https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/psni-accused-not-knowing-medical-31001467

PSNI accused of 'not knowing medical cannabis laws' as officers return seized medication

PSNI officers have been accused of "not knowing medical cannabis laws" after two attempted to seize prescribed medication from a man following a car stop in Belfast and arrest him.

The incident took place on Ravenhill Road in South Belfast last week when a man was stopped by two officers and asked to leave his vehicle as they could "smell cannabis", with the driver saying that it was from his prescribtion medication that he had legally.

In response to this he was told by one of the officers "that if it has THC in it, then it is illegal", although prescribed medical cannabis can legally contain THC.

A video of the interaction has been posted on social media and shows the officers seizing the medical cannabis from the man, as he protests that it was his "medication" and it had been prescribed legally.

The officers then say that due to his possession of the cannabis they were going to search his vehicle for further drugs, with one of the officers then doing so.

Following this the officers tell the man that they are now going to arrest him on suspicion of not having insurance for his vehicle and place him in handcuffs. The man protests against but allows police to handcuff him and then proceeds to ask the officers to swab test him to see if he has committed a crime and arrest him.

After it is shown to the officers that the man was insured for his vehicle he is removed from the handcuffs and he then proceeds to ask the officers for his medication back and he is told that he could pick it up from the police station.

The man refuses to leave after this and demands the officers return his medication and after a few minutes where the officers where the officers say they were discussing with senior officers on the radio about the prescription and whether or not it was legal, the medical cannabis is returned to the man.

Speaking anonymously to Belfast Live, the man said that it was clear that police officers are not aware of the law surrounding medical cannabis and feels he was unfairly targeted during the ordeal.

A PSNI spokesperson said: "The nature of police-work dictates that when an officer has a suspicion that a criminal act may have been committed they will carry out all necessary enquiries to establish the full circumstances.

"If anybody has a complaint about the actions of police they are encouraged to contact the office of the Police Ombudsman."

by lovely-luscious-lube

16 comments

  1. Would be very easy for the police to do a memo or just a basic education for this. You shouldn’t be made feel dirty or a criminal for medical cannabis plus it’s completely legal so they should really know this fact.

    Although you should always carry your script plus the medication in the product bag with your pharmacy sticker with your name etc on it alongside your script to ensure it’s clear due to the stigma and prejudice around MC. Not sure if this was the case or not

  2. Why are the cunts at BelfastLive are putting medication in quotes, are they implying it isn’t prescribed medication?

  3. With the _possible_ exception of cuffing the man before establishing he was insured to drive the vehicle I don’t see what the police could have done differently here.

    Cannabis is still a Class B controlled substance and if the man wants to go about carrying his controlled substance he should be able to provide the paperwork demonstrating it as legally prescribed, otherwise anyone could claim it was legally prescribed.

    If we believe that the stop was because of the smell of cannabis (I’ve often been able to smell it from cars nearby) then it’s reasonable for the police to investigate, particularly as there’s a risk the man was driving while under the influence of it.

    If we don’t believe that was the reason for the stop then we have to come up with another reason as the police didn’t stop him for the craic, you can let your imaginations run wild there.

  4. They could so easily put together a school of instruction in no time and deliver it to all stations and sections across the country but instead they sit on their hands and are too busy covering up in-house shit to do anything about this.. A horrendous organisation full of egotistical and mentally unwell folk..

    7yrs ago the law changed, the PSNI has done nothing to catch up with it..

  5. Would this not be a grey ate though you cannot drink drug drive , or prescription drive automatically , so if on drugs prescription cannabis, should be driving?No?

  6. As far as I know it’s only prescribed to be used in your own home (or other designated legal areas) and if peelers smell weed in your vehicle then they are well within their rights to full search

  8. Your standard psni officer has a very limited understanding of the law and has not studied it in any great depth. This can be incredibly frustrating in certain situations. You would think they should have a little more knowledge in this particular area though.

  9. I can’t stand the stench of the stuff anyway but there’s loads that article can’t cover like if some was stored in the car illegally or smoked by someone else, or if he was over the limit.

  14. But they do a 23 week training course, surely they should learn every law in that time?

  15. They probably thought they could sell it while bucking each others wives lol

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