cannabisnews.com: Man Seeks Legalized Use of Marijuana





Man Seeks Legalized Use of Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on October 06, 2003 at 09:14:35 PT
By Joe Kafka, Associated Press
Source: Associated Press 
Yankton, S.D. - A quadriplegic busted for smoking pot should have been allowed to argue at his trial that he relies on marijuana for medical relief, the state Supreme Court was told Monday.Matthew Ducheneaux's lawyer told the justices that his client was wrongfully denied a medical necessity defense. But a state lawyer said marijuana use is illegal in South Dakota, and the Legislature has provided no exception for medical purposes.
Ducheneaux, 39, of Eagle Butte, was convicted in Minnehaha County on a marijuana charge and given a suspended five-day jail sentence if he promised not to smoke pot for a year.Confined to a wheelchair since a 1985 car crash, Ducheneaux said he uses marijuana to relieve chronic muscle spasms that do not respond well to prescription drugs. He insists that he uses marijuana only for his health.Although a magistrate judge initially agreed to let Ducheneaux argue that he needs marijuana for medical reasons, Circuit Judge Gene Paul Kean overruled the magistrate.Asking that Ducheneaux's conviction be reversed and he be given a new trial, Darren Magee, a Minnehaha County assistant public defender, told the justices during a court session at Mount Marty College that Ducheneaux's doctor should have been allowed to testify that his patient needs to use marijuana.Ducheneaux uses the drug out of medical necessity, Magee argued, adding that Ducheneaux's doctor encouraged him to seek alternative treatment options, including marijuana. But Magee said Ducheneaux could not find a pharmacy willing to obtain and prescribe pot."Matthew Ducheneaux was forced to obtain and process marijuana illegally. He was forced to make a choice, to suffer the ill and dangerous effects of spastic paralysis or smoke marijuana illegally and effectively treat his unfortunate condition while maintaining his health," the public defender said."He has better results from using marijuana," Magee said Monday."Smoking marijuana to accomplish this goal ... outweighs the public injury of breaking the law."Ducheneaux's marijuana use is a victimless crime, the public defender added.However, John Strohman, assistant attorney general, said the man's conviction should stand. He told the justices that Ducheneaux was arrested for sharing a marijuana cigarette with another man at a music festival in Sioux Falls.A prescription drug that contains the same active ingredient as marijuana is available, but Ducheneaux prefers to smoke pot, Strohman said."He has made a decision that he does not prefer the drugs that were legally prescribed to him as much as he does smoking illegal marijuana," the state lawyer said.Strohman said a legal defense Ducheneaux seeks as a provision of existing state law does not apply to his case. The assistant attorney general said Ducheneaux cannot resort to a law that deals with conduct that is permissible if a person is being threatened by unlawful force.Defending against someone who is trying to murder or kidnap you is not the same as smoking marijuana for your health, Strohman said."I do not see an exception for self-diagnosed pain relief," he said.Ducheneaux's lawyer said the framework of that law should allow marijuana to be used as a medical necessity. Other states allow a medical necessity defense in marijuana cases, Magee said.Justice Steven Zinter, however, noted that the South Dakota Legislature has looked at the issue and has refused to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes."How can we as a court adopt such a position?" Zinter asked.The state Supreme Court made an undisclosed tentative decision Monday on the appeal but will not release a formal, written ruling until later. Source: Associated Press Author: Joe Kafka, Associated PressPublished: October 06, 2003Copyright: 2003 Associated Press Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by global_warming on October 06, 2003 at 16:13:32 PT
VOTE
"A prescription drug that contains the same active ingredient as marijuana is available, but Ducheneaux prefers to smoke pot, Strohman said."The issue is, Mr. Matthew Ducheneaux is allowed to use (purchase at a high price-that is big pharmacuetical prices) the "State Sactioned" drug, but use the same drug which he can grow cheaply on his land is "illegal"So the prosecutors are working for the the people in their districts or are they working for some abstract orginization that has its roots in D.C.If there ever was a grass root movement that was waiting to happen, it is the drug revolution, while the politicians waver and timidly decide, that it is ok to buy medicine from Canada, the old and sickly aged must endure the high prices that are so poorly defended by the bought politicians in the America.I pray for the day, when this scourge and blight to humanity, will be forceibly driven from this American land.The Medical Arts were given for the betterment of this world, not for profit-mongering, the shame on the ones who have allowed this disease to spread shall forever be recorded in the history of this America.The blood that has been taken to insure this land cries, use the freedom that has been hard fought, VOTE.
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