Cannabis and the Law

Police Say Young Man Shot Himself While in Handcuffs in Patrol Car

Posted by Karri Gallaugher on August 2, 2012

Aug 022012

Chavis Carter from his Facebook page

Twenty one year old Chavis Carter died Saturday from a gunshot to the temple. He died while in handcuffs, and he died while in handcuffs AND sitting in the back of a police cruiser. The police have launched their own investigation into his death that officers at the scene reported as a suicide. Carter was just a passenger in a pickup truck that was stopped Saturday night in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Carter is black, and the driver and other passenger were white. The officers found marijuana at some point during the encounter. According to the police reports, the officers estimated the amount of marijuana found to be $10 worth, Officers then ran Carter’s information into their database.

Police found out that he was wanted on a warrant from Mississippi, so the officers frisked Carter, not once but twice before locking both of his hands behind his back and seating him in the back of a patrol car. Police reports say that minutes later they heard a thumping noise, and turned to find that Carter was shot in the head. Jonesboro Police Sergeant Lyle Waterworth says that the officers followed protocol of double searching him and double locking his wrists before loading him into the back of the police car. Waterworth said they think that Carter pulled a gun out that they had missed during the search, and shot himself, explaining that any given officer might miss something on a search, drugs, or knives, or razor blades, but saying this time, they missed a small caliber hand gun.

The two officers that were involved in the traffic stop and reported the suicide are on administrative leave pending the investigation. More information that came out today, a girlfriend of Carter’s said that he placed a cell phone call to her as the police were pulling them over, telling her that if he went to jail, he would call her when he got there. Also, Carter’s mother says that the gunshot was in the right temple, and Chavis Carter was left-handed. Continue reading »

ASA Gets Their Day in Federal Court The United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit have agreed to hear the oral argument in the lawsuit, “Americans for Safe Access v. Drug Enforcement Administration”. The present lawsuit challenges the federal government’s schedule one classification of marijuana, which defines it as something dangerous with no medicinal value. Full Story	Oregon Joins the List of States Voting to Legalize Marijuana Oregon voters will decide whether to legalize marijuana in the November elections. The Oregon Secretary of State has certified the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, or OCTA, has enough signatures to make the ballot. The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, if passed, would set up a distribution system where adults could buy cannabis for personal and private use only, through state-licensed stores. Full Story
Michigan Court of Appeals: Defendant Must Prove Marijuana Usage Was Medical The appeals judges wrote in the decision that the “Defendant still has one more hurdle to overcome to be entitled to immunity from prosecution; he must also establish that at the time of his arrest he was engaged in the medical use of marijuana in accordance with the (Michigan Medical Marihuana Act).” Full Story	Medical Marijuana Grower In Oregon Convicted on Federal Drug Charges Nelson has just received his conviction so far. His sentencing will be held on August 13th, but he was ordered held pending the sentencing, so he he has already begun serving his time, whatever it turns out to be, somewhere between five years, the minimum sentence he can receive, up to 40 years. The jury also found that his house in a rural area of Grants Pass should be forfeited as part of an illegal drug operation. Full Story
Mother of Teenager Who was Shot by Border Patrol Sues the Agency A grieving mother who lost her 19 year old son when he was shot and killed by a Border Patrol Agent is now suing the Agency claiming that the shooting was “an appalling use of excessive force”. Guadallupe Guerrero’s son, Carlos La Madrid was shot in the back twice and once in the leg as he climbed a ladder on the US side of a Mexico border fence. Full Story	GA Supreme Court Looks at Thermal Imaging Technology A public defender in Athens, Ga will speak before the State Supreme Court on Monday about the use of technology to collect evidence for his client’s case. In 2009 Authorities used a thermal imaging device on James Brundige’s home where they suspected he was involved in criminal activity. The thermal imaging device showed a hotspot in Mr. Brundrige’s home. The authorities in the case took that evidence of a hot spot in his house to a Judge saying it was evidence of a hot lights to grow marijuana in his home. The Judge granted the warrant, and on May 29th of 2009 the Northeast Georgia Regional Drug Task Force raided Mr. Brundige’s home, and indeed found an indoor cannabis garden Full Story
California Courts Say the ADA Does Not Protect Medical Marijuana Patients A court case out of California delivers a blow to medical marijuana patients in the state hoping to get some legal protection over obtaining their preferred medication. A panel of three Judges in the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has ruled that the Americans with Disabilities Act does not protect the rights of disabled patients who are using medical marijuana, even if they are doing so under their doctors care. Full Story	Michigan Supreme Court Issues their First Ruling on a Medical Marijuana Case The first ruling in a medical marijuana case from the Supreme Court of the state of Michigan was issued last week. Back in September, on the urging of the Michigan ACLU, the Michigan Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal case involving Larry King, a resident of Owosso. Full Story