cannabisnews.com: Are 157 Pot Plants a Medical Overdose? 





Are 157 Pot Plants a Medical Overdose? 
Posted by FoM on May 22, 1999 at 12:02:34 PT
Source: The News Tribune
A Tacoma man charged Thursday with growing 157 marijuana plants in his North End basement may become a test case for how last year's medical marijuana initiative is enforced.
David Teatsworth was legally growing marijuana when Tacoma police arrested him Wednesday, Charles Grisim, director of the Pierce County chapter of the Green Cross, contends.But Pierce County Prosecutor John Ladenburg said Teatsworth was clearly operating beyond the law. Teatsworth pleaded not guilty Thursday afternoon to unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance.Teatsworth, a former television stage manager, said Green Cross, which supplies medicinal marijuana to patients who have a doctor's recommendation for the drug, had contracted with him to grow marijuana for 11 people.He agreed to raise the crop because his parents had been in the commercial greenhouse business, he knew how to raise plants and he was unemployed, he said."We had passed a law. I thought everything was OK. I am not a criminal," Teatsworth said in an interview Thursday night in Pierce County Jail."I had the paperwork. The Green Cross lawyers told me everything was legal because I was acting as a caregiver for the 11 people," the 43-year-old defendant said.Grisim pointed out that Initiative 692 allows people who are too sick to grow their own marijuana to designate a "caregiver" to do it for them.But Ladenburg said the initiative doesn't give one person the right to grow marijuana for more than one other person."The initiative doesn't make it legal for one person to become the marijuana grower for half the state," the prosecutor said. "If the Green Cross thinks otherwise, then this will become the test case."Grisim said Green Cross attorneys have advised the organization that arrangements like Teatsworth's are legal."We've got an imbalance in the number of sick people who can grow marijuana and the number who need it," Grisim said.Ladenburg said he and other prosecutors tried to persuade the Legislature to pass laws this year setting out specific limits and enforcement guidelines for the medical marijuana initiative approved last fall.But he said he believes legislators were reluctant to touch any legislation that dealt with marijuana smoking and growing, and the legislation died. As a result, the rules of enforcement remain vague, he said."That's the problem when you have doctors writing laws," said Ladenburg, referring to the physicians who drafted the initiative. "It's the same problem you'd have if lawyers performed surgery."The initiative's main author, Seattle physician Rob Killian, agrees with Ladenburg's interpretation of the law."The law clearly contemplates one person growing marijuana for one other person," Killian said. "If Green Cross is claiming otherwise, then they're wrong."The law lists a set of conditions for the "designated primary caregiver," including a condition that the person "be the primary care giver to only one patient at any one time."Grisim said he and Killian have discussed the caregiver provision at length and disagree about its meaning.Ladenburg said law enforcement officials also are struggling with how large a supply a medical marijuana user or his caregiver may possess. The initiative allows a sick person with a physician's recommendation for marijuana, or his caregiver, to possess a "60-day supply."How much is a 60-day supply? Killian said he is working with the state Department of Health to define that quantity. The size of that supply may vary depending on a patient's needs, he said.Dan Satterberg, chief of administration for the King County prosecutor's office, said King County authorities are working with patients and doctors on a case-by-case basis to determine what is a reasonable amount."But clearly if you've got more on hand than (anyone) could smoke in a year, you're violating the law," he said.The King County prosecutor's office agrees with Ladenburg's interpretation of the law.Pierce County deputy prosecutor Phil Sorensen claims Tacoma police went to Teatsworth's home Wednesday afternoon on a tip. Officers seized 157 plants from his basement in the 1400 block of North 11th Street.Teatsworth said he had 66 nearly mature plants. The remainder were starts for a new crop. He said Green Cross was going to pay him $200 an ounce for the finished product, and he figured his yield would be about 1 ounce per plant.* Staff writer John Gillie covers courts in Pierce County. Reach him at 253-597-8663 or john.gillie mail.tribnet.com.© The News Tribune
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Comment #2 posted by Goldwing Tom on June 30, 2001 at 04:56:20 PT:
I disagree with you Shelly
While I agree that cultivating marijuana is illegal, and it appears David Teatsworth was breaking the law, society creates the perfect hothouse to cultivate this illegal activity. Marijuana can be used both medicinally, and recreationally with little consequence. It seems as Dave's daughter you might be more interested in your dad being subjected to laws that were created to eliminate competition to some major industries (wood, oil, and textile). I agree with one of your statements: it's wrong to make money this way. He should just be able to license his operation, and make the money legally.
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Comment #1 posted by Shelly on February 11, 2000 at 17:17:32 PT:
David Teatsworth is my dad!
HiyaMy name is Shelly and David Teatsworth is my father! He has been separated from my mother for over 7 years. My brother, Travis, and I have had regular visitation with him ever since and never knew about the pot plants! I started to get suspicious a few years ago when he wouldn't let me and my best friend down into his basement! I never thought it was anything like this! Personally, I think he deserved to get busted, because I believe this is not a cool way to make a living! He's still my father, and I love him! but, he needs to pay for this!
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