Mendelson defends D.C. police for pot bust

D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the Committee Public Safety and the Judiciary, is defending D.C. police for obtaining a search warrant that resulted in the arrest of a veteran CBS News radio reporter and his wife on charges that they were growing marijuana in the yard of their Georgetown home.

On Saturday, police executed a search warrant at the home of Howard Arenstein and his wife, Orly Katz, in the 3500 block of T Street NW.

Police allegedly discovered 11 full-grown marijuana plants and six 2-ounce bags of marijuana. Arenstein, 60, and his wife, 57, were charged with possession with the intent to distribute marijuana.

Following news of the arrests, some residents have taken to blogs to question whether D.C. police are wasting resources trying to prosecute residents who grow marijuana within the confines of their private property.

But Mendelson said he thinks police, who were following up on a tip, acted appropriately in obtaining the search warrant because it's illegal to grow or possess marijuana for recreational use in the District

"It is the law, and the District of Columbia is not the place where it can lead the country in legalizing marijuana, so the police are doing what they are suppose to do, " said Mendelson, who has oversight over the police department.

Mendelson noted that the District is in the process of trying to implement its new medical marijuana law that will allow chronically ill patients to purchase and possess marijuana if they obtain a doctor's prescription and buy the drug from a city-sanctioned dispensary.

Despite pressure from medical marijuana advocates, Mendelson noted that the council decided not to allow patients to grow their own pot, fearing it would be too difficult to monitor who is cultivating the drug legally.

"We can't have a double standard here," Mendelson said. He added that the cultivation of pot isn't necessarily a victimless crime. He said residents who live nearby a house where large marijuana plants are being grown can often smell the drug, even if it is not burned.

"The message is: If someone is growing marijuana for whatever reason and they get caught, there will be consequences," Mendelson said.