Suetaz

Medical pot growers seek joint resolution

By Karen Abbott | Rocky Mountain News | September 16, 2004

Three people who grow Marijuana for medical use asked federal authorities Wednesday to return their growing equipment as part of a widening conflict between Colorado and federal laws.

Colorado allows the growing and use of small amounts of Marijuana for medical purposes. With extremely rare exceptions, federal law does not.

Thomas and Larisa Lawrence and Andrew Fry asked the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to return their growing equipment, seized in June, in a nine-page letter from their lawyer, Robert Corry Jr.

"Mr. Lawrence, his wife Larisa, and friend Andrew Fry are caregivers to dozens of medical Marijuana patients in Colorado," Corry wrote.

"They are truly compassionate individuals, providing care and medicine to dozens of patients for no financial rewards," he said. "Through sheer generosity and selfless sacrifice, they spend painstaking hours in the cultivation and harvesting of medical Marijuana to provide life-giving medicine to people who need it."

Federal authorities don't see it that way.

Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the Colorado U.S. Attorney's Office, said the Lawrences and Fry won't get their equipment back anytime soon, if ever.

"At this time, it cannot be returned because it is evidence in an ongoing criminal investigation," Dorschner said.

Federal authorities contend that although the Lawrences and Fry are authorized by the state to grow Marijuana for others, they had many more plants or quantities of pot on hand than the state permits.

The DEA has, however, returned Marijuana growing equipment to two other Coloradans.

One was Dana May, of Aurora, who earlier this month got back equipment he used to grow Marijuana.

May has suffered from chronic pain since a 1995 accident. His physician authorized his medical use of Marijuana under Colorado's law, which was enacted by the state's voters in 2000 as an amendment to the state constitution.

Nevertheless, DEA agents and Aurora police officers seized the equipment from May's home in late May, along with 109 grams of Marijuana - much more than Colorado law lets medical users keep on hand.

May sued Aurora police, demanding the return of his equipment. He dropped his lawsuit when the DEA agreed to give it back.

State and federal authorities did not prosecute May for illegal possession of Marijuana. But the DEA kept his stash.

Colorado has licensed about 375 people to use Marijuana for medical reasons. Allowed reasons include cancer, HIV/AIDS, muscle spasms, seizures, chronic pain, chronic nausea and the inability to eat.

[Suetaznote: It seems like the DEA just likes to play games. They gave Dana May's equipment back when he brought a lawsuit against them, now they won't return it to 3 people that are caregivers to a lot of people. What happens if they file a lawsuit too, will they give in again? I wouldn't be surprised if they gave it back to Dana May with the intentions of busting him again to get it again. If he uses the equipment, he's still breaking federal law, so they could bust him again. I hope this isn't what they are thinking, but I wouldn't put anything past the DEA.]

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