June 20, 1998
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SIMI POLICE RETURN MARIJUANA PLANTS TO PATIENT
Authorities say 62-year-old Dean Jones, who was arrested last month, is protected by a law that allows for medical use of pot.

SIMI VALLEY
It was a rare day for the Simi Valley police—giving back pot plants they earlier seized from the backyard of a man arrested on suspicion of felony cultivation.

But Dean Jones had a court order requiring officers to do just that. The order came after prosecutors Friday said Jones was protected by Proposition 215, the 1996 medical marijuana law, and would not be charged.

"All I want are my meds," said an exasperated Jones, fanning himself with a folded paper as he waited outside the police property room. "I need my meds."

The day began with a hearing during which prosecutors announced they would not file charges of felony marijuana cultivation.

At the request of Jones’ lawyer, Stanley Arky, Judge Edward F. Brodie then ordered police to return all materials, including the marijuana, confiscated from Jones’ home during his May 27 arrest.

Accompanied by Arky and Andrea Nagy of the now-defunct Thousand Oaks Cannabis Club, the 62-year-old Simi Valley resident recovered his marijuana Friday. But upon opening the brown paper bags on the sidewalk in front of the police station, his happiness turned to disappointment.

"They’ve ruined my medicine," he said, holding a handful of moldy marijuana. "There’s nothing here that’s usable. . . . It’s all gone."

And of the 13 plants listed in the police report as being taken into evidence, Jones said he only counted 10. But he was free, and free to grow more, and that’s just fine, he said.

"I’ve been vindicated and I’m legal and that’s all I wanted in the first place," Jones said.

The district attorney’s decision came after prosecutors confirmed with the man’s doctor that he was indeed a patient and had received the doctor’s approval to use marijuana as part of a regimen to treat a variety of ailments.

"We reviewed documents from Mr. Jones’ doctor that showed the doctor had approved the use of marijuana," Deputy Dist. Atty. Bill Redmond said. "Mr. Jones is free to use and cultivate marijuana for personal use for his unfortunate illnesses."

Jones is a diabetic who suffers from high blood pressure, migraine headaches, back problems and periodic foot inflammation.

He has also been diagnosed with skin cancer and earlier this month underwent surgery to have lesions removed from his face and neck.

His problems with the law began late last month after he and his wife visited the Simi Valley Police Department to notify authorities he was growing marijuana for his own use, specifically to aid treatment for his back and foot problems and high blood pressure.

The next day officers arrived at his home and Jones invited them in. Officers arrested Jones and booked him into Ventura County Jail, where he remained for about 14 hours until being released in the early morning on recognizance.

Police said they were well aware of Proposition 215, but believed Jones to be in violation of the law and even consulted with the district attorney’s office before making the arrest.

Police said earlier the amount of marijuana, about 8 pounds, constituted more than what could be considered as personal use and that he did not have a prescription.
(Ed. note: Surely this deserves some explanation. Thirteen small plants weigh eight pounds? Well, if they are in lovely clay containers with lots of wet soil, and…)

Arky contends police simply asked the wrong question.

"They asked if he had a prescription and he said no, which is right. But doctors can’t prescribe cannabis because there’s no place to fill such a prescription," he said. "My client had approval to use the medicine and that’s all that’s needed under the law."

Police officials declined to comment Friday and forwarded all queries to the city attorney, who also had no comment.

According to Proposition 215, which was passed by 56% of state voters last year, criminal marijuana laws "shall not apply to a patient or to a patient’s primary caregiver, who possess or cultivates marijuana for the personal medical purposes of the patient upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician."

After Friday’s hearing, Arky filed a claim against the Simi Valley Police Department and three officers, claiming false arrest.

Arky, Nagy and Jones all trooped to City Hall, where they served the claim to city officials.

Nagy, who is no stranger to the problems associated with the use and distribution of medical marijuana, was heartened by the prosecutors’ decision, hoping that it signals a new era of enforcing the state’s medical marijuana law.

"I think the important message here is that a patient’s rights cannot be violated and that [a violation] will not be tolerated," she said.