Return the pot

The Seattle Police Department was right to return a laptop and patient records seized during a raid on a University District medical-marijuana cooperative.

Unless police and King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg have evidence of criminal wrongdoing, they should also return 12 ounces of marijuana and several bongs.

Marijuana is a mind-altering substance and recreational use ought to be prohibited. But voters have said, and the law agrees, that this reasoning doesn't extend to using the drug for medical purposes. Cleared of criminal charges, Martin Martinez, who heads the Life Vine cooperative in the University District, has a right to reclaim his property.

Martinez suffered severe neurological damage in a motorcycle accident more than two decades ago. He is authorized to possess marijuana for medical purposes; Satterberg agrees. State medical-marijuana law allows legal users to keep a 60-day supply. Satterberg acknowledges the amount of pot taken from Martinez was within the limit.

Follow the logic. Give Martinez all of his property back. Only then can Martinez recover from something that shouldn't have happened.

Police came to his office on Northeast 50th Street after neighbors complained of the odor of cannabis in the building. After obtaining a search warrant, police carted off the pot and files, which included detailed medical histories and medical-marijuana prescriptions. Police also broke through part of a wall in search of illegal marijuana plants. They didn't find any.

Investigating suspicious drug use is appropriate. Along with 10 other states, Washington allows marijuana for medical use. This dividing line between illegal and legal use is clear enough for police to recognize before they knock down walls and cart off personal medical files.