cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Goes on Trial Medical Marijuana Goes on Trial Posted by FoM on January 18, 2001 at 16:48:18 PT By Clark Mason, The Press Democrat Source: Press Democrat As the county's first medical marijuana trial got under way Wednesday, a prosecutor described the defendant as someone who was "given an inch, but took a mile" by growing too many plants.In opening statements, Sonoma County prosecutor Carla Claeys said Alan MacFarlane was given approval by his doctor to use marijuana but abused it by growing more than four times as much as he needed. MacFarlane was twice arrested at his West Santa Rosa home in 1999, even though he alerted authorities that he was growing marijuana under Proposition 215, which was enacted by California voters in 1996.Members of the Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana said there have been less than a half-dozen similar trials in the state. They say juries have tended to side with defendants."Most (verdicts) are in favor of the patient. Juries are very friendly to them," said Ernest "Doc" Knapp, a spokesman for the medical marijuana group.MacFarlane, 47, disputes that the 73 plants he was growing before his first arrest were excessive, or that the 36 plants narcotics officers seized the second time were too many."It will be irrefutable that this was a reasonable amount for personal, medical use," defense attorney Sandy Feinland said.MacFarlane, a Vietnam-era veteran, said he suffers from chronic pain. Feinland said that requires much more marijuana than a recreational user.The only witness to testify Wednesday was Sonoma County sheriff's Detective Rob Gordon, a member of the narcotics task force that went to MacFarlane's house in May 1999 after a neighbor reported marijuana was growing in the defendant's back yard.Gordon said the defendant handed him a letter from his physician, L. Wayne Keiser of Santa Rosa, stating "I believe he would qualify for medical marijuana."But Gordon said the doctor "told me this letter was not intended for him to have medical marijuana, or to grow it, but to assist Mr. MacFarlane to go through legal channels" and buy at cannabis buyers clubs.Keiser is scheduled to testify today.Feinland noted that physicians risk the loss of their license by prescribing marijuana since it is forbidden by federal law.The detective responded that Keiser "wanted to be absolutely certain he didn't jeopardize his license."Gordon said officers returned to MacFarlane's house in August 1999 after police chasing a robbery suspect through the back yard spotted marijuana plants.The narcotics task force again obtained a search warrant and confiscated more plants, using a battering ram to gain access to the house.Gordon said he saw a new letter from MacFarlane's doctor posted next to the plants, stating that his patient gets relief from multiple medical problems through the use of marijuana and it gives him a "semblance of normal life.""After reading this, you took every single plant?" Feinland asked."Yes I did," Gordon replied.He acknowledged under cross-examination that MacFarlane might have to pay $400 to $500 for an ounce of marijuana if he bought it on the street instead of growing his own.Asked if that made it necessary for MacFarlane to "cultivate his own medicine," Gordon responded, "no."MacFarlane faces a seven-year prison sentence if he is convicted, according to his attorney.You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 568-5312 or e-mail: cmason pressdemocrat.comNote: Santa Rosan charged with growing pot says he needs it for pain management. Source: Press Democrat, The (CA) Author: Clark Mason, The Press Democrat Published: January 18, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Press Democrat Address: Letters Editor, P. O. Box 569, Santa Rosa CA 95402 Fax: (707) 521-5305 Contact: letters pressdemo.com Website: http://www.pressdemo.com/ Forum: http://www.pressdemo.com/opinion/talk/ Feedback: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/opinion/letform.htmlRelated Articles:Court Case to Test How Much is Too Much Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8312.shtmlCase Tests Limits of Medical Marijuana Law http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8309.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by Smokeless in Seattle on January 19, 2001 at 04:49:34 PT Supply? Yes, this is a big hole in the medical MJ issue - where to get the damn stuff. Cultivation is still de facto illegal, so what, you have to either break the law by growing or worse, go out in the street and deal with people who may be nvolvled with selling hard drugs.The issue is just too confusing. You can't legitimize medical MJ and magically have legit MJ appear in someones desk drawer - they've got to get it some place. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by sm247 on January 19, 2001 at 04:25:01 PT pondering several things here need to be considered 1. were all the plants of the same strain meaning could the defendant been experimenting with different strains of marijuana to find the strain that best suited his needs being that not all marijuana plants are the same. 2.could it be the defendant was trying to grow excess to make up for a "bumper crop" or to keep from exhausting his supply.do people who "can" food "can" just enough for their needs no they make sure they have extra "just in case" 3. How was the defendant ingesting the marijuana meaning smoking vs eating it would take a different amount to keep supplied if eating it with food smoking would take less i presume 4. Due to the fact that the plants were noticed as an officer was chasing a criminal through the defendants yard it seems anything the officer seen would be [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Dr. Ganj on January 18, 2001 at 22:16:45 PT Sonoma County Not Too Cool That's where I did 8 months in jail for cultivation. Although I was busted before Prop 215, that's a county that has been very strict on growers and users.This should be an easy case for the defendant, because the jury pool will include a few liberal people. The cops up there are vicious brutes, but the jury will aquit, I'm sure.It's good to see, as more prosecutors will realize taking medical marijuana cases to trial is a waste of money-and that's the bottom line here: money. Having too many plants won't be a strong enough argument to convict Mr. MacFarlane. I know growers with several thousand plants, and that can be justfied by all the people that benefit from the final product. Remember folks, it has to come from somewhere. It's just 215 never addressed the production side of this issue.For all the sick people that can't grow their medicine, it's obvious that there are people that will supply them. Those people grow medical marijuana, and sell it to the cannabis clubs. The cops know this, but understand it has gone on for years with very little problems, indeed. In fact, it places distribution on the clubs, and not street dealers. If only the rest of the country can accept this truth, and know this is the right way to go with medical cannabis.Cheers,Dr. Ganj http://www.champsf.org [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: