Government actors constantly attempt to violate your right to self-determination. I hear almost daily about caregivers who experience a knock at their door and open it to find their house surrounded by police. Often, the police do not have a warrant. Maybe they got their name and address from the back of one of their patient’s LARA cards. Their ultimate purpose is to arrest the caregiver, and seize as much property and money so police can continue to fund further attempts to violate your right to self-determination.
Say you are a caregiver at home minding your business, and tending your buds. You hear a knock on the door, and open it to find several police officers. One officer sticks his foot in the door so you cannot prevent entry. He pushes his way into your home and says he knows you grow marijuana. He then tells you he wants to see your plants. So what’s the problem? I mean, you are a registered caregiver, so why not let the police in?
There are several reasons. First, you have a right to privacy. This means the police must obtain a search warrant before they can legally search your home. And, if you are not willing to assert your rights, don’t expect those who wish to arrest you to assert them for you!!!
Second, in the police report generated after you are charged with one or more crimes and have had your property and money taken from you, the officers will swear you invited them into your home, and willingly showed them your grow. This, after all, is an exception to the warrant requirement.
Third, the law is unclear just exactly what is a, “medical marijuana plant”. Well…that is…the police, prosecutor, and perhaps also the judge, will interpret a plant as meaning anything that did, is, can, or might grow. If you have 5 patients and yourself, and 12 plants for each (72 plants), and you have 72 plants drying, and another 72 clones, the police are going to arrest you and seize everything of value. You can bet your life, literally, that police report will say you had 216 plants. This will put you outside the protections of the MMMA, because having 216 plants is not growing “in accordance with the provisions of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act” (“MMMA”), MCL §333.26427(a).
Let’s say you hire an intelligent attorney who believes in the right to self-determination and he wins your case. Great! Well, perhaps, but even if you eventually win, ask yourself these questions: Do I have $20,000.00 to $50,000.00 laying around to pay an attorney to fight for my rights? Do I have the emotional strength and will to fight it out in court and try to get my property and money back from seizure? Do I have the stomach to look on as my children are forcibly taken from me? Finally, why not prevent all that by asserting my rights when it really counts?
You have a right to self-determination, which includes the right to privacy. As hard as it might be, you must assert that right. If you do not, you can pay tens of thousands of dollars, and suffer great pain, on the hope that you will get your life back.
So why not read the following tips and commit to asserting your rights as a human being:
1. NEVER open your door without knowing who is on the other side;
2. DO NOT open your door to the police;
3. You do not have to open the door, if you feel compelled to speak; you ask the questions through the door or a window. Ask them why they are there, and if they have a warrant;
4. If the police do not have a warrant, then tell them to leave, you are not willing to ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS without a lawyer present;
5. ALWAYS record the whole conversation on your phone, I-pad, or whatever, and have it feed to the internet so they cannot destroy that evidence in the event they violate your rights;
6. CALL 911 and let them know you have trespassers on your property and you wish for the police to remove them, this will provide documentary evidence that you did not want the police to remain on your property;
7. STICK TO YOUR RIGHTS, do not back down, politely and repeatedly tell them you do not wish to speak with them; and
8. SHOW them YOU ARE THE KING OF YOUR CASTLE, not the government.
As always, you must FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS against those who lust to control you and violate your right to be free.
Next month I’ll address another legal issue of growing medical marihuana. Until then, keep rolling on.
Disclaimer: This is an informational article only. It is not to provide individual legal advice. If you need legal services, feel free to contact me at liberty13legaldefense.com, or any attorney of your choosing.
