Lit_Match

HIV-Positive Man Wins Acquittal In TX First Cannabis Medical Necessity Defence
04/03/08|NORML|Press Release

NORML Legal Committee member Jeff Blackburn won an acquittal for a man charged with possession of marijuana, by successfully raising a medical necessity defense, believed to be the first to be accepted in Texas courts.

Defendant Tim Stevens, 53, had never been in legal trouble until Amarillo police arrested him for possessing less than 4 grams of marijuana. Mr. Stevens†is HIV-positive and uses medical marijuana in conjunction with his anti-viral medications.

Defense expert Dr. Steve Jenison, Medical Director of the Infectious Diseases Bureau for the Department of Health in New Mexico, carried the day with his testimony. Dr. Jenison detailed his success with the New Mexico medical marijuana program in treating severe symptoms, particularly nausea and cyclical vomiting, that plague many HIV / AIDS and cancer patients—for many of whom no effective medicinal alternative exists. "[Jenison]…was a dynamite witness," Blackburn said. "All of this evidence came together and made for a solid defense case -- one strong enough for us to get an instruction to the jury that they should acquit if they had a reasonable doubt about medical necessity."

"We prepared a very extensive presentation about the medical benefits of marijuana," Blackburn continued. "We relied on clearly established scientific studies and approaches, all of which show that there are distinct benefits derived from the use of inhaled marijuana." The jury was out only eleven minutes before reaching a unanimous verdict of "not guilty." County attorney Scott Brumley called the verdict "unfortunate." "I respect the jury's verdict. ... That doesn't mean I agree with it," he said.

Blackburn, who also serves as chief counsel for the Innocence Project of Texas, which seeks to identify and exonerate innocent people who have been mistakenly convicted and imprisoned, believes that this victory can be replicated in other states as well. "Nearly all states have some variant of the old common law necessity defense."

For more information, please contact NORML Legal Director Keith Stroup at 202-483-5500.

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dedbr

This is really important. It sets a precedence of law, not just in Texas, but for the whole nation. "Common law" seems to be the way to go.....

Medical necessity. I like that.....


Some Where In Ded Land..........

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Buzzby

Unfortunately, it doesn't set a legally binding precedent for any other court. Such precedents only apply from a higher court to a lower court within the same chain of appeals.

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dedbr

Your right, as usual Buzz, but it does give us a case that was decided by a jury, and they used their good ol' common sense.

Also, the bastion Of Bushism came across with this decision. I think that's a big deal........

I do think this case is important though, if for no other reason than maybe America has spoken?


Some Where In Ded Land........

KWhite

This is more than good!

Ded, you are partly right, this sets precedent for our battle. This, combined with the current media push to make jurors aware of their nullification rights/power- Sets another thought precedent that helps us. When this is no longer news- this will be a simple grow site.

A marijuana acquittal of any sort, in Texas... I wonder if a lot of texans are getting a bit tired, in the long run, of being associated with Bush and the simplistic way neo-conservatives think - I think they are waking up and getting sick of being considered non thinking sheep by the rest of the nation.

Baaa- Baaaa- boooo- boooomb and Jaaaa jaaa jaaaa jaaaa jaaaaillllll!!

Could be a GREAT decade-

KWhite

Oh, by the way- I'm not sure if I can do this here, I mean no offense, but I read this

CN AB: Column: Legalize By 2010

"LEGALIZE BY 2010

Why The War On Drugs Must And Will Be Ended Within The Next Half Decade"

Just before reading this and it brightened my morning.

Felt like synergy happenin'

Buzzby

I read it and wasn't impressed at all. It seems to be based on Obama winning the election, Obama somehow deciding that cannabis should be legalized, and Obama convincing Congress to go along with it. Obama might or might not get elected. To date he has not shown any support for legalizing marijuana. There is almost no support for legalization in Congress.

Some of his economic arguments for legalization are completely logical, but logic has little to do with political motivation. It made no sense for us to go into Iraq, but we've spent 800 billion dollars on it, so far.

The idea that taxing marijuana will somehow fix this nation's debt problems is absurd. The author points to the $8 billion marijuana industry in British Columbia as an example and asks us to expand that to the United States. It's estimated that the US marijuana business is worth $40 billion. The reason it's that high is because we pay at least 10 times what the weed would be worth if it weren't being sold on the black market. Remove the black market and the value drops to $4 billion. Tax it at 100%. That would cover maybe a week of the Iraq war's expenses.