Marijuana Act.
“This court recognizes the legitimacy of the act and the noble purpose for which it was enacted,” he said.
Adam Lynn: 253-597-8644 adam.lynn@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/crime
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