BOULDER, Colo. -- A University of Colorado student, who was suspended last May for possessing marijuana in his dorm room, got his cannabis back from campus police Monday.

"We liberated this medical marijuana today," said Cole Nicholson's attorney, Robert Corry.

Nicholson, now a sophomore, was celebrating as he exited police headquarters, but he told 7NEWS that this summer was stressful.

"I was worried about whether I'd be allowed to come back to school," he said.

Nicholson was suspended from CU last semester when a security guard smelled marijuana in the basement of Libby Hall.

"I remember a night security officer told me it didn't matter if I had a hemp card," Nicholson said. "He didn't want me smoking in my room. I told him I wasn't."

The CU sophomore said that security officers started harassing him early in the morning.

"They would knock on my door until I woke up," he said. "I would answer the door in my underwear and talk with them and tell them that their noses were deceiving them, that the smell was not coming from my room."

School officials handed down the suspension.

Nicholson said he was told he had to complete 24 hours community service, submit to random drug and alcohol tests, and write a so-called "reflection paper" on the subject of how marijuana use can negatively impact academics.

"That was an extreme violation of the first amendment," Corry said. "To force the man to say something he doesn't believe in."

Corry said after he was hired, the Boulder District Attorney dismissed all charges, and CU reversed the entire suspension and fully reinstated Nicholson.

"I wish I had a chance to talk to the two police officers who handed me the ticket and were so sure I would never get this back," Nicholson said. "But unfortunately they're not here."

Campus police did not return a call seeking comment about this case.

Nicholson said he does not use the marijuana himself but is registered to dispense it as a caregiver.

The CU student said his brother, who lives in Aurora, uses the marijuana for chronic debilitating pain.

When asked why his brother can't get his own medical marijuana, Nicholson said, "Because it's easier to get it here (in Boulder) and it's cheaper."