KION - Monterey, Salinas, Santa Cruz - News WeatherTeacher Accidentally Leaves Marijuana at School

Teacher Accidentally Leaves Marijuana at School

SALINAS, Calif- A staff member found a bag of marijuana at Harden Middle School and you may be a little surprised to see who it belonged to.

The unattended bag was found in the quad area of the middle school. When the bag was picked up the smell of marijuana was very strong. School officials inspected the bag and found a baggie containing loose marijuana along with a smoking pipe.

School staff reviewed the video cameras and found that Harry Williams, 70, a substitute teacher, had set the bag down when he sat on a bench. When he got up to leave he forgot to pick up his bag.

Williams was questioned and admitted the marijuana belonged to him,  but that he had forgotten it was in his bag when he came to school. According to Williams, he had a note from his doctor allowing him to have the drug for medical reasons.

Williams was cited for possession of marijuana on school grounds and school staff sent him home after this incident.

"I understand that people are sensitive about this because of the issue with children. If he had been carrying a prescription in a bottle like Prozac this would be no big deal," said Sharri Parris of WAMM, WoMan Alliance for Medical Marijuana.

So in a state where Medical Marijuana is legal what does the prescription legally allow you to do?

California Law states in part "accommodation of any medical use of marijuana on the property or premises of any place of employment or during hours of employment, any correctional facility or within 1,000 feet of the grounds of a school, unless the medical use occurs within a residence, is prohibited."

Parris, who suffers from epilepsy, says that she would never leave home without her medical marijuana. "I always carry it with me because I know I could have a seizure and I know people that have chronic pain always carry it with them because the pain can become unendurable."

However, Federal law paints a different story on marijuana use. The government still puts Marijuana in the same category as heroin and cocaine even though the Justice Department says that pot-smoking patients or their sanctioned suppliers should not be targeted for federal prosecution.