Activists say police took them to secret location, gave them marijuana and studied the effects as part of training exercise

Occupy Minnesota protesters who said police got them high told: you can sue

When the story first broke it sounded like paranoia, possibly from smoking too much weed: law enforcement officers in Minnesota spirited Occupy protesters to a secret location and got them high on pot.



It seemed a bizarre claim, but activists insisted that local police took people away from a protest camp at Peavey Plaza in Minneapolis in April 2012 to study the drug's effects as part of a training program.

It does not sound paranoid any more. This week, a federal judge ruled that a lawsuit launched by two protesters against five officers should go ahead, clearing the way for a trial that will shine a light on the discredited training exercise.

US district judge John Tunheim rejected a motion by the Hutchinson police and the sheriff’s offices in Olmsted and Nobles counties to dismiss the case, saying the officers may have violated the activists' first and 14th amendment rights.

In light of the “clear prohibition” on providing illicit drugs to citizens the law enforcement agencies were not entitled to the protection of qualified immunity, the judge said in a memorandum filed late on Monday.

He threw out claims filed by four other plaintiffs, saying they lacked detail, but left open the possibility they could be reinstated if made more specific.

Nathan Hansen, a North St Paul attorney representing the four activists, said an amended complaint would soon be filed.

“This ruling is really good news. Now the case can move forward,” he told the Guardian. Soon his team could start obtaining documents, interviewing witnesses and establish, among other things, how the officers got the drugs.

He accused them of violating his clients' first amendment right to protest, and of performing unscientific experiments without medical personnel present. “Some of my clients have mental health problems and are very vulnerable. It's really kind of sad that someone would want to treat a human being this way.” Some were given pot to take away, said Hansen.

Six protesters sued in February 2013, accusing 26 defendants of violating their rights under the First and Fourteenth amendments. The two whose lawsuit is going ahead are Michael Bounds and Forest Olivier.

It is alleged police chose individuals from the Peavey Plaza protest, took them to a warehouse near Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport and gave them marijuana to monitor their reaction. It was part of a Drug Recognition Evaluators exercise managed by the Minnesota state patrol, ostensibly to train officers to spot drug use, especially in motorists.

The story was broken in April 2012 by independent media groups, including Rogue Media, Communities United Against Police Brutality and Twin Cities IndyMedia, who made a 35-minute video showing officers from different law enforcement departments picking up and returning protesters.

"I got stoned with a couple cops," a protester who went by the name Panda said on camera, following an alleged encounter. "I'm high as fuck." Panda said the officers treated him to a double cheeseburger from McDonald's, observed how eagerly he ate it, and and timed him.