Man sues Seal Beach police for taking medical marijuana

Man sues Seal Beach police for taking medical marijuana

The 45-year-old says police took 40 to 50 plants and forced him to become an informant and move out of the city.

By JAIMEE LYNN FLETCHER

The Orange County Register

SEAL BEACH– A former resident is suing the Police Department and the city for $1 million, alleging the police confiscated about 40 to 50 marijuana plants and coerced him to move and become a police informant, court records show.

Bruce Benedict, 43, said in his lawsuit that he is a patient and caregiver of medical marijuana, which allows him to grow and distribute the narcotic to patients with prescriptions under California law.

Benedict is suing in Orange County Superior Court for violation of civil and health and safety codes and breach of contract. He is seeking a trial by jury but a hearing date has not yet been set.

The city's attorney did not return phone calls about the case.

Benedict was prescribed medical marijuana six years ago because he suffers from Hepatitis C and has had kidney failure twice, he said.

He said he called the police in February because construction was being done on a red tagged apartment in his building.

When police arrived, Benedict said the officers "smelled marijuana coming from [the]apartment".

Officers Mike Henderson and David Barr of the Seal Beach Police Department entered his apartment and took photos of Benedict's marijuana plants, according to the lawsuit, filed Aug. 29.

Benedict said he also gave the officers his paperwork that permitted him to smoke and grow cannabis.

The lawsuit states that Henderson took the pictures to the District Attorney's office but the prosecutors denied pursuing charges against Benedict.

The officers returned to Benedict's apartment in June with Drug Enforcement Administration agents and confiscated Benedict's plants and arrested him, court records show.

DEA spokeswoman Sarah Pullen said the agency cannot comment on a pending lawsuit.

California law allows medical marijuana but federal law prohibits it, a contradiction many Orange County cities are struggling with.

State law says a person can have up to six mature marijuana plants but counties have the authority to change this rule.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department implements the six-plant criteria, said spokesman Damon Micalizzi said.

A doctor's recommendation can also override these guidelines, according to state law.

"The law clearly authorizes caregivers to provide cannabis to clients and to charge for their service for doing so," said Dale Gieringer of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "It is intended to be loose."

Benedict said the officers also asked him to become an informant in various drug matters for the city and move from Seal Beach. Benedict complied with the requests, the lawsuit states.

"They asked me to work for them or face federal charges," he said.

Benedict was convicted twice in 1988 for possession of narcotics, according to the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Benedict said he had small amounts of cocaine on him when pulled over by the police on two occasions.

"I am a person who learned the hard way," he said. "That was a long time ago."

Contact the writer: 714-445-6692 or jfletcher@ocregister.com