{"id":7482,"date":"2017-06-16T20:15:44","date_gmt":"2017-06-16T20:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/?p=6244"},"modified":"2017-06-16T20:15:44","modified_gmt":"2017-06-16T20:15:44","slug":"d-c-police-arrest-woman-with-pot-but-charges-dropped-now-she-wants-her-weed-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/d-c-police-arrest-woman-with-pot-but-charges-dropped-now-she-wants-her-weed-back\/","title":{"rendered":"D.C. Police Arrest Woman With Pot, But Charges Dropped. Now, She Wants Her Weed Back"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/d-c-police-arrest-woman-with-pot-but-charges-dropped-now-she-wants-her-weed-back\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><p>A District woman is firing a novel legal challenge to the ambiguous marijuana laws in the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Capitol Police seized Jessica Laycock\u2019s cannabis earlier this year on land under local police jurisdiction, but the charges against her were dropped. Now, she\u2019s fighting to get her pot back.<\/p>\n<p>Laycock, 25, was among seven protesters arrested on April 20 \u2014 an annual day of pro-pot advocacy \u2014 during a demonstration in which activists gave joints to congressional staffers to push for marijuana-friendly federal laws. Possession of marijuana is illegal on federal land, but protesters say they strategically held the event on District land, where possession of up to two ounces of pot is legal and small amounts can be given away free.<\/p>\n<p>The circumstances of her case highlight the clash between federal pot laws and looser local regulations in a city where small amounts of marijuana are allowed.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Capitol Police also have jurisdiction on D.C. land, and its officers arrested some of the activists who openly smoked marijuana. Laycock originally was charged with possession and distribution of marijuana, but the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the District of Columbia dropped the charges. Upon her arrest, police seized Laycock\u2019s marijuana \u2014 less than two ounces and considered legal on District land \u2014 and other marijuana- and cigarette-related paraphernalia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFederal laws apply throughout the District of Columbia and the federal law was applied by the [U.S. Capitol Police],\u201d Eva Malecki, a spokeswoman for the federal police agency, wrote in an email.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office declined to comment on the case.<\/p>\n<p>Laycock said since she was following the local law, her marijuana and vaporizer rightfully belong to her. A D.C. police spokeswoman said that the local police agency has returned marijuana to people who are 21 years or older.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy am I being told that my stuff is being incinerated?\u201d said Laycock, who works as a cannabis lobbyist. \u201cWhere I was standing, cannabis was legal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Malecki said marijuana is a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance, and even though charges were dismissed, Capitol Police protocol calls for the marijuana to be destroyed. In the eyes of the federal police agency, Malecki said, marijuana is illegal everywhere in the city.<\/p>\n<p>Nearly 70 percent of District residents favored a referendum in 2014 to legalize marijuana, and Laycock and her lawyer contend that the substance is now legal in the city, even if a Capitol Police officer is patrolling the area.<\/p>\n<p>Laycock\u2019s lawyer, Evan Parke \u2014 who is working the case on a pro-bono basis \u2014 said Capitol Police have refused to return Laycock\u2019s possessions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe strongest legal argument is that she was not doing anything unlawful under D.C. law to begin with, and she was never charged,\u201d Parke said, adding that since there were ultimately no federal charges, police shouldn\u2019t keep what was taken from her.<\/p>\n<p>Parke said is submitting public information requests to Capitol Police in hopes of determining what led them to make the arrests. It is unusual \u2014 although not unprecedented \u2014 for Capitol Police to make arrests on District grounds while applying federal laws.<\/p>\n<p>Parke said if he doesn\u2019t get clearer answers from police, he might file a lawsuit to get the property back for Laycock in the hopes of having a judge decide the fate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are giving us the runaround,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Another woman at the April 20 protest is also seeking to have her cannabis returned. Adam Eidinger, a prominent D.C. marijuana activist who helped organize the demonstration and was also arrested, was carrying slightly above the D.C. legal limit of two ounces and is still facing charges. Because of that, he said, he is not asking police to return his marijuana, although he supports Laycock\u2019s legal quest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are letting the stigma of cannabis override the correct interpretation of the law,\u201d Eidinger said.<\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/d-c-police-arrest-woman-with-pot-but-charges-dropped-now-she-wants-her-weed-back.jpg\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>News Moderator: Ron Strider <a href=\"http:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">420 MAGAZINE \u00ae<\/a><br \/>\nFull Article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/local\/public-safety\/capitol-police-arrested-a-woman-smoking-pot-in-dc-but-charges-were-dropped-shes-fighting-to-get-her-weed-back\/2017\/06\/07\/1a9f5c04-46d4-11e7-98cd-af64b4fe2dfc_story.html?utm_term=.4f8e49505775\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Capitol Police arrested a woman with pot in D.C., but charges were dropped. She\u2019s fighting to get her weed back. &#8211; The Washington Post<\/a><br \/>\nAuthor: Perry Stein<br \/>\nContact: <a href=\"https:\/\/helpcenter.washingtonpost.com\/hc\/en-us\/requests\/new\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Washington Post<\/a><br \/>\nPhoto Credit: Marvin Joseph<br \/>\nWebsite: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News &amp; Analysis &#8211; The Washington Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A District woman is firing a novel legal challenge to the ambiguous marijuana laws in the nation\u2019s capital.<br \/>\nU.S. Capitol&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/2017\/06\/d-c-police-arrest-woman-pot-charges-dropped-now-wants-weed-back\/\" class=\"read-more\">[Read More]<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1597,9,1,3],"tags":[4165],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7482"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7482\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}