Judge denies Assenberg return of weed medicine

Superior Court Judge David Frazier Friday denied a motion from Michael A. Assenberg for a court order to return his medication, which in his case is marijuana seized by Quad Cities Drug Task Force agents in a raid on Assenberg’s Colfax home May 4.

Assenberg has been scheduled for a Dec. 19 trial after pleading not guilty to four felony charges. He has told the court he plans to present a defense based on state medical marijuana laws.

“Everything I was doing was in accordance to the letter of the law,” he told Judge Frazier from the witness stand.

Assenberg testified Friday that he suffers as many as 70 seizures a day without using marijuana as medicine.

“If it wasn’t for the medical use of cannabis, I would have no choice but to end my life,” he said.

His court-appointed defense attorney, Steve Martonick, argued his client had a right to keep up to 24 ounces of marijuana, a 60-day supply, under state medical marijuana laws.

“I can’t go down to the local drug store to get cannabis,” he told Judge Frazier.

Assenberg told Judge Frazier he has just under a half-ounce on hand, and the new plants he is growing will take months to produce usable marijuana.

Quad Cities Drug Task Force agents in a raid on Assenberg’s home May 4 seized 82 plants on suspicion that he illegally sold some of his home-grown marijuana.

Assenberg said 46 of the 82 plants seized were “clones,” juvenile plants cut from another marijuana plant to develop.

Deputy Prosecutor Bill Druffel argued the seized marijuana was now key evidence for the state’s case.

Druffel said Assenberg waived his right to use medical marijuana when he sold to other patients. Druffel compared returning Assenberg’s marijuana with returning a knife to a stabbing suspect.

Druffel also questioned the validity of Assenberg’s medical marijuana prescription. Assenberg presented a photocopy of his prescription to the court, saying his actual prescription was seized by drug agents and is also being held as evidence by the county.

Judge Frazier said the validity of the seizure was a matter for the trial before a jury, not for pretrial decision.

“Isn’t that why we’re here,” he asked rhetorically. “You’ve got disputed issues of fact. That’s for a jury to decide.”

He ruled agents had a valid warrant to search Assenberg’s house and seize the marijuana as evidence.