cannabisnews.com: AIDS Patient Faces Trial in Rare Marijuana Case AIDS Patient Faces Trial in Rare Marijuana Case Posted by FoM on February 01, 2001 at 06:51:28 PT By Joshua L. Weinstein, Herald Writer Source: Portland Press Herald Monday morning, before he heads to court for his marijuana possession trial, Charles Wynott will smoke a pipe packed with pot. He smokes every morning – not to get high, he explains, but to ease the wringing nausea imposed by his AIDS medicines. Charles Wynott, with his dog Sir in their State Street apartment, returned from Florida eight months ago with a doctor's permission to smoke marijuana. He has used marijuana medicinally for years, and when he returned to Maine last April, he figured his use of cannabis was legal – in 1999, voters approved a law designed specifically for people like Wynott.In fact, Wynott spent years working to get Maine's Legislature to pass a similar law. He even testified before a legislative committee considering the issue in 1997.He is shocked and angry that he has to go to court at all. The case, he said, should have been dropped weeks ago."I fought tooth and nail to pass this law, and it isn't doing us a whole lot of good," he said Wednesday. "I'm a sick person. I shouldn't have to be down there, trudging through their court system."Stephanie Anderson, the Cumberland County district attorney, said Wednesday she has not been briefed on the case, and is not familiar with it.But she said Wynott's is the first medical marijuana case her office has prosecuted since the law passed two Novembers ago.She said her office has no written policy about medical marijuana."I guess," she said, "it would be up to the judge to decide."But Robert Kampia, the executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that studies medical marijuana, said that's not good enough."If he is able to show that he has a doctor's approval, the prosecution should not move forward," Kampia said. Maine's medical marijuana law is fairly straightforward. It says that possession of a usable amount of marijuana – 1.25 ounces or less and six plants – is legal under limited circumstances.In order for the law to apply to them, patients must be diagnosed with either nausea, vomiting, wasting syndrome from AIDS or chemotherapy, or must have glaucoma, seizures associated with chronic diseases such as epilepsy or persistent muscle spasms associated with chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis.Even then, patients must have discussed the matter with their physicians and received letters from their doctors saying that they meet the qualifications of the law.That's one of Wynott's problems.He has a letter from his physician, but his physician is in Florida, where Wynott lived until he returned to Maine nine months ago.Maine's law says the letter must be from a doctor licensed in Maine.And he only recently got a doctor in Maine. The Maine doctor he saw before he moved away is not accepting new patients, and finding a physician is difficult, said Wynott, 37. In fact, his Florida doctor has been sending him his pharmaceuticals."A doctor is a doctor, no matter what state he's in," Wynott said.Wynott's legal troubles began Dec. 6, when he and his roommate had an argument. The argument got loud and police showed up. They arrested both Wynott and his roommate on assault charges, which were later dropped.When police searched Wynott, though, they found a baggie of marijuana in his pocket."It's medical marijuana," he told them. "I told them I do have a note, but it's not from a Maine doctor, and they said, 'Then we have to take this.' They took the pot."Even if he is convicted, Wynott will not end up in jail. Under Maine law, possession of less than an ounce-and-a-quarter of marijuana is a civil infraction rather than a criminal matter.James Cameron, an assistant attorney general who co-chaired a medical marijuana task force, didn't know about Wynott's case, and would not comment on its specifics. But he addressed the requirement that patients have letters from physicians in Maine."The point of the law is that it shouldn't even get to the court," he said. "(The letter) should be available for the police to see right up front so the police officer isn't in the position of having to take an enforcement action."While Wynott's case is the first such case in Cumberland County, it is not the first Maine case in which people have asserted their marijuana use was medical.Other cases, however, are not quite parallel.Leonard Ellis, a 62-year-old muscular dystrophy patient, was arrested last year. Ellis, however, had 83 plants and several ounces of marijuana at his home in New Vineyard – far more than the law allows.Similarly, Carroll Cummings, who lives in Vassalboro, was 53 when he was arrested at his home, where police found 37 plants and about a pound of marijuana.He claimed that he uses marijuana to ease symptoms of the muscle-deteriorating medical conditions he endures.Wynott said he sees the irony in his own situation, having worked for medical marijuana all these years.He noted that he is pretty much the definition of a legitimate medical marijuana user, which is why he testified years ago."I knew I had the stuff to back me up," he said. "I had everything I needed in place to make sure I could have marijuana on my person or in my house. For it to have backfired on me the way it has, it's funny."A pause."Not so funny." Staff Writer Joshua L. Weinstein can be contacted at 791-6368 or at: jweinstein pressherald.com Source: Portland Press Herald (ME) Author: Joshua L. Weinstein, Portland Press Herald WriterPublished: Thursday, February 1, 2001Address: 50 Monument Square, Suite 302, Portland, ME 04101 Copyright: 2001 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. Fax: (207) 879-1042 Contact: letters pressherald.com Website: http://www.portland.com/ Related Articles & Web Site:Mainers For Medical Rightshttp://www.mainers.org/ Medicinal Marijuana Law Under Review http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6853.shtmlNext on MMJ: How To Set Up the Program http://cannabisnews.com/news/3/thread3555.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by FoM on February 05, 2001 at 14:05:08 PT: News Brief Medical Marijuana Trial Delayed By Associated Press, 2/5/2001 Copyright: Associated PressPORTLAND, Maine (AP) A Portland man who says he smokes marijuana daily to ease the nausea caused by his AIDS medicines will have to wait to get his day in court. Charles Wynott's marijuana possession trial, which had been scheduled to begin Monday, was continued until a later date in Portland District Court. Wynott obtained a letter from a Florida doctor certifying that he qualifies under the state's medical marijuana law, but the statute requires that the letter be from a doctor in Maine. Wynott had spent years working for passage of a medical marijuana law in Maine and testified before a legislative committee considering the issue in 1997. Wynott's is the first such case prosecuted in Cumberland County since the law was approved. Other cases have come up in other counties. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Frank on February 02, 2001 at 04:44:52 PT Law Enforcement, Has No Respect for "The Law" Don’t ever expect law enforcement to respect the Law. When called for jury service and the case is a “marijuana crime” vote for an acquittal. All you have to say is the prosecution did not make its case and stand by it. Don’t let them intimidate you. Break their backs. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by J.R. Bob Dobbs on February 01, 2001 at 12:55:33 PT HeLLO??? >>She said her office has no written policy about medical marijuana. No written policy but the LAW that is. Hey, there's no written policy about unreasonable search and seizure outside the LAW either, I guess we can ignore that too. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Be Responsable on February 01, 2001 at 07:53:54 PT AIDS Patient Faces Trail in Rare Marijuana Case A DR is a docter. This only proves that we as states are divided as a country. In such matters, as DR's you should unite without fear from the our government! Which would be an act of TERRORISM. Something this country DOES NOT allow? http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6853.shtml [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: