cannabisnews.com: Sonoma County Jury Begins Deliberations at Trial Sonoma County Jury Begins Deliberations at Trial Posted by FoM on January 25, 2001 at 19:08:03 PT Breaking News Source: KPIX Whether or not Santa Rosan Alan MacFarlane was growing more marijuana than he needed to treat his medical condition is now up to a Sonoma County jury to decide.The jury late this afternoon retired to deliberate after hearing closing arguments by attorneys in Superior Court Judge Robert Boyd's courtroom. Deputy District Attorney Carla Claeys told the panel the heart of the case is the amount of marijuana MacFarlane grew at his west Santa Rosa home, where police confiscated 109 plants in May and August 1999. ``This is a heck of a lot of marijuana,'' Claeys said. Narcotics officers estimated the yield between 30 and 108 pounds. A defense witness said the plants would yield no more than 6 or 7 pounds of marijuana based upon yield studies done in Mississippi. The prosecution says those studies do not apply to Sonoma County, where yields are more abundant and potent. MacFarlane told an insurance investigator he uses about 2.5 ounces a week, or 8 pounds a year, to treat nausea, chronic pain and muscle spasms following surgery for thyroid cancer in 1976. Claeys also said MacFarlane, 47, had not established that in 1999 he suffered from recurrent tumors requiring treatment with marijuana. She said MacFarlane, not his physician, decided he should use marijuana for medical purposes.Defense attorney Sandy Feinland said the trial is ``about a man of modest means who couldn't afford to buy his medicine and decided to supply it himself.''MacFarlane took an active role in his treatment and informed the county sheriff's narcotics squad he was growing marijuana for medical purposes, Feinland said.``Decisions between a doctor and his patient shouldn't be scrutinized by the government. The drug war should not be launched from a cancer patient's back yard. Allow him to treat his body as he and his doctor see fit,'' Feinland said. The trial is the first in Sonoma County involving prosecution for growing marijuana for medical use. It has drawn supporters for medical marijuana from around the Bay area.State voters approved use of marijuana for medical purposes under Proposition 215 in 1996, but like other counties, Sonoma does not prescribe a specific amount allowable by law. Source: KPIX Channel 5 Published: January 25, 2001Address: 855 Battery St.San Francisco, CA 94111-1597 Ph: (415) 362-5550 Fax: (415) 765 8844 Copyright: 2001 CBS Worldwide Inc. Website: http://www.kpix.com/Related Articles:Detective Says Pot Exceeded Personal Need http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8451.shtmlSonoma County Pot Trial Winding Downhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8446.shtmlSonoma County Medical Pot Trial Focus on Quantityhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8415.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by greenfox on January 26, 2001 at 06:54:42 PT A green translation I don't do this often, so you lucky people, sit down, hang on tight, and welcome to my world! I am going to, in full, translate this article. (Oh at least read it, maybe you'll get a chuckle or two...)Sonoma County Jury Begins Deliberations at TrialWhether or not Santa Rosan Alan MacFarlane was growing more marijuana than he needed to treat his medical condition is now up to a Sonoma County jury to decide.(ie. Wether or not Santa Rosan Alan MacFarlane was growing more marijuana than he needed to treat his medical condition is now up to a Sonoma County prosecutor to decide)The jury late this afternoon retired to deliberate after hearing closing arguments by attorneys in Superior Court Judge Robert Boyd's courtroom.(ie. The jury late this afternoon retired to deliberate if a man will be sent to prison for growing a plant. Likely, he will be sent to prison to do the fact that most of the important medical information and taxonomy for the cannabis plant will be smeared, lied about, surpressed, and disregarded via a lying prosecutor.)Deputy District Attorney Carla Claeys told the panel the heart of the case is the amount of marijuana MacFarlane grew at his west Santa Rosa home, where police confiscated 109 plants in May and August 1999. ``This is a heck of a lot of marijuana,'' Claeys said. Narcotics officers estimated the yield between 30 and 108 pounds. A defense witness said the plants would yield no more than 6 or 7 pounds of marijuana based upon yield studies done in Mississippi. (ie Deputy District Attorney Carla Claeys told the panel the heart of the case is the amount of marijuana MacFarlane grew at his west Santa Rosa home, where police confiscated 109 plants in May and August 1999. ``This is a heck of a lot of marijuana,'' Claeys said. Narcotics officers estimated the yield between 30 and 108 pounds, although this estimate is a complete and absolute lie. Claeys testified that the marijuana plants being grown would yield this amount, (making no distinction between male and female plants, and using the DEA's trumped up '1 pound per plant estimate,') because Claeys has vested interests in this case. Claeys knows that after the jury has been decieved, it will be much easier to confiscate this man's house, his belongings, and most importantly, his dignity.)The prosecution says those studies do not apply to Sonoma County, where yields are more abundant and potent. MacFarlane told an insurance investigator he uses about 2.5 ounces a week, or 8 pounds a year, to treat nausea, chronic pain and muscle spasms following surgery for thyroid cancer in 1976. (ie The prosecution says those studies do not apply to Sonoma County, where yields are more abundant and potent. However, the prosecution fails to mention that indoor gardens are not subject to the same yield estimates as outdoor gardens, therefore the speculation that he will 'yield more' based on location is completely irrellevant.)Claeys also said MacFarlane, 47, had not established that in 1999 he suffered from recurrent tumors requiring treatment with marijuana. She said MacFarlane, not his physician, decided he should use marijuana for medical purposes.(ie. Claeys also said MacFarlane, 47, had not established that in 1999 he suffered from recurrent tumors requiring treatment with marijuana. She said MacFarlane, not his physician, decided he should use marijuana for medical purposes. This is most likely due to the fact that MacFarlane's physician is terrified of being persued for such a reccomendation. However, the doctor approved the use all the same, which ALSO makes this arguement irrellevant.)Defense attorney Sandy Feinland said the trial is ``about a man of modest means who couldn't afford to buy his medicine and decided to supply it himself.''(ie Defense attorney Sandy Feinland said the trial is ``about a man of modest means who couldn't afford to buy his medicine and decided to supply it himself.'')MacFarlane took an active role in his treatment and informed the county sheriff's narcotics squad he was growing marijuana for medical purposes, Feinland said.(ie MacFarlane took an active role in his treatment and made a FATAL mistake by informing the county sheriff's narcotics squad he was growing marijuana for medical purposes, and then TRUSTING the LEO's not to act out of greed.)((AND on a personal note, if the amount was TOO MUCH, wouldn't the RIGHT thing have been to inform the man BEFORE they popped him? I'm sure if the police told him that the amount he was intending on growing was 'too much', then this humble sick person would have withdrawn that amount, and grown a lesser amount. This just goes to show that in our society, honesty is rewarded with a nice, cold cage. Nice? Nice.))State voters approved use of marijuana for medical purposes under Proposition 215 in 1996, but like other counties, Sonoma does not prescribe a specific amount allowable by law. (ie. State voters approved use of marijuana for medical purposes under Proposition 215 in 1996, but like other counties, Sonoma does not prescribe a specific amount allowable by law, which leaves the legal system in the hands of tyrants like Deputy District Attorney Carla Claeys, only to be abused by her and people like her.)Sly in green, foxy in kind-Green FoX [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: