Last May, a Tacoma, Wash. cop pulled over Joseph Robertson for speeding. The cop said he smelled marijuana in the car, and after a search police ticketed Robertson for marijuana possession and took his stash in addition to a driving without a valid license charge.

Since then Robertson, who is a medical marijuana patient, had the pot charge dropped says he should get his bag of meds back – and the municipal court has agreed. Twice.



“Appeal or comply,” Municipal Court Judge Jack Emery ordered police and the Tacoma City Attorney last Thursday. Emery isn’t joking around either, adding “Or next week, show up, and I would advise you to bring counsel.”

This is the second time Emery has ordered police to return Robertson’s stash, the first time was back in February some two months after Robertson’s case was dismissed.

Robertson’s possession charge was dropped in December in part due to Washington voters approving of I-502, which legalized possession of small amounts of cannabis, and because he showed proof that he was a medical marijuana patient.

Emery called the police and city’s actions “contemptuous”. Emery said that the city has completely missed deadlines to argue their case, “even if they had merit”.

According to the News-Tribune, the city has been ordered fill out and submit a property release form to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, who has the cannabis locked up in their evidence room.

The Sheriff’s department – which is not under the jurisdiction of Emery and the municipal court – have said that they won’t simply hand the herb over to Robertson, however. Instead, they say that they want to wash their hands of the situation and have Tacoma police get the pot and deliver it to Robertson.

Robertson’s attorney says that if the Sheriff’s Office fails to comply, they will take them to court as well.