‘Why Take My Vibrator?’—Michigan Cops Legally Rob ‘Every Belonging’ from Medical Marijuana Patient
Medical marijuana user Ginnifer Hency told a group of Michigan lawmakers last week that a drug task force raided her home and kept ‘every belonging’ she owned — including her vibrator — even after a judge dismissed the charges against her.
Forbes contributor Jacob Sullum reported last week that Hency testified before the Michigan state House Judiciary Committee about what happened when her home in Smiths Creek was raided last July.
Hency explained that her neurologist had recommended medical marijuana to treat pain associated with multiple sclerosis. She is also registered in the state of Michigan as a caregiver for five other patients, giving her the ability to distribute medical marijuana.
Hency said that the six ounces in her locked backpack were in compliance with Michigan medical marijuana laws when a drug task force raided her home with four children present.
“They took everything, even though I was fully compliant with the Michigan medical marijuana laws,” she said. “They charged me with possession with intent to deliver, even though I’m allowed to possess and deliver.”
A St. Clair County judge dropped the charges against Hency, but for 10 months law enforcement officials have refused to give back her belongings.
“They have had my stuff for 10 months, my ladder, my iPad, my children’s iPads, my children’s phones, my medicine for my patients,” Hency noted. “Why a ladder? Why my vibrator, I don’t know either. Why TVs?”
“The prosecutor came out to me and said, ‘Well, I can still beat you in civil court. I can still take your stuff,’” Hency recalled, adding, “I was at a loss. I literally just sat there dumbfounded.”
“And I was just sitting there, like, thinking I was going to be able to get my stuff back, but not in this country. And that is why civil asset forfeiture in this state needs to change.”
According to Sullum, the Michigan House Judiciary Committee is considering a bill that would require local law enforcement agencies to report forfeitures to the state police, and it would raise the standard of proof required for civil forfeiture in drug cases.
But under the proposed law, local agencies would continue to keep 100 percent of the proceeds from forfeitures, “which gives them a strong incentive to target people based on the assets they own instead of the threat they pose to public safety,” Sullum wrote.
Filed under: General Problems
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It seems to me that you should be able to file a claim for illegal search and seizure because a judge dropped the case. Also under the double jeopardy law filing a separate suit using same evidence would be illegal. Civil suits are the right of people to file against another for unfair or illicit behavior such as discrimination or for a product or service that is unsatisfactory, not for a prosecutor to use at will. A prosecutor for the state and representing the state is not a civilian of the state, they are part of the judicial body in the state. Civil stands for civilian and by the way this prosecutor has put it to you, he or she wants to file a suit against you and claim your personal property as his or her own.
If I were you I would go ahead and file a class action lawsuit, (using the others that you care for) against the prosecution and the police department. Requesting a jury trial from the start so that a single mediator is not the only one making the decision. I would not only sue them for the return of your personal effects. I would also sue them for a very large monetary value (millions) claiming that they caused mental anguish, trauma and pain and suffering to you, the patients of whom you provide the medication for, and your children for the mental shock that they suffered.
When they denied you and the others you care for your legally prescribed medication, they attacked your civil rights. I would contact the national press and give them the details, ESPECIALLY ABOUT THE VIBRATOR. Absolutely no politician in their right mind would want a case like yours reported on by the national press(CNN, MSNBC, CNBC & FNC, and if they did, they would have a very slim chance of retaining their offices.
Just for the fun of it, contact Bill Maher from Real Time on HBO, I am willing to bet that your story will be on his show as soon as he here’s about it.
If they seized it as part of a civil.fortititure it’s actually the property that’s ‘guilty’ even if the.owner has no chàrges . Which makes the case before court ridiculous….imagine: Vibrator vs United States…when she chooses to fight it, etc……
Yes I can imagine ” VIBRATOR VS UNITED STATES”, but it would be Vibrator VS The State of Michigan and it would be more embarrassing to the Prosecutor then to her, Medical Marijuana is legal in the state of Michigan as long as you have a card. If she has a caregiver card and also a card for herself, unless they were federal investigators who sized her properties than she was within the law and they illegally removed her property.
Yes, they do have the right to inspect her operations to determine if she is within the boundaries of Michigan law. If she was not within the boundaries then they can seize her properties. The law strictly states what and how much she can have in her possession for herself, it also states how much she can have if she’s a caregiver. Obviously if a Michigan circuit court judge threw it out because she was within the boundaries.
I think that it’s bullshit that cops and Prosecutors are under the impression that they are above the law and can just make it up as they go.
The point isn’t the vibrator, it’s her kids belongings. If her kids IPADS were used in a crime then they can be seized. If her televisions were stolen property or used in a crime then yes, they can be seized. But if they were simply in her home and a crime wasn’t taking place, and remember that was determined by a judge, then it should be returned. Shit when a convicted criminal is released from prison they get there personal property back.
Michigan is my home state, and even know I am not a Marijuana user, I do not fault those who are. Until people stand up and fight for their rights again, we will all continue to get banged up the Ass. There’s too many politicians practicing medicine and not enough doctors practicing politics.