Florida cops raid disabled activist hours after she's linked to marijuana bill
Law enforcement officials in Florida say that it's a coincidence that the home of wheelchair-bound activist was raided just hours after her name was linked to an effort to legalize medical marijuana in the state.
In a report about how the support for medical marijuana could effect the governor's race in Florida, The Miami Herald noted on Monday that one proposed bill was expected to be called the Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act.
Jordan is a high-profile activist who suffers from ALS -- or Lou Gehrig's Disease -- and has claimed that medical marijuana has helped her to extend her life and even outlive many of her doctors.
According to the Bradenton Herald, Jordan's home was raided by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office on Monday afternoon and deputies confiscated 23 marijuana plants.
The Miami Herald Naked Politics blog pointed out that the raid occurred "just after our story posted on the polling numbers and popularity of medical-marijuana."
A spokesperson for the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said that the department had to act because a real estate agent reported suspicious circumstances at the Jordan home.
"She called us when she saw something that looked funny with an extension cord, looked through the fence and saw marijuana plants," sheriff’s office spokesperson Dave Bristow explained. “Deputies responded and saw the same thing she did.”
Cathy Jordan's husband, Robert, told the Bradenton Herald that he reluctantly gave deputies consent to search the home, informing them that the marijuana was "medicine for my wife."
Bristow insisted that the raid had nothing to do with Jordan's name appearing the The Miami Herald.
"If we had not gotten a complaint yesterday (Monday) this would not have happened," he remarked. “Responding deputies were not aware of any legislation. Why would we want to get involved in that?”
"We had no choice as far as what we had to do here... They had marijuana. Marijuana is illegal. We confiscated the marijuana."
By Tuesday afternoon, Jordan's name had been removed from the online version of The Miami Herald's report. Calls to the Herald were not returned by time of publication.
Watch this video from SurvivingALS, uploaded in 2010.
(h/t: The Huffington Post)