PSNI officers have been accused of "not knowing medical cannabis laws" after two attempted to seize prescribed medication from a man following a car stop in Belfast and arrest him.
The incident took place on Ravenhill Road in South Belfast last week when a man was stopped by two officers and asked to leave his vehicle as they could "smell cannabis", with the driver saying that it was from his prescribtion medication that he had legally.
In response to this he was told by one of the officers "that if it has THC in it, then it is illegal", although prescribed medical cannabis can legally contain THC.
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A video of the interaction has been posted on social media and shows the officers seizing the medical cannabis from the man, as he protests that it was his "medication" and it had been prescribed legally.
The officers then say that due to his possession of the cannabis they were going to search his vehicle for further drugs, with one of the officers then doing so.
Following this the officers tell the man that they are now going to arrest him on suspicion of not having insurance for his vehicle and place him in handcuffs. The man protests against but allows police to handcuff him and then proceeds to ask the officers to swab test him to see if he has committed a crime and arrest him.
After it is shown to the officers that the man was insured for his vehicle he is removed from the handcuffs and he then proceeds to ask the officers for his medication back and he is told that he could pick it up from the police station.
The man refuses to leave after this and demands the officers return his medication and after a few minutes where the officers where the officers say they were discussing with senior officers on the radio about the prescription and whether or not it was legal, the medical cannabis is returned to the man.
Speaking anonymously to Belfast Live, the man said that it was clear that police officers are not aware of the law surrounding medical cannabis and feels he was unfairly targeted during the ordeal.
A PSNI spokesperson said: "The nature of police-work dictates that when an officer has a suspicion that a criminal act may have been committed they will carry out all necessary enquiries to establish the full circumstances.
"If anybody has a complaint about the actions of police they are encouraged to contact the office of the Police Ombudsman."
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