Boulder police make pot arrest after NORML meeting :
County News : Boulder Daily Camera
A University of Denver student was arrested Tuesday night in Boulder on suspicion of marijuana possession after leaving a meeting about medical use of the drug.Michael Joseph Dupree, 19, provided police with a physician’s statement that a medical condition warranted use of the drug. The letter was issued by a California doctor, though, and is not valid in Colorado. Medical marijuana users in Colorado must be registered with the Colorado Department of Health’s Medical Marijuana Registry.
The meeting was at the University of Colorado and hosted by the campus chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. The meeting discussed how to obtain a medical marijuana card in Colorado, something Dupree has not yet done because he recently moved from California, he said Wednesday.
According to Boulder police, Dupree was stopped after running a red light on Broadway near CU. Police said they “noticed a strong odor of burnt marijuana” inside his car and small pieces of “a green leafy substance” in the change dish. After searching the car, police said they found a glass pipe and 0.08 grams of marijuana concentrate in Dupree’s car.
He was arrested on suspicion of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of eight ounces or less of marijuana. Both are misdemeanors.
Dupree declined to comment on what medical condition he has that requires medicinal marijuana, but the doctor’s note said it was a “serious condition.”
What in the world does the NORML meeting have to do with the marijuana arrest? He didn’t get the marijuana at the NORML meeting! In fact, it sounds like he was a California patient attending the NORML meeting so he could learn how to be legal in the state of Colorado! Are the Boulder Police now staking out NORML meetings to catch dangerous criminals like this one who was caught with 8/100ths of a gram of “marijuana concentrate” (what is that, resin?) and a pipe? I’d also like to know whether this “running a red light” was “blowing through an intersection” or if it was merely the typical case of someone underestimating the time left on a yellow light.
It’s not fair, it’s not legal, it’s not constitutional, but my guess is this happens more than anyone will admit, not just from NORML meetings, but hempfests, reggae or rap concerts, leftist political rallies, and so forth. My advice is to keep your stash at home or in your car trunk.
Oh the asshattery! This is exactly why I cringe when I hear someone say, “The government should tax and regulate marijuana.” It’s rare that government regulates anything with reason or restraint. This guy was trying to learn how to jump through the government hoops in order to become a legal consumer of his medicine. The right to medicate yourself is fundamental to the rights to life and liberty. We give terrorist detainees access to medical care, well sometimes, we should give safe access to medicine to U.S. citizens too.