At 10am on Tuesday, February 15th, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) announced at a press conference that it was filing a lawsuit against the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The seven legal medical marijuana patients and caregivers whom ASA is representing say that the CHP broke the law in confiscating their marijuana during traffic stops. Read more

Over eight years have passed since the passage of the Compassionate Use Act (CUA, formerly known as Proposition 215) in 1996, where California voters approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Since then, the California legislature has enacted law (SB 420) that clarifies the CUA and explicitly allows for transportation of marijuana by qualified patients and caregivers. Local law enforcement in California has exhibited ongoing resistance to enforcing state law, despite the enactment of both the CUA and SB 420. "Out of Compliance" is a report that was issued last August by Americans for Safe Access. It states that the worst law enforcement offender of state medical marijuana laws in the state is the California Highway Patrol. ASA is suing the CHP to change its official policy, which says, “[e]ven if a Section 11362.5 H&S claim is alleged, all marijuana shall be confiscated and booked as evidence.” The only state-required documentation of legal patient status is a copy of a current doctor's recommendation, which the CHP calls an 'alleged' claim. ASA succeeded in winning back several patients' medicine and plants last year from a variety of arrests all over the state.

California Highway Patrol | Americans for Safe Access | CHP Policy on Medical Marijuana