cannabisnews.com: New Vineyard Man Fined on Pot Charge 





New Vineyard Man Fined on Pot Charge 
Posted by FoM on June 01, 2001 at 14:46:07 PT
By Bobbie Hanstein, Staff Writer
Source: Sun Journal
A 63-year-old New Vineyard man was fined $200 by a Superior Court justice after he pleaded no contest to a marijuana cultivation charge at the Franklin County Courthouse Thursday.Leonard Ellis told Justice Kirk Studstrup, “I know I did wrong; I had too much,” after admitting he grew more marijuana last summer than allowed under Maine’s Medicinal Marijuana Act, in order to treat the symptoms of his muscular dystrophy. 
A “no contest” plea is treated the same as a guilty plea, though it can’t be used against the defendant in future proceedings.Ellis had a doctor’s note suggesting use of marijuana for relief of the muscle spasms of his disease, as required by law, but had too much growing in his garden, along with a harvested amount police confiscated during a raid Aug. 9, 2000. The law allows patients suffering from a serious disease to possess six marijuana plants and 1¼ ounces of harvested marijuana, if a doctor has issued a written recommendation for its use.In a motion to dismiss the case that Studstrup denied last week, Ellis admitted that he had 83 plants, three coffee cans full of dried marijuana leaf, 43 cigarettes rolled. He has said all along that he grew so much because he was worried that as his disease progressed, he would not be able to work in his garden. And, on the fixed income of $996 a month he receives from Social Security Disability, he says he is unable to afford $150 an ounce for marijuana or an indoor growing system that the plants would require. At last week’s hearing, experienced marijuana grower Thomas Bassford of Salem estimated it would cost between $1,200 to $1,600 to set up an indoor system to grow the plant year round. Bassford also estimated at Ellis’ current five-marijuana-cigarette-a-day average, it would cost him $3,700 a year to purchase the drug on the black market. Ellis had said he not only couldn’t afford to buy marijuana, he didn’t want to deal with illegal marijuana growers. Defense attorney David Sanders asked Studstrup to suspend the $500 fine. Assistant District Attorney Andrew Robinson recommended for the marijuana cultivation charge.“The prosecution is doing what they feel they have to do, but in this case, it doesn’t make an awful lot of sense,” Sanders said. “He’s got a prescription and nobody disputes the fact that marijuana works better (than conventional medication) because it relieves Mr. Ellis’ pain and allows him the ability to do things. We’re here because his medication is marijuana and he did what he needed to do to get pain relief. The law is a cruel hoax,” Sanders said and asked Studstrup to suspend any fine imposed. Robinson said that it was a judgment society has made that banned recreational use of marijuana and placed very specific restrictions as to its use by those suffering with chronic disease. As Ellis stood next to Sanders with his head bowed, Studstrup told him that, “whatever personal feelings I might have as a judge, I’ve taken an oath to uphold the law. I understand why he had the amount he did. (It was) in order to make up for the limited growing season, he had no other source and it is too costly to purchase it. I am concerned about the amount.”He said he couldn’t totally suspend the recommended $500 fine, because of his concerns of the large quantity of marijuana Ellis was growing. Afterward, Ellis leaned against the defense table and said he was glad his case is settled.“All this did was take a lot off my life,” Ellis said. “I feel relieved it’s over.”Source: Lewiston Sun Journal (ME)Author: Bobbie Hanstein, Staff WriterPublished: June 1, 2001Copyright: 2001 Lewiston Sun JournalContact: letters sunjournal.comWebsite: http://www.sunjournal.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Mainers For Medical Rightshttp://www.mainers.org/Prosecutor To Seek Fine in Marijuana Violationhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9866.shtmlJudge Denies Man's Request To Dismiss Pot Charge http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9864.shtml
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