Police Issue DUI Warning After Medical Marijuana User Found Sitting In Car With 'Small Pharmacy'
SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA.com) — Police have a message for Southland medical marijuana users: keep your pot out of your car and off the roads.
Simi Valley police issued the warning after officers arrested a man sitting behind the steering wheel of a parked car with what they described as "a small pharmacy of marijuana products" in the front and back seat, according to police spokesman Robert Arabian.
Officer Vernon Trujillo approached the suspect and a "youthful passenger" while they were allegedly smoking marijuana in an unidentified residential neighborhood, Arabian said.
Because the suspect provided Trujillo with a medical marijuana card, he was not arrested for possession of marijuana, police said.
"Officer Trujillo could not legally prove the element of driving in this case," Arabian said.
Photos released by Simi Valley police showed dozens of colorful medical marijuana "pop top" bottles, several baggies, and a glass water pipe approximately six inches in total height.
The driver was later arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and was cited and released.
Police say the case serves as a reminder that possessing a medical marijuana card does not relieve drivers of the laws relating to DUI driving.
California voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996 allowing the medical use of marijuana.
