Arizona Yuma County Sheriff's office refuses to return marijuana that was seized from a woman with a California medical marijuana authorization honored by Arizona, even after Supreme Court ruling, according to U.S. News and World Report.
The justices' order was issued without comment on Monday in the case of Valerie Okun, who had marijuana in her car when a Border Patrol agent stopped her and her husband in Yuma County, Arizona, in 2011, USN.com reported.
She was charged with marijuana possession crimes, but the charges were dropped when she provided proof she was authorized to possess marijuana under California's medical marijuana program, according to USN.com.
Arizona's medical marijuana law allows people with authorizations from other states to have marijuana in Arizona, USN.com reported.
Alfonso Zavala, a spokesman for the Yuma County Sheriff's Office, says there is no immediate decision on whether or not to return Okun's marijuana, which remains in evidence, according to USN.com.
"We ourselves have just learned about [the decision]," Zavala said, USN.com reported. "We are currently discussing it with our county attorney to decide what the next step will be."
The Superior Court in Yuma County and the Arizona Court of Appeals Division One previously sided with Okun, according to USN.com.
Kris Hermes, a spokesman for the medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, says the Supreme Court's decision is no surprise, USN.com reported.
Americans for Safe Access successfully sued Garden Grove, California, on behalf of Felix Kha after his medical marijuana was seized by local police in 2005, according to USN.com. State courts forced the city to return the marijuana and pay $139,000 in legal fees.
"Now, Arizona is finally catching up with the law," Hermes says, USN.com reported. "It's time for police to come to grips with the rights of medical marijuana patients so they can live free of unreasonable retribution and discrimination."
