cannabisnews.com: SR Man Acquitted in Medical Marijuana Case





SR Man Acquitted in Medical Marijuana Case
Posted by FoM on January 29, 2001 at 17:14:12 PT
By Clark Mason, The Press Democrat
Source: Press Democrat
A jury on Monday acquitted a Santa Rosa man of marijuana cultivation charges in the first medical marijuana case to go to trial in Sonoma County. Jurors determined Alan MacFarlane, 47, was not growing more marijuana in his backyard than he needed for his medical needs, as the prosecution contended. 
MacFarlane had 73 plants seized by a county narcotics task force in May of 1999 and another 36 plants three months later. Jurors heard widely divergent estimates of what the plants would yield for MacFarlane, who had approval from his doctor to smoke marijuana to deal with chronic pain related to the removal of his cancerous thyroid. The disabled Vietnam-era veteran said he uses about 2.5 ounces a week of marijuana, by smoking and eating it. Although some counties have guidelines for the number of plants medical marijuana patients may grow, Sonoma County and most others do not. Jury foreman Chad Gillease said the jury decided the amount of marijuana MacFarlane’s plants would produce was somewhere in between the amount estimated by different cultivation experts for the defense and the prosecution. “It’s a very gray area. Everyone struggled,” the foreman said. “We all wished that people who work with medical marijuana, the district attorney and Sheriff’s Department would work together in the future to come to a common understanding of yields and the appropriate medical use so individuals don’t have to go through this.” Source: Press Democrat, The (CA) Author: Clark Mason, The Press DemocratPublished: January 29, 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/thread8496.shtmlMarijuana Advocate Testifies on Quantity Usedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8467.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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