A man protesting what he called the wrongful confiscation of his bong and marijuana is suing regional police for $3 million.
Jeffrey Shaver gained attention last summer for protesting outside of the Kitchener courthouse in his underwear, smoking a bong. Next to him, he had a sign that read, ‘Return my bong.’
The Cambridge man ultimately managed to get his bong and his marijuana back, but that was only the beginning for him.
Now, he is taking his fight to the Waterloo Regional Police Service, claiming that his case was handled inappropriately.
The damages are for what Shaver claims are inappropriate drug possession charges involving marijuana.
“When I continued to bring forward information with them, I was constantly being rebuffed,” Shaver explains now.
According to the claim filed by Shaver, the first incident happened at Cambridge Memorial Hospital in 2016.
He says he was suffering anxiety but was asked to leave. When he didn’t, he was arrested, which is when police found his pot.
He claims he had the proper paperwork to prove it.
“They just repeatedly insulted me and said that I was faking it,” Shaver explains.
He filed his claim in October this year.
As far as his reason for the lawsuit, Shaver hopes it will lead to better police practice surrounding medical marijuana.
“This is really the only way you can go about making some changes on it,” he says.
While the statement of claim has been filed at the Kitchener courthouse, regional police say they haven’t been served yet, meaning they have not seen it.
CTV has not been able to verify what has happened to the charges laid, Shaver says he has a trial beginning on Monday.
