Medical Marijuana and Drug Paraphernalia on a College Campus

My question involves criminal law for the state of: California

Hi, I'm a California state recognized medical marijuana patient. I was on my college campus today and was searched by police because I was in a "known drug zone" on my community college campus. I was not smoking, selling, or buying marijuana, so I assumed that because I had a medical marijuana card, I was in the clear. Not so. The police confiscated less than a gram of marijuana and a marijuana pipe. Finally, the officer reported me to campus officials for being "caught with drugs."

This couldn't be right. The whole purpose of being a medical marijuana patient is that I am allowed to possess marijuana for medicinal uses, which is no business of the police if I need to smoke before getting to / or after leaving the PUBLIC campus.

Colleges are not uniformly "cool" with your taking marijuana onto campus or using it in the dorms merely because you have a medical marijuana card. See, for example, this article and this article.

Have you ever investigated the rules and policies of your campus?

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Quoting ShadyMilkman72

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My question involves criminal law for the state of: California

Hi, I'm a California state recognized medical marijuana patient. I was on my college campus today and was searched by police because I was in a "known drug zone" on my community college campus. I was not smoking, selling, or buying marijuana, so I assumed that because I had a medical marijuana card, I was in the clear. Not so. The police confiscated less than a gram of marijuana and a marijuana pipe. Finally, the officer reported me to campus officials for being "caught with drugs."

This couldn't be right. The whole purpose of being a medical marijuana patient is that I am allowed to possess marijuana for medicinal uses, which is no business of the police if I need to smoke before getting to / or after leaving the PUBLIC campus.

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Do you have the state issued card provided by the state Department of Public Health? This card would offer you protection from arrest for possession that is otherwise within the legal proscription of the law. However, if all you have is a physician's recommendation, and the officer doubts "the validity of a person’s medical marijuana claim based upon the facts and circumstances, the person may be arrested and the marijuana may be seized. It will then be up to the person to establish his or her medical marijuana defense in court." In other words, you might still be arrested but you can raise the necessity defense at court.

(Source: H&S 11362.7-11362.83 and the Attorney General's Guidelines For The Security and Non-Diversion of Marijuana Grown For Medical Use issued August of 2008.)

If the campus has specific rules against the possession of marijuana on campus - and it probably does - then the officer was also within his or her right to enforce the law. Even the possession of the DPH card would not override local laws or rules governing possession on campus.

Now, the issue of the detention and search is a whole other matter. Depending on the facts and the details, the search may not have been entirely lawful.

- Carl

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Quoting cdwjava

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Do you have the state issued card provided by the state Department of Public Health? This card would offer you protection from arrest for possession that is otherwise within the legal proscription of the law. However, if all you have is a physician's recommendation, and the officer doubts "the validity of a person’s medical marijuana claim based upon the facts and circumstances, the person may be arrested and the marijuana may be seized. It will then be up to the person to establish his or her medical marijuana defense in court." In other words, you might still be arrested but you can raise the necessity defense at court.

(Source: H&S 11362.7-11362.83 and the Attorney General's Guidelines For The Security and Non-Diversion of Marijuana Grown For Medical Use issued August of 2008.)

If the campus has specific rules against the possession of marijuana on campus - and it probably does - then the officer was also within his or her right to enforce the law. Even the possession of the DPH card would not override local laws or rules governing possession on campus.

Now, the issue of the detention and search is a whole other matter. Depending on the facts and the details, the search may not have been entirely lawful.

- Carl

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I have a DPH card. I can't speak on the college rules, but my city passed an ordinance to "deprioritize marijuana offenses by adults, and requests that the federal and California state governments take immediate steps to tax and regulate marijuana use, cultivation, and distribution and to authorize state and local communities to do the same." I'm pretty sure the cop knew he was in the wrong, as he refused to give me a receipt for what he was seizing. I assume my property was destroyed. I took names and badge numbers, but I'm questioning whether the outcome will be worth the time and effort at this point.

EDIT: This is from my college's website "8. The use, sale, distribution or possession of, or presence on campus while under the influence of alcoholic beverages, narcotics, or other dangerous or hallucinogenic drugs or substances including marijuana and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or any controlled substance (except as expressly permitted by law and evidenced by medical authorization) or use, sale, distribution of any poison classified as such by Schedule D in Section 4160 of the Business and Professions Code"

was this a college cop or a government employee cop?

You also will want to check the rules the college has in place as to possession.

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which is no business of the police if I need to smoke before getting to / or after leaving the PUBLIC campus.

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public has many applications and a PUBLIC college campus can still have different rules than a PUBLIC street.

The college may enact its own rules, and most adopt a zero tolerance policy towards possession on campus. The non-binding resolution of your local city government is of little real consequence to the college. As such, the officer may have done nothing at all wrong. Provided the search was valid, he may well have been able to seize it.

If the marijuana was seized, it was booked into evidence. You might consider contacting the agency and making sure they do not destroy it as you intend to challenge the citation.

You might consider looking into the policies and practices of the local college to find out what they have to say about possession on campus. If they say it permissible to possess (though state law makes it prohibited to smoke) on campus, then you have a good defense.

- Carl

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Quoting ShadyMilkman72

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EDIT: This is from my college's website "8. The use, sale, distribution or possession of, or presence on campus while under the influence of alcoholic beverages, narcotics, or other dangerous or hallucinogenic drugs or substances including marijuana and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or any controlled substance (except as expressly permitted by law and evidenced by medical authorization) or use, sale, distribution of any poison classified as such by Schedule D in Section 4160 of the Business and Professions Code"

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what about it? That is only a partial quote of the rule.


Additionally, that does not say there are no other restrictions placed on medical MJ.

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Quoting jk

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what about it? That is only a partial quote of the rule.


Additionally, that does not say there are no other restrictions placed on medical MJ.

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It is their general student conduct policy. That is the only part applicable to drugs. If you want, feel free to consult the rest of the policy. http://www.ccsf.edu/Offices/Student_...ties/rules.htm

Beyond that, I'd assume that medical MJ is clearly covered by "except as expressly permitted by law and evidenced by medical authorization."

Oh, there is your answer:

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"except as expressly permitted by law and evidenced by medical authorization."

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expressly permitted means they specifically permit the use/possession. The law actually expressly allows a school to prohibit the use or possession.

therefore, rule 8 means you cannot have marijuana on campus even with medical support.

I would generally disagree with jk on the interpretation of section 8 of the college student code, but that's why I came here, to understand where I could very well be wrong.

What I replied for was to answer jk's previous question; the officer in question was a college police officer.