cannabisnews.com: Knock Puts Couple in Medical Marijuana Debate Knock Puts Couple in Medical Marijuana Debate Posted by FoM on July 01, 2001 at 10:43:12 PT By Carla Crowder, News Staff Writer Source: Birmingham News The Tallapoosa County Narcotics Task Force took care not to alarm Tammie Smith when they arrived at her home with the drug warrant. The officers knew Mrs. Smith, 37, was a heart-transplant patient in delicate health. But an informant had bought marijuana inside her home, and her husband, William Smith, was the suspected seller. As they looked at Smith, 54, officers could tell he too was in poor health. "He's lost a bunch of weight. He looked pretty dried up," said Jay Turner, a Tallapoosa County Narcotics Task Force investigator who led the June 11 search. Once the family's primary breadwinner and his wife's caretaker, Smith has been battling stomach cancer for two years. Most of his stomach has been removed. Marijuana is the one drug that stimulates his appetite, he told police. And he said selling it seemed like the best way to cope with the family's huge medical bills in the face of his inability to work manual labor, the only kind of job he's had. Police charged both with first-degree possession of marijuana and with possession of drug paraphernalia. Their teenage sons also were charged, along with two other young men. Police say they found several ounces of marijuana on a brown, wooden kitchen table. From their small blue house set back from a rural road in this Alabama mill town, William and Tammie Smith quietly embody national controversies over the medical use of marijuana and the soaring costs of prescription drugs. Quietly, but illegally, police say. "I understand about her medical bills, and I feel sorry for her, but there are other ways to make money," Turner said. Not only that, but police believe many of Smith's customers were teenagers. "I don't see why, just because he has that problem, anybody should have sympathy. Because he's ruining a lot of other people's lives," Turner said. "Two or three years down the road, they're going to be the crackhead on the corner." Third felony charge: This isn't Smith's first drug arrest. In 1992, he was given probation for a marijuana possession conviction, a felony. He also has a 1984 manslaughter conviction that arose out of a fight in his native Walker County. Smith claims it was self-defense, but it also was a felony. If he's convicted on the new charges, his third felony, Alabama's habitual offender law will require a prison sentence of 15 years to life, stomach cancer or not. As this was Mrs. Smith's first arrest, Turner predicted there is a strong chance she will get probation, if convicted. The couple are raising her sons, who are 18 and 15. They have also adopted a 6-year-old girl from a relative who could not care for the child. Prison time for her husband would leave Mrs. Smith without the support she's relied on since 1997. That's when her heart became dangerously enlarged, a combination of genetic weaknesses and extremely high blood pressure. Doctors at University Hospital in Birmingham ordered a transplant, but Mrs. Smith was not a typical patient. While awaiting a donor heart, she survived nearly three years on a heart pump. The time she spent waiting benefited hundreds of other cardiac patients, doctors said at the time, because she proved that a temporary device could be stretched into long-term service. Mrs. Smith received a transplanted heart in 1999, and returned home to a husband with cancer. Now married 14 years, they joke about how their medical maladies make them a great match. "It's like we were meant for each other," William Smith said. Debts, desperation With a high school diploma and a year of technical school, Smith held a series of jobs until the cancer came - in a chicken plant, in two textile mills and as a welder. Immediately before his surgery, Smith worked at Avondale Mills. The job came with health insurance. But with two-thirds of his stomach gone, he hasn't been able to return to work and has lost the insurance. Weak and gaunt, Smith moves with a teenager's fidgety energy in a cancer patient's withered body. His weight has dropped from 160 pounds to about 100 pounds at 5 feet 9 inches. Doctors tell him not to lift more than 10 pounds. He does occasional mechanical work, and collects aluminum cans.They have disability checks, his $860 a month, hers $536. The payments put their income too high for Medicaid. William Smith needs glasses and a hearing aid. But those are on hold, with their combined medical bills topping $100,000. "We get bills in the mail every day. Ain't one thing we can do with them," he said. They are six years away from paying off the mortgage on their house, and they're determined to make the $459 monthly payments. Because the heart transplant operation was so expensive, Medicaid paid. It also covers some of the continuing medications connected to the new heart, Mrs. Smith said, sorting through an insulated cooler that holds the regimen. But her blood pressure medicines are not covered by the federal program.The marijuana sales were not bringing in much, but it helped, Smith said."They try to make it look like a big-time drug operation," Smith said. "If it was, don't you think we would've had something?" Their house is modest, but nicely furnished with a leather living room set purchased before the illnesses. The couple drove back and forth to their Birmingham doctors in a 10-year-old Ford Crown Victoria until May when the car fell into disrepair. They replaced it with a 1999 Ford Explorer. The home furnishings and late-model vehicle worked against the couple as they tried to explain their financial crisis to police. "To be in debt, they were living above their means," Turner, the investigator, said. Police found no other illegal drugs at the Smiths' house. "We hardly ever come across someone just selling marijuana," Turner said. Smith said cancer is the main reason he began selling marijuana instead of only using the drug. He said he needed extra income to keep himself supplied with marijuana.During his stay at UAB, Smith was given medication for pain, nausea and infection control. "They gave me drugs to try to make me eat that don't work. This is a drug that's not approved, but it works," he said. Since 1996, eight states have enacted laws that allow patients to use medical marijuana despite federal laws that ban it. Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii allow medical marijuana. Several courts upheld a voter-approved California law that protected clubs who distributed the drug to patients with doctor's approval. In May, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the lower court ruling, the most recent blow to medical marijuana efforts. In June the American Medical Association rescinded its 1997 position opposing a "compassionate use" medical marijuana program. The group fell short of endorsing the program, as its Council on Scientific Affairs had proposed. 'Polite' drug bust: Smith has recovered fairly well. Doctors have told him, "whatever you're doing, keep doing it," he said. He will return to UAB later this month for a checkup to determine whether the cancer has returned. His monthly medications now run about $400. They've lost track of Mrs. Smith's drug costs. Now out of jail on bond, the Smiths have not yet secured a lawyer, and don't know how they will pay for one. They're scheduled to appear in court July 26. Though they wish police had never come, the Smiths don't fault the officers. "They was just doing their job. I respect them for that. I give them an A-plus," Smith said. "Although they have a hazardous job, they were very polite." Added Mrs. Smith: "They're supposed to bust down the door, but they knocked on the door. They didn't want to give me a heart attack." Complete Title: 'Polite' Knock Puts Couple in Medical Marijuana Debate Source: Birmingham News (AL)Author: Carla Crowder, News Staff WriterPublished: July 1, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Birmingham NewsContact: Epage bhamnews.comWebsite: http://www.al.com/birmingham/Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #15 posted by Toker00 on July 04, 2001 at 10:37:57 PT Cannabis Independance. Thanks, all, for the good wishes.On this day I proclaim Independance for Cannabis. No more slavery to the government for possessing a most historically valuable plant. No more suppression from Corporate competition. Unlimited government funded research into medicinal values of Cannabis, done in state institutions who have approved initiatives for medical Cannabis. Death to the Tyrants! (Figuratively, of course) I pledge my alegence to the total and complete liberation of this marvelous plant.Vote for Cannabis Independance!Peace. Realize, then Legalize. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by FoM on July 02, 2001 at 21:34:21 PT Thanks for the good wishes everyone SWAMPIE and Robbie, Thanks. That makes me happy to read that you can have a good time here. All you need is Love Love Love is all you need! Yup I'm stuck somewhere back there and glad I am! LOL!You know you're old when Stairway To Heaven is played on a Classic Music Channel! LOL! [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by SWAMPIE on July 02, 2001 at 21:27:05 PT KNOCK/NO KNOCK THESE LAWS DEFINITELY NEED TO BE CHANGED!Those poor people were VERY fortunate to at least get busted by somewhat compassionate cops,and if they were in fact selling to underage kids,then shame on them.....if not they should have left them the hell alone!!GOTTA EAT!!! You NEVER shoul have to bust down anyones' door unless there is a fugitive,or a life threatening situation going on!Maybe CRACK would be a reason too,ever watch "COPS"? They do it all the time and maybe for that reason they should,until the laws get changed.That stuff is real bad!Worse than a line!MANY TIMES WORSE!!!THANX TO OUR VERY OWN CIA!!!!MFSOB'S!!!!COMING TO A GHETTO NEAR YOU!!!I'm not being racial,either!!! Anyway here's my 2 cents...By the way,a happy anniversary to all of you whom are celebrating it!!!We will celebrate our 11th in October!We met over an ounce of the Kentucky Green.A friend had a friend who wanted it,I got it for her,met her friend when we took it to her,asked her out,and 3 week later we got married!!!My true soulmate!!!We both have arthritis in our backs,she in her hip too,and we'll keep pluggin'on till we can't go on any more....Funny thing is,I wasn't even looking for anyone!I got burned before and so did she!Gotta love that WEED!!!LOL!!! I love this website!FoM,Thank you for giving us somewhere to talk,rant scream,and love!!!We need to get some bumper stickers or something to let more people know about our good cause,if it won't ruin the ambience ot this site!I have told anyone that I think cares about our cause,and hopefully we'll be seeing more fresh voices!Where's Frances?LOL!!!I E-mailed her about the vaporizer technique,and haven't seen her around since then!I've gon on long enough! ONWARD THROUGH THE FOG!! SWAMPIE [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by Robbie on July 02, 2001 at 09:44:52 PT Happy days, and lets hope for happier ones Congrats to Toker00, Dan, and you too FoM!These days, people seem less inspired by marriage. But I believe it is a great bond between two people that only reinforces their love.My folks were married 46 years. I hope I could do the same, and here's wishing that all of your mornings you find yourself next to the one you love.Having said that, this article makes me sick :-( [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Geronimo on July 02, 2001 at 07:58:37 PT Knock and pop, just like communisum! Narcs are the secret police! All cops are Storm Trooper wannibes. They could get a real job if they had a brain in the first place, and could read past 3rd grade level.It's the age old story ,the rich get stupid cow like thugs to do their dirty work! Cops work for the Major drug companys( Hello Dan Quale)and your greedy father!The Bushes jumped on the money train long,long ago!Please wake up America! Take your country back from the sick S.O.B.s If this last election didn't scare the hell out of everyone,I don't know what it will take.I for one will not lay down and graze and mooo like the rest of the cows.Get stoned, but don't sit on your butts and do nothing! Fight back like our founding fathers did.They have every intention of putting every one in jail, because people like Normal don't get the participation and funding they need. The music is playin, get up off your butts and dance. They would have a cop live in every home in America if they could do it.Do not cause your brothers to stumble.America,America,land of the pee(test)and home of the grave(the one they would like us in).America is hated by most of the world,read and find out why! wakie,wakie. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on July 01, 2001 at 21:41:55 PT Happy Anniversary To You Too Dan One year. I remember when we were married a year and all things that we did. We moved 400 miles from where we were raised and bought a new ranch home and started out on a new adventure. I've never regretted moving either. We bought our first five acres of ground after we were married about 7 years and built our home. It's a humble home. A story and a half but every nail we hammered. I got good at walking on joists. LOL! We really roughed it for the first year of construction because money got tight which happens in building but we got it done after about five years but lived in it while we built it. That's hard but fun. We had to buy a stone for under our wood stove so we drove to a quarry and we bought this really nice 4 foot square sandstone rock. We backed up our pickup truck and they loaded it and our front end started to come up off the ground. We got it home but Lord knows how. We had to call about 5 friends to help us move it into place! Just a funny story! [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Dan B on July 01, 2001 at 21:23:02 PT: Another Anniversary I thought I'd add my 2 bits: today (July 1st) is my wife an my 1st anniversary! Sounds like a lot of us got married around the same day (though different years).To all with recent/soon coming anniversaries, Happy Anniversary! Dan B narcosoft.com [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Jose Melendez on July 01, 2001 at 19:09:08 PT: amicus curiae "The law is a code that isolates justice from public participation. "from http://www.guerrillanews.com/cocakarma/ "What if YOUR drugs were illegal?" [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Jose Melendez on July 01, 2001 at 19:07:05 PT: amicus curiae READ THIS LINK!http://www.guerrillanews.com/cocakarma/It is long, but shows how far curruption goes in amzing detail... read the whole story of justice corrupted... [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on July 01, 2001 at 18:50:27 PT Toker00 That wonderful news. Nine years that's great. We just had our 28 Wedding Anniversary. It seems just like yesterday that we started this journey together. What a long, good trip it's been too.This is why she puts up with you. Because of what you said.Wow. I wonder how she does it sometimes.:)That's why! [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Toker00 on July 01, 2001 at 18:41:43 PT Amen ras james. Yeah, that's the one that got me, aocp. SUPPOSED TOO? So now everyone accepts kicking in the door as normal police policy. Uh Uh. Not me. Sounds too nazi.I would like to wish everyone a happy 420 July. We will we be married nine years, on this day, on this year. Wow. I wonder how she does it sometimes.:)Peace. Realize, then Legalize. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by ras james rsifwh on July 01, 2001 at 15:31:21 PT The Christian Police "It is not what goes into your mouth that disgraces; It's what comes out." The Christian Police Force has decided that Christ did not really mean this when Jesus said this many years ago."High Time Magazine" August 2001 has a photo of a New York Christian Police Officer punching an innocent Rastafarian Holy Man in the face for attending a pro-Marijuana rally. It is obvious from the photo that the Rasta had no idea the punch was coming...you can see the Holy Man's glasses flying off his face...So The Christian Police Force now believe Jesus did not mean for Christians "to turn the other cheek"...What Jesus meant was "smack others in the cheek if they believe Marijuana is the Sacred Tree of Life promised in the Book of Revelation 22:1&2."This High Times Issue also has a beautiful photo of a Sacred Wahukize that a Lakota Holy Man put in the middle of the Hemp Field on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. At this very instant, DEA & FBI Christians are planning to desecrate the Power of Wahukize and confiscate the Hemp...they'll be coming in the early morning to do their dirty work...like they did last year. I-man am Rasta/Lakota not by choice; but by calling. This is now, for Ras James, The Time of White Buffalo Cafe Women and The Final Hour...Judgement Day. It is the time for Women to step up and take control of our governments; and for all mankind to rejoice in the Final Judgement of The Father..."The Grace of the Lord, Jesus, be with The All." Yes Rastas and Lakota! Redemption for All. Even those who punch Holy Men and desecrate Sacred Objects. So Rastas and Lakota do as the Christian Police should do...not as they do..."Turn the other cheek!" & "Judge Not!"Give all praise and thanks to Jah Rastafar-I! [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Goldwing Tom on July 01, 2001 at 12:47:47 PT: Sweet and Sour Pork How nice of them to not give the lady a heart attack, and merely take away her support so she can die of one without their, or her husband's, help.It brings such a warm feeling to know the boys in blue are so conscientious. Hurry up boys! I think there's a guy in a wheelchair crossing outside a crosswalk. Keep the world safe for all of us! Please pass the sugar. The bullcrap we're being fed isn't quite sweet enough! Goldwing Tom dot com [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by freedom fighter on July 01, 2001 at 11:16:59 PT As my partner would say "I understand about her medical bills, and I feel sorry for her, but there are other ways to make money," Turner said. KISSS MY IRISHMEX A# # S! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by aocp on July 01, 2001 at 11:00:04 PT the norm is slipping Not only that, but police believe many of Smith's customers were teenagers. "I don't see why, just because he has that problem, anybody should have sympathy. Because he's ruining a lot of other people's lives," Turner said. "Two or three years down the road, they're going to be the crackhead on the corner."I hate to say this, but as Richard Cowan says, the Dutch have it right as the basis of their system involves the separation of markets. You keep crack and MJ in the same market (black) and who's really surprised if the two are corrolated? Not me. Aaaaannnywaaayy..."They was just doing their job. I respect them for that. I give them an A-plus," Smith said. "Although they have a hazardous job, they were very polite."What's the "hazard" here? Given the circumstances of the couple involved, i'd say polite would have been the ONLY approach and i'd still only give 'em a C+ for that. "A-plus" my ass.Added Mrs. Smith: "They're supposed to bust down the door, but they knocked on the door. They didn't want to give me a heart attack."And this is just plain sick. They're supposed to bust down the door?!? Gee, what a novel concept: the cops got not only the right address, but found out a bit about the actual occupants to figure that they might give one of them a heart attack if they came like nazi-wannabes through the front door!!My appetite for lunch is gone. Guess i better go stimulate it and hope nobody busts down my door... [ Post Comment ] Post Comment