cannabisnews.com: Pot Conviction Overturned Pot Conviction Overturned Posted by CN Staff on September 09, 2004 at 10:37:31 PT By Dave Brooks Source: Los Angeles Times A Surf City man caught with a pound of pot in his truck had his conviction overturned recently after appeals court judges sided with the man who argued that he was eating the marijuana instead of selling it. The ruling could pave the way for a new legal precedent in the state, allowing those caught transporting a few ounces of pot to mount a defense under California's medical marijuana laws.In September 2001, Shawn Wright, 41, was arrested after Huntington Beach police found a stash of marijuana wrapped in several small bags along with a scale, but no rolling papers, pipe or smoking device. Orange County Judge James Stotler, who first heard the case, refused to allow Wright to mount a defense under the "Compassionate Use" laws, and eventually sentenced the man to a year in jail, only to free him after a few months.On Aug. 31, Justices William Bedsworth and Eileen Moore of the Fourth District Court of Appeals overturned the conviction, arguing that the jury should have been allowed to hear Wright's medical marijuana defense."Although he had over a pound of marijuana with him, he explained he needs relatively large quantities of the drug because he prefers to eat, rather than smoke it," one of the justices wrote in their opinion.Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/overturn.htmSource: Los Angeles Times (CA)Author: Dave Brooks, IndependentPublished: September 9, 2004 Copyright: 2004 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comWebsite: http://www.latimes.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmCourt Gives Weight To Weed Defensehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19433.shtmlCourt of Appeal Throws Out Marijuana Conviction http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19421.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by FoM on September 10, 2004 at 11:47:03 PT News Article from The Associated Press Judge Prefers More Lenient Sentence in Drug Case September 10, 2004CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. A federal judge says he would prefer that a former nurse receive probation instead of an active prison sentence for distributing marijuana from his Charlottesville home.But Judge James Michael Junior was bound by congressional guidelines, and sentenced Daniel Comarovschi yesterday to the minimum amount of time he could: two years behind bars.The former nurse admitted to growing the illegal plant in his basement and selling it to friends and other acquaintances who suffered from cancer and multiple sclerosis. Comarovschi said he believed they would medicinally benefit from the herb.Prosecutors wanted Comarovschi to serve more time because they found guns in his home.But Judge Michael refused, saying he owns 16 guns himself. He called gun possession is a cultural phenomenon in Virginia.Michael said the Comarovschi case "cries out for a period of probation" instead of an active jail sentence, and lamented the fact that he was bound by sentencing guidelines.Copyright 2004 Associated Presshttp://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=2284858 [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Max Flowers on September 09, 2004 at 10:55:41 PT Talk about medical necessity... Read the following, taken from the website of a patient and seed breeder I just discovered named "anna C" (edited to improve readability):==== Thanks for dropping by. Well here it is, my debut, my coming out, whatever you want to call it, I finally had to come out of hiding. After years of being a recluse my final decision to become an activist in the Medicinal Cannabis community has mainly stemmed from my own sickness. I will tell you of my sickness not because I am looking for sympathy or pity but because I honestly feel in my heart that Cannabis has been greatly misportrayed to the public masses worldwide and it is time to bring about change. Not only a change in the politicians, but a change in overall compassion that is in the hearts and souls of all humankind. Who is hurting who here? What is so wrong with using Cannabis as pain management? Why can't our Governments get it together and realize that it was put here for a reason. To Help & To Heal.I have acute leukemia and have been battling it for 2 years now. I have been in and out of remission more times than carter has liver pills. I have had 21 surgical procedures & 13 tumor removals from my spinal cord alone since 2001. Along with the acute leukemia I picked up a bonus case of staff infection from all the surgeries that I have incurred. Along with the scars from the surgeries came rheumatoid arthritis on my spinal cord and a diagnosis of Marfans' Syndrome and Hepatitis C and partially detached retinas. I think that pretty much qualifies me to be involved with my own pain management. I have been given every prescription known to man and nothing works as good as Cannabis (for me anyway). You can keep the Dilaudid, you can keep the Demerol and Mepergan, you can keep the Oxycotin... I don't need them. I have all those medications and they are collecting dust in my medicine cabinet. All 6 of my doctors know I am a medical cannabis user and are aware that I use it for pain management. None object!!! Not one, yet if they succumb to our needs then they will lose their license. It's simply not right. ==== [ Post Comment ] Post Comment