By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services | East Valley Tribune
Rejecting the pleas of the state’s former top federal prosecutor, a House panel voted Thursday to let police destroy marijuana they have seized even if it turns out the person had a right to possess it.
Melvin McDonald, who was the U.S. Attorney for Arizona in the early 1980s, told members of the Judiciary Committee that SB 1441 is an improper end-run around the 2010 voter approval of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. And he called the fear by police that they will be subject to prosecution under federal law if they give back the drugs “utter nonsense.”
McDonald admitted he is more than an idle bystander.
He told lawmakers of the seizures suffered by his stepson, Bennett Black, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a 1997 accident and eventually had to have part of his brain removed. McDonald said both the seizures and the pills designed to control them made Bennett sick and nauseous.
It was only when his wife, Cindy, began to get marijuana for their son — illegally until the law was passed — that he was actually able to eat and reverse the weight loss from 180 pounds to 118 pounds.
Committee members approved the measure anyway on a 5-3 party-line vote. Its fate, however, , remains uncertain.
Related: Arizona senator aims to tighten medical-marijuana laws
If you’d like to discuss medical marijuana, contact Ryan Hurley, director of the Rose Law Group Medical Marijuana Dept., rhurley@roselawgroup.com
