Medical Marijuana Patient Thrown In Jail After Testing Positive For THC
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A man who is legally allowed to have medical marijuana was thrown in jail after he tested positive for THC.
Twenty-four-year-old Sampson Bailey Jr., of Spring Garden, spent 10 days in the Allegheny County Jail, time that he says he never should have spent there.
"I wasn't expecting to be there at all. I was supposed to go to work in a couple of hours," Bailey said. "Wasn't able to go to my work. I missed eight days. Lost the job."
His time behind bars stems from medical marijuana. Bailey is a licensed registered user of medical marijuana for several health conditions.
On April 10, when he appeared in court in front of a judge on an unrelated offense, the judge believed that Bailey was under the influence at the time, something that Bailey denies.
"I was not high that morning," he said.
The judge ordered a drug test on Bailey, which came back positive for THC. Bailey said he did not bring his marijuana card with him that morning and also did not know that he would be taking a drug screen.
The judge in the case put Bailey in the Allegheny County Jail because he wasn't able to determine if Bailey was telling the truth about having a medical marijuana card.
Attorney Patrick Nightingale isn't related to Bailey's case, but he is a partner at Cannabis Legal Solutions.
"A simple call to the Department of Health can verify that someone is active with the program," Nightingale said.
Nightingale says that CBD oils can create a false positive test, and he thinks this case is surprising.
"At least get this individual the opportunity to demonstrate to the court that, yes, I am a registered patient and I simply don't physically have my patient identification with me," Nightingale said.
Bailey was released from jail last Friday after his physician was able to provide the information that he does in fact have a medical marijuana card.
