Feds beat contempt charges

This stinks. We've been following Don Nord's case [scroll down] for a couple of years. Don was arrested and then exonerated for having three marijuana plants because he's a medical marijuana user.

The judge ordered the feds to return his plants and other equipment. The feds refused and the judge held them in contempt. Unfortunately, in this post-Raich climate, the feds just got away with it. A US District Court judge ruled that federal law enforcement officers cannot be held in contempt for failing to follow a state judge's order.

"I find that (the agents) were performing acts that were authorized or that they reasonably believed were authorized by valid federal law," US District Court Judge Walker Miller decided.

No surprise but disappointing all the same. It serves as a reminder that if we're going to get any meaningful policy reform, we're going to have to put more pressure on Congress to change the laws.