Police officers returned a laptop and patient records they seized from a University District medical marijuana cooperative, but for now they're holding on to 12 ounces of marijuana and several bongs confiscated during their Tuesday evening search.

Martin Martinez, who heads the Life Vine cooperative at 1406 N.E. 50th St. near University Way Northeast, said he and his lawyer, Douglas Hiatt, picked up the roughly 500 records from the Police Department Thursday.

But it's not clear if they will get the marijuana back, which advocates say is for use by seriously ill patients.

"We're really happy right now, but the fight isn't over," Martinez said.

A King County Prosecutor's Office spokesman said charges would not be filed in the case, but referred questions about the marijuana and bongs to the Police Department.

Police said they don't have an answer about whether the items will be returned.

Though a police attorney pledged not to destroy the marijuana or bongs for the time being, he made no promises to give them back, Hiatt said.

Washington law allows seriously ill patients to possess a 60-day supply of marijuana if cleared by their physicians.

While federal law bans the drug, cooperatives -- where sick patients get together to obtain marijuana -- have sprouted up in several states that allow the practice.

The search was precipitated by a complaint from a neighbor who said she was allergic to marijuana and had noticed the odor of the drug for the past month, according to a search warrant affidavit.

When police arrived to search the cooperative, Martinez showed them around. Officers became suspicious because the odor became very strong and they saw marijuana, the affidavit said.

Martinez and Hiatt said they asked police not to confiscate the patient records but they did so anyway. Nobody was arrested.

Medical marijuana advocates were particularly concerned by the seizure because they feared police could misuse patients' medical records. The cooperative collects the records in order to print identification cards for members.

When asked by police officers, the patients can show them the cards to prove that they need marijuana.

Neither police nor prosecutors are apologizing for the seizure. In a statement released Thursday, the Prosecutor's Office said that police had a reasonable belief that the seized items "showed an effort to distribute marijuana in violation of state law."

Though state law allows legitimate users to possess marijuana, the statement pointed out that there are grey areas. For example, the law doesn't specify exactly how much marijuana sick people are allowed to possess.
Police return medical records, laptop to marijuana co-op

They may have returned the records but who's saying that it wasn't copied? I have a feeling that this isn't over yet.

Have a good one!:jointsmile:
Psycho4Bud Reviewed by Psycho4Bud on . Seattle police seize marijuana patient files Seattle police seized files on nearly 600 medical marijuana patients when officers searched the headquarters of a patient support group, activists said Wednesday. The search occurred Tuesday after a nearby police bicycle officer reported the smell of marijuana. Martin Martinez, who runs the Lifevine cooperative as well as Cascadia NORML, the local chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said no one was arrested but officers seized about 12 ounces of marijuana Rating: 5