“It’s a good decision,” Parson told the press. “It’s kind of a long time coming.”

When Grover Beach Police Officers pulled over Ken Parson for suspicion of DUI last year, he was not arrested; but 20 grams of cannabis were seized because he didn’t show a doctor’s approval. Later, when Parson tried to reclaim it, police refused to return the cannabis, citing federal law.

On Jan. 17, a San Luis Obispo Superior Court judge ruled the department must return the pot or pay a $5,900 fine.    

Grover Beach city officials met the next day to decide the fate of the medicine. After about an hour in closed session, Council emerged with a statement that it wanted to fight the ruling, but couldn’t afford to fund the litigation.   

“Given the potential costs of filing a suit in federal court and appealing the state courts and our limited resources, we made a decision that it’s not prudent to pursue this any further,” said Police Chief Jim Copsey. With that, he escorted Parson to the Police Department and the patient finally got his medical cannabis back.   

“It’s a good decision,” Parson told the press. “It’s kind of a long time coming.”