Bearman

“Public policy ‘is a very unruly horse, and when you once get astride it you never know where it will carry you.’ ” (Leflar, Appellate Judicial Opinions (1974) p. 35, quoting Richardson v. Mellish (1824) 2 Bing. 252.) California public policy allows for the use of marijuana to ease the suffering of people who are seriously ill. Unfortunately, some people who are not seriously ill will attempt to ride the “unruly horse” for a recreational high. There is room for abuse of the Marijuana Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (CUA; Health & Saf. Code, § 11362.5). Here, a law enforcement officer encountered a “medical marijuana patient” who possessed marijuana and paraphernalia. He reasonably believed there might be abuse of the CUA because the doctor’s letter, approving/recommending marijuana use, mentioned attention deficit disorder.

A person may come within the meaning of the CUA if he or she is “seriously ill.” (See People v. Wright (2006) 40 Cal.4th 81, 94 [ 51 Cal.Rptr.3d 80 , 146 P.3d 531 ].) We do not disparage a person suffering from attention deficit disorder. We do not denigrate the symptoms of this syndrome. But, it is difficult to accept the premise that such a person is…