cannabisnews.com: Stakes High In Man's Marijuana Case!





Stakes High In Man's Marijuana Case!
Posted by FoM on July 26, 1999 at 06:33:18 PT
By Graham Brink
Source: St. Petersburg Times
He says using the drug helps with his multiple sclerosis. His trial on charges of cultivating the drug could set a precedent. 
Joe Merrion works on his computer in his Spring Hill apartment. He said he has been spending time searching the Internet for information on multiple sclerosis for his upcoming court case on a marijuana charge. Joe Merrion battled a mysterious, stinging sensation in his back for more than a decade. Last year, after he lost some muscular control in his legs, a neurologist determined he had multiple sclerosis. Merrion would likely be bedridden in three years and dead in six -- 10 at the most. The prognosis was too much for Merrion. He made four suicide attempts in six weeks. On the last one on New Year's Day, the responding officer made a discovery -- four pots filled with 58 small marijuana plants in the corner of Merrion's Hernando County apartment. Merrion, 34, said he turned to the illegal drug when traditional remedies didn't relieve the increasing pain, nausea and muscle spasms. What he called a "miracle drug" landed him in jail on a felony charge of cultivation of marijuana. "I'm going to die," he said. "Now the government wants to ensure that I die in pain." At his upcoming trial, Merrion intends to fight the charge with a scarcely used defense already established in Florida case law: medical necessity. It's a legal maneuver made possible when the Florida Supreme Court refused to strike it down in June. The defense seemingly contradicts Florida statutes, which forbid the growing and possession of marijuana. Merrion and others in the state's struggling pro-marijuana movement want to see Florida legalize the drug for medical use, as California and a few other states have done. Short of that, they said they should be allowed to use the medical necessity argument to defend their drug use in front of a jury. They hope Merrion's case leads the way for others to follow. Their views are not without controversy or strong opposition. Florida's legislators have balked in recent years at legalizing marijuana for any purpose, and some are now vowing to close what they call a dangerous loophole. James McDonough, the retired Army colonel Gov. Jeb Bush appointed this year as the state's drug czar, said a lot more research needs to be completed to convince him that marijuana has any significant medical benefits. "Right now, it's like folklore or witchcraft," he said. "How can you defend a drug charge based on that?" Merrion didn't intend to become a marijuana user. He often says that he "wasn't raised troubled." He was a starting fullback on the Hernando High School football team. He drank beer, like many of his underaged buddies, but he didn't do drugs, he said. After getting a diploma, he enlisted in the Navy and worked as a radio man with high-level clearance for two years. With the clearance came random drug tests every few months. He said he passed those tests every time. After an honorable discharge in 1985, he returned to Publix, where he worked in high school. Merrion cut meat for the grocery chain, a lucrative job for someone without a college degree. He bought a Mercedes. Life was good. In the late 1980s, the stinging started in his legs. He found it hard to do his job. He went to doctors. He wore support stockings. He stretched and strengthened. Nothing worked. In 1996, he tried smoking marijuana. The drug helped him relax and control the increasing pain and spasms. It also restored his diminishing appetite. But the drug cost him his job in 1997 when he failed two random drug tests. Eighteen months later, he found out he had multiple sclerosis and was deteriorating quickly. Then came the drug bust in January. "I need marijuana to function," said Merrion, who has one conviction on his Florida criminal record, for DUI in 1987. "It's not like I'm having a party on this stuff. I do it to make life tolerable. That's what I want to explain to a jury." Fifteen years ago, Merrion likely would not have had that chance. Cannabis, marijuana's Latin name, was widely prescribed in the United States for pain relief until 1937, when it became illegal. It was not until the late 1980s that Florida's courts began to establish the state's medical necessity defense in cases involving marijuana possession and cultivation. A Florida appellate court ruling in 1991 further opened the door for defendants to use the medical necessity defense against prosecution if they met certain criteria. The ailment could not be intentionally self-inflicted and the same medical benefits could not be obtained using a legal alternative. Finally, the benefits had to outweigh the heinousness of using an illegal drug. The defense does not apply to people who buy and sell marijuana, just people who possess or cultivate the drug. In 1993, legislators changed the state drug statutes to prevent any further use of the medical necessity defense in marijuana cases, or so they thought. Despite the changes, the courts again ruled that the defense was viable. Broward County activist Elvy Musikka has used marijuana for 23 years to help fight the eye disease glaucoma. She is one of only about a half dozen people in the country who the federal government supplies with marijuana. The government closed the program to new patients in 1992. Musikka is helping collect petition signatures to get a question on the 2000 ballot that will ask Florida voters if they want marijuana legalized for medical use. She thinks cases like Merrion's will help bolster their cause. "The courts seem to be on our side," she said. "Now we need to persuade our elected officials." If history is any indication, that won't happen soon. The Legislature has repeatedly turned away attempts to legalize marijuana, and Bush said in January that fighting the drug war was one of his highest priorities. "We don't want to do anything that would increase drug use or send a signal to the youth of the state that marijuana use is okay," McDonough said. Michael Halkitis, division director in New Port Richey for the Pasco-Pinellas State Attorney's Office, said he has heard no public outcry to go easy on marijuana users. Halkitis knows that for now, "medical necessity" is a legitimate defense, although he added that in each case a judge or jury decides whether to agree with it. "My quarrel is that to my knowledge people usually use it as an excuse to abuse illegal drugs," he said. The medical benefits of marijuana remain controversial, with both sides often using the same research to bolster their cases. The evidence is at best inconclusive as to whether marijuana has any medicinal benefits, opponents say. They argue that smoking marijuana can lead users to try even more addictive and hazardous drugs. Plus, many alternatives exist such as Marinol, a prescription drug that mimics the effects of marijuana. "I sympathize with anyone who suffers from a disabling disease," McDonough said. "But the evidence isn't there, and I'm not prepared to sanction what I think would be detrimental to the residents of Florida." Supporters of cases like Merrion's say the synthetic drugs don't work as quickly or as well and cost a lot more than marijuana. Merrion, who takes $1,600 worth of prescription medicine every month, estimated that he could save taxpayers more than one third of that amount if he was allowed to freely smoke marijuana. They also point to research in North America and Europe that suggests that marijuana benefits people with ailments such as glaucoma, AIDS and multiple sclerosis. They cite dozens of anecdotal cases of people feeling and getting better. They resent the "addict" label, saying that marijuana is the only thing that works. That's exactly what Merrion's attorney, assistant public defender Kirk Campbell, hopes to prove with the help of an expert from the City University of New York Medical School, who has testified about the medical benefits of marijuana in other cases. "We felt that this was our best defense," Campbell said. "Marijuana seemed to be the best thing for him." Few lawyers with similar cases have shared Campbell's feelings, if the number of trials is an indication. Prosecutors from several offices around the Tampa Bay area said they had never had a case like Merrion's come to trial. McDonough, however, is concerned that a few successful cases could prompt more people arrested for growing marijuana to give the defense a shot. He said that in the few states that allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes, people have used absurd ailments such as warts to justify their marijuana use. "The medical necessity defense opens up a can of worms that can be hard to close," he said. "Where would it stop?"Merrion spends a lot of his time these days preparing for his trial, which should take place in two months. The State Attorney's Office offered him a deal of two years' probation and community service. It's a deal Merrion and his attorney both called reasonable, except for one catch: The probation would include drug testing. Since Merrion refuses to stop smoking marijuana, he would fail the first test. A violation of probation charge could land him in jail. He buys his marijuana from a friend, which is becoming more difficult as his mobility worsens. He would like to grow it himself. "It's not like I'm sitting outside schools selling pot to kids," he said. "I use it in the privacy of my home where it doesn't affect anyone else." Unable to walk very far, Merrion passes the hours playing video games and surfing the Web, a tough role for a self-described former workaholic. He hasn't seriously considered suicide in several months, although the scars on his wrists remind him of the period a short time ago when the thoughts dominated his life. He wonders whether those demons will return if his symptoms worsen and he cannot use marijuana. "I was in pain. I was scared. Nothing seemed to help," he said. "No one should make me go back there." Pubdate: July 25, 1999© Copyright 1999 St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 26, 1999 at 06:36:14 PT:
Stakes High In Man's Marijuana Case 
Here's the direct link to the article.
 Stakes High In Man's Marijuana Case 
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