Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
On October 14, 2003, 57-year-old Don Nord was arrested when a DEA task force raided his Hayden, Colorado, home and seized three marijuana plants, some loose marijuana, pipes, and growing equipment.
Nord is a disabled, wheelchair-bound, state-registered medical marijuana patient. He has battled kidney cancer, diabetes, lung disease, a neck injury, and other conditions, and grew his own marijuana out of medical and financial necessity.
Though Colorado allows seriously ill people to use marijuana with a doctor's approval, DEA agents follow federal law, which forbids the use of marijuana for any purpose. The task force that raided Nord's house was composed of a DEA agent and eight county law enforcement officers deputized by the DEA to enforce federal law.
A county judge dismissed the charges against Nord in November 2003, and ordered the task force agents to return his marijuana and equipment. The officers returned his growing equipment the following month, but refused to return his marijuana or pipes.
In January 2004, the officers were held in contempt of court, but the U.S. attorney for Colorado then transferred the case to a U.S. district court. In July 2005, the court found that the agents are immune from state prosecution and therefore are not required to return the marijuana and pipes that they confiscated from Nord.
