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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,538
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Kansas police raid hospital room of terminally ill patient 3
#28113319 - 12/26/22 08:01 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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A big FU to these cops. Let the poor man die in peace ...
Police raid hospital room of terminally ill patient December 26, 2022 - 8NewsNow
Three police officers showed up at Hays Medical Center to seize the 69-year-old's vape and THC paste
HAYS, Kan. — A terminally-ill Kansas man’s hospital room was raided by cops because he used a weed vape and THC paste to ease the symptoms of the cancer that will kill him within weeks.
On December 16th, Hays, Kansas police raided the hospital room of 69-year-old Greg Bretz, who is suffering from terminal cancer, after a hospital worker at Hays Medical Center caught him vaping marijuana. Bretz said he has been vaping, as well as eating THC paste with bread, to relieve symptoms of his condition, since being hospitalized roughly three weeks ago.
Bretz is in the final stages of terminal, inoperable cancer and told The Wichita Eagle that he most often lies ‘flat on his back’ in his hospital bed and can’t stand up without being assisted. Bretz told the Kansas City Star that his doctor told him to use whatever was necessary to relieve his pain, including products containing THC — the active ingredient in cannabis.
Police told Bretz that his vaping device could potentially be a fire hazard, due to the presence of oxygen in the room. In many vaping devices, puffing activates the battery-powered heating device, which vaporizes the liquid in the cartridge or reservoir for inhalation.
Bretz was cited for drug possession and is set to appear in court after the new year on January 2nd, 2023.
Medicinal cannabis is illegal Kansas, despite 68% of state residents support state-sanctioned medical marijuana access, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). Idaho and Nebraska also ban the practice.
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GenericHero
crap dangit this sucks!


Registered: 07/07/20
Posts: 2,336
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Re: Kansas police raid hospital room of terminally ill patient [Re: veggie] 4
#28113355 - 12/26/22 08:39 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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Email address for the Hayes pd: hpd@haysusa.com
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halfass mycology
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cricket
Lord Cricket


Registered: 08/29/03
Posts: 965
Loc: in my house, in front of ...
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Re: Kansas police raid hospital room of terminally ill patient [Re: GenericHero] 1
#28113646 - 12/27/22 05:51 AM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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I hate this state! I'm willing to bet, Weed will be illegal here long after federal law has changed. After confiscating a van full of marijuana money traveling from Missouri to Colorado, lawmakers in this State are spending more time working to beef up asset forfeiture laws then they are to figure out a plan for medical marijuana. Forget recreational. I still don't see it ever happening here.
-------------------- I tried to leave my signature but it didn't work... By the way... Does anybody know how to get sharpie markers off of a computer screen?
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thirtygoats

Registered: 12/29/11
Posts: 1,992
Last seen: 2 months, 20 days
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Re: Kansas police raid hospital room of terminally ill patient [Re: veggie] 2
#28113671 - 12/27/22 06:56 AM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
veggie said: Three police officers showed up at Hays Medical Center to seize the 69-year-old's vape and THC paste
These cops are so ignorant, it's unbelievable.
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ruawakeyet


Registered: 05/03/21
Posts: 1,862
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Re: Kansas police raid hospital room of terminally ill patient [Re: thirtygoats]
#28114403 - 12/27/22 06:44 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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https://www.kansas.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/dion-lefler/article270381287.html
"If you’re like me, you might question whether raiding a dying man’s hospital room to bust him for possession of marijuana extracts is the best use of police time. But this Christmas season, it happened in Hays. Police went into a room at Hays Medical Center on Dec. 16 and seized a terminally ill patient’s vaping device and some edible paste containing THC. They cited him for drug possession and set a court date for Jan. 2. He’s essentially bedridden and in the final stages of terminal, inoperable cancer. I called the Hays Police Department about it. The dispatcher said she’d have someone call me, but that hasn’t happened yet.
The news of the bust was relayed to me by one of the patient’s friends. I talked with the patient, 69-year-old Greg Bretz, by phone from his hospital room and he described what happened. He said he’s “flat on my back” in his hospital bed and can’t stand up unassisted. He’s been using his vaping device and eating a little bit of the THC paste on bread to relieve his symptoms since he was hospitalized about three weeks ago. He said a doctor told him to do whatever he wants if it makes him feel better, because there’s basically nothing medical science can do for him anymore other than hospice care.
But a hospital staffer caught him vaping and reported him. Police were called and three officers came to his room. He said they told him the vaping device was a fire hazard, because the room is equipped with oxygen. That could be a valid concern. Vape devices have a small electronic element that heats liquid to steam for inhalation, and there have been cases where they malfunctioned and patients got burned using them while taking oxygen through a nasal tube. Bretz said he’s not on oxygen.
He said the police were mostly intent on seizing his THC paste, which he argued was medicine, because his vaping liquid contains only a trace of THC, if any. He said he’ll try to contact the prosecutor and see if they’ll push back his court appearance. The one certainty in this sorry episode is that he’s not going to make it there. Typically, when a defendant doesn’t appear, a judge will issue an arrest warrant. If it comes to that, well, Bretz will be easy to find. He’s not going anywhere.
Bear in mind that in 47 states and the District of Columbia, this would be a simple issue of violating hospital rules, not a criminal drug-possession charge. Twenty-one states have approved marijuana for recreational as well as medicinal use, including Missouri and Maryland, which just passed it in November elections. Only Kansas, Nebraska and Idaho still fully ban medical marijuana.
Word on the street is that this will be the year the Kansas Legislature finally moves some sort of medical marijuana legislation. They probably have to approve something — the public outcry is too great, the momentum too strong.
But there are still far too many Kansas lawmakers stuck in an outdated “Reefer Madness” loop. Rep. Gail Finney, D-Wichita and a longtime sufferer of the autoimmune disease Lupus, made a compelling case for medical marijuana year after year after year. It fell on deaf ears, year after year after year, and she died in August without seeing it come to pass.
My prediction is this: Lawmakers will legalize medical marijuana just enough to get themselves off the hook for having a total ban, but then over-regulate it and make it so expensive and hard to get that relatively few people who could benefit will actually be able to have it.
Meanwhile, we can keep raiding hospital rooms and treating dying people like criminals. I think I speak for a majority of Kansans when I say this: To Greg Bretz, and all those who are similarly situated this holiday season, we’re sorry. We sympathize with what you’re going through and if we could change it, we would. May your last Christmas be as joyful as possible under the circumstances.
This story was originally published December 24, 2022 5:40 AM."
My comment: While the actions of the police are atrocious, and the lawmakers in that backwards state are also to blame, the hospital staff has a major hand in this nightmare scenario as well.
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ruawakeyet


Registered: 05/03/21
Posts: 1,862
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Re: Kansas police raid hospital room of terminally ill patient [Re: ruawakeyet]
#28114584 - 12/27/22 09:59 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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https://www.kwch.com/2022/12/28/hays-police-drop-charges-after-vape-pen-found-terminally-ill-mans-hospital-room/
By Alex Jirgens Published: Dec. 27, 2022 at 10:18 PM CST|Updated: 38 minutes ago
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - The Hays Police Department dropped charges after it says, a THC vape pen was found in a terminally ill man’s hospital room.
Police say last Monday, Dec. 19, two officers responded to Hays Medical Center on suspicion of drug possession. When the officers arrived, they found a cancer patient with a vaping device that contained THC, police said. Police confiscated the man’s vape pen and cited him for violating city code.
After learning more about the situation, police spoke to the city’s prosecutor, asking for the ticket to be dismissed. This was approved. Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler discussed his support for dismissing the citation in this case.
“Any time we expect law enforcement officers to be perfect in an imperfect world, we’re going to be disappointed as a society,” Scheibler said. “As law enforcement, we’ll continue to try to do our best to get better every day. That’s ultimately our goal at the Hays Police Department.”
News of the situation rapidly spread, leading to threats to police and the hospital in Hays. There haven’t been any arrests in connection with the threats, but police are continuing to monitor the situation.
Copyright 2022 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com
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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,538
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Re: Kansas police raid hospital room of terminally ill patient [Re: ruawakeyet] 3
#28114723 - 12/28/22 04:17 AM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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"The Hays Police Department confirmed the case dropped with no penalty"
That is great news. But it never should have happened. I hope cops learn from this that victimless crimes, especially by the sick and dying is not the low hanging fruit to satisfy their arrest quotas.
"After learning more about the situation, police spoke to the city’s prosecutor, asking for the ticket to be dismissed."
More likely due to the overwheakming nationwide backlash and the threats to police and the hospital for this cold-blooded and heartless act by the cops.
The city of Hays and it's police owe it's citizens and Greg Bretz a major apology and more. I hope this is a catylyst to get voters in Kansas to change their laws and get rid of the bad apples.
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GenericHero
crap dangit this sucks!


Registered: 07/07/20
Posts: 2,336
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Re: Kansas police raid hospital room of terminally ill patient [Re: veggie] 2
#28115022 - 12/28/22 11:36 AM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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I hope he is able to find more paste now.
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halfass mycology
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Shroom La Zoom
Rhizormorphic


Registered: 03/02/12
Posts: 3
Loc: North Carolina
Last seen: 1 year, 4 months
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Re: Kansas police raid hospital room of terminally ill patient [Re: ruawakeyet]
#28117515 - 12/30/22 01:20 PM (1 year, 4 months ago) |
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North Carolina STILL has no medical exceptions for cannabis but has reduced .5 oz possession to a misdemeanor offense with a $500 fine. And, that's for anybody regardless of health status.
-------------------- Realms of bliss Realms of light some are borne to sweet delight some are borne to sweet delight some are borne to the endless night end of the night Auguries Of Innocence by William Blake End of the Night by Jim Morrison
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