Medical marijuana activists' children taken from home and put in foster care



The parents of two young boys who have dedicated their lives to legalising medical marijuana are struggling this week to cope with the heartbreaking reality that police have taken away their sons and placed them in foster care.



Josh and Lindsey Rinehart from Boise, Idaho, returned home from a trip with fellow activist Sarah Caldwell last week to find that their two children and Ms Caldwell's two sons had been removed from the babysitter's care while they were out.



According to a police search warrant, the Rineharts are being investigated for 'possible charges of trafficking, possession and injury to a child', accusations they insist are unsubstantiated.

Distraught: Linsdey and Josh Rinehart (left) and Sarah Caldwell (right), medical marijuana activists' in Boise, Idaho have had their children taken away by police who deem the presence of cannabis in the home dangerous

Mrs Caldwell's children have already been returned to their mother but the Rineharts will have to endure an impossibly long wait to see their boys again.

'They say their goal is to return our children to our home once it is deemed safe,' Lindsay Rinehart told KTVB.com . 'They say our children will be in foster care for 30 days.'

Teary: Mrs Rinehart takes marijuana for her Multiple Sclerosis to avoid the 'toxic' medication prescribed by doctors but says she'll stop if it means getting her boys back

Mrs Rinehart, a publicly recognised member of the medical marijuana advocacy group 'Compassionate Idaho', went on to defend herself and her husband against the charges, saying: 'We were not dealing. We were not buying. We were not selling. We were not growing.'



In fact, a long-time sufferer of Multiple Sclerosis, Mrs Rinehart takes the drug to avoid 'toxic medication' that would otherwise be administered to help with the disease.

She is the chief petitioner for the Idaho's medical marijuana initiative and a constant presence on Compassionate Idaho's Facebook page where a slogan reads: 'Welcome to Idaho, where marijuana is more dangerous than a loaded gun'.



Police and Health and Welfare officers called on the family home after someone at the children's elementary school reported that someone had brought cannabis to school and eaten it.



'So they decided basically, who would have cannabis in their home,' explained Mrs Rinehart through tears. 'Now if you're the chief petitioner to legalize medical marijuana, where would you go with that?'

Supplies: Though possible charges of trafficking, possession and injury to a child may be brought against the activists, Mrs Rinehart vehemently denies such claims

She told the local news station that police had raided her home and taken the couple's medical marijuana supplies, declaring that the presence of the narcotic put the children in danger.



Though the Rineharts say their boys know perfectly well that the drug is for medical use only and not for them to touch, they will do whatever it takes to get their sons back even if it means she has to stop taking the marijuana and go back on traditional medication.



Natural: The Rineharts and Ms Caldwell belong to medical marijuana advocacy group 'Compassionate Idaho'

'We are going to work on getting our children back. And we are going to work on education. And we are going to work on getting medical marijuana laws in Idaho so this doesn't happen to any more people,' sobbed Mrs Rinehart.

While the boys remain in foster care, Health and Welfare officials will work with the police to determine the risk at which the children were put by living with pro-marijuana parents.



A spokesman for Health and Welfare to KTVB.com that when illegal substances are found in a home, their job is to look at the accessibility to the children and if the drug-taking affects a parent's capacity to look after their children.