cannabisnews.com: Appeals Court Rules Vacaville Man Can Smoke MMJ Appeals Court Rules Vacaville Man Can Smoke MMJ Posted by CN Staff on September 04, 2003 at 07:10:06 PT By Jess Sullivan Source: Daily Republic Fairfield -- A felon on probation can use medical marijuana, the state Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.Last year Judge Luis Villarreal refused to let Jeffrey T. Gorden of Vacaville smoke marijuana to treat his pain from fibromyalgia. Gorden claimed the condition, which has an uncertain cause, gave him severe pain and nausea and the alternative of prescription pain killers "made it next to impossible for him to function." Gorden, 28, had been in front of Villarreal for sentencing on a felony marijuana possession charge resulting from his arrest after Vacaville police found seven marijuana plants growing at Gorden's Lakehurst Drive home when they went there with a search warrant in January 2002.Gorden didn't have a doctor's "prescription" to show police but he got a prescription two weeks after his arrest from a doctor in Berkeley.Gorden's plants were tucked away in a closet outfitted with special lighting and ventilation. Villarreal mentioned the elaborate growing equipment when he challenged the legitimacy of Gorden's medicinal need.Gorden's attorney, Leslie Prince, said she appreciated the appellate ruling."Gorden was an ideal candidate for a medical marijuana (appeal). He had no criminal record and he never used illegal drugs of any kind before he learned marijuana could help him," Prince said.The justices declared Villarreal's prohibition on medical marijuana was "arbitrary and capricious" but were careful to hedge their tacit endorsement of medical marijuana by saying they were taking no position on the propriety of the prescription.The unpublished ruling from a three-justice panel declared Villarreal abused his judicial discretion when he refused to let Gorden smoke marijuana.The appellate ruling faulted Villarreal for referring to Gorden's medicinal need as a "a nebulous diagnosis" and for contrasting it with diseases such as cancer."If he can smoke dope, seems like he can take an anti-inflammatory like Motrin," Villarreal had said, adding he felt Gorden "was playing a little game.""He's got a disease readily treatable by conventional means . . . he'll have to choose some other option . . . because he can't use illegal drugs," Villarreal said when he sentenced Gorden to 30 days in jail, placed him on three years probation and barred him from smoking his medication of choice."(Villarreal's) medical opinions . . . are not supported by anything . . . (and) are uniformly contradicted by medical studies published by respected medical institutions," the justices' opinion stated.One of the three justices sided with Villarreal, arguing he was reasonable to want something more than just a prescription, such as a letter from the doctor, before allowing Gorden to use marijuana. The dissenting justice also pointed out his brethren ignored Villarreal repeatedly saying he would not permit Gorden to use marijuana because it is an illegal drug.Complete Title: Appeals Court Rules Vacaville Man Can Smoke Medical Marijuana Newshawk: Paul Armentano - http://www.norml.org/Source: Daily Republic (CA)Author: Jess Sullivan Published: September 4, 2003Copyright: 2003 Daily RepublicContact: drnews dailyrepublic.comWebsite: http://www.dailyrepublic.com/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on September 04, 2003 at 07:54:59 PT Prison probably induces fibromyalgia People who are deliberately deprived of the deep delta wave phase of sleep develop symptoms of fibromyalgia within just a few weeks. That was proven in an experiment several years ago. I'll bet a lot of prisoners develop it.The improved quality of delta wave deep sleep that comes from marijuana probably does as much to help fibromyalgia as the pain relief aspect of the marijuana.When I first started using pot for PTSD, I had also fibromyalgia really bad and I had a case of Interstitial Cystitis that was in an uneasy remission after following a very strict bland diet and limiting my daily activities and using Advil every day.(Dr. Russo I hope you're reading this).Pot did not get rid of all of the pain of fibromyalgia right away. But after a month or two I noticed that the pain of waking up in the morning was decreasing substantially.Then I noticed that I could relax my strict bland diet and not suffer in my bladder. I could go out and do things and not have to be within running distance of a bathroom. That is some severe pain with fibromyalgia. It feels like an injury. One morning I was sure that my ankle was badly sprained but there was no injury and no swelling. The next day the ankle would be pain free but my wrist would be in searing pain. The pain travels from one place to another without rhyme or reason. It's really weird. It feels bad enough to be from an acute injury but there is no injury there!!! Pot decreased the severity of the pain right away, so that it was bearable. But I didn't become pain free until I'd been using it for a while.I think it was having regular deep wave sleep induced by marijuana that made the fibromyalgia go away completely. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Motavation on September 04, 2003 at 07:30:43 PT: What Medical School did you graduate from, Judge Luis Viallareal?"(Villarreal's) medical opinions . . . are not supported by ANYTHING . . . (and) are uniformly contradicted by medical studies published by Respected Medical Institutions," the justices' opinion stated.Its a good thing Jeff Gordon moved to Las Vegas, NV. He contacted Primary Caregivers & Consultants (702) 328-4420. Mr. Gordon is now a Medical Marijuana Patient registered with the Department of Agricluture in the state of Nevada. I will be speaking to Jeff later in the day and I will ask him if he has a "message" and/or get a reation to His Vitory in court. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment