sterbo

(Long Island, N.Y.) A Texas patient who uses medical marijuana to treat the symptoms of HIV won acquittal on marijuana possession charges March 25 based on a “necessity defense.”
Though such a defense - which requires the defendant to establish that an otherwise illegal act was necessary to avoid imminent harm more serious than the harm prevented by the law he or she broke - has rarely been successful in Texas, the jury took just 11 minutes to acquit Tim Stevens, 53. The trial was hotly contested.

Stevens had never been in trouble until Amarillo police arrested him for possessing less than 4 grams of marijuana. As a result of his HIV infection, Stevens suffers from nausea and cyclical vomiting syndrome, a condition so severe that he has required hospitalization and blood transfusions in the past.

Extensive research has established medical marijuana as an effective treatment for nausea and vomiting associated with HIV/AIDS and cancer chemotherapy, uses recently acknowledged by the prestigious American College of Physicians. Key in establishing Stevens’ medical necessity was the testimony of Dr. Steve Jenison, medical director of the Infectious Diseases Bureau for the state of New Mexico’s Department of Health.

“This case proved to be a testing ground for public attitudes toward medical marijuana,” said attorney Jeff Blackburn, who represented Stevens. “Even in a very conservative part of a very conservative state, jurors were willing to listen to the facts about medical marijuana and give Tim a break, and I hope this case will help to create a trend in Texas.”

“The common sense and decency exhibited by this Amarillo jury is typical of what we see from voters around the country,” said Ray Warren, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., and a former North Carolina Superior Court judge. “The American public doesn’t want to see seriously ill patients arrested and jailed for simply trying to stay alive with the help of medical marijuana. It’s time for legislators in Texas and around the country to follow the public’s lead and take action to protect patients, so that no one battling a life-threatening illness has to live in fear of arrest.”


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Buzzby

Existing threads about Tim Stevens' acquittal:

Successful Medical Necessity Defense in Texas Marijuana Case

GBR : Cannabis Law: British governments health argument in tatters

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sterbo

Excellent,
And here is a follow up interview with Tim Stevens -


A local jury finds a man justified in his use

Posted: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 10:54 p.m.
AMARILLO -- A local jury rules against the established law and in favor of a man using marijuana for medical reasons.
On Tuesday, the Potter County jury took just minutes to decide the case. But for one man, and perhaps many more down the road, the impact of the decision is anything but small.

This is a ProNews 7 exclusive.
Tim Stevens has HIV. He has been battling the virus since 1986 and is thankful it has not progressed to AIDs. But he still suffers. One problem: cyclic vomiting.
"You go through cycles of extreme nausea and that's pretty horrible," said Stevens.
The only remedy that has eased his pain is doctor-recommended marijuana.
"There are situations where this is the only avenue to take once you've gone through the medical gamut," said Stevens.
In October, Stevens felt a cycle starting and bought ten dollars worth of marijuana. An anonymous tip led to his arrest for possession. But officers did not have to arrest Stevens, they could have written him a ticket.
"Potter County has chosen not to follow the state law that says they could write tickets for people like this but instead arrest and jail them," said Stevens' lawyer Jeff Blackburn.
Stevens spent a couple of hours in jail, then made bond. The ordeal could have been concluded, but Stevens felt he had to fight the full battle first and take the issue to trial to get the decision reversed.

"There's a lot of work to be done and people need not be so afraid of people with HIV," said Stevens. "It's not going to leap across the room at you. There's a lot of work to be done in the medical field and with the government."
Stevens' lawyer helped him on his mission of principle.
"That's democracy in action," said Blackburn.
Stevens hopes it is a mission that will help others in the future.
"For chemo patients, multiple sclerosis and such," said Stevens.
With all he has been through he says it is the lack of compassion he encountered in the harsh judgement system that hurts him most.
"I think there was maybe a lack of understanding or knowledge about any of my issues," said Stevens."There certainly seemed to be a lack of compassion."
So what happens now for Stevens?
He says he will not smoke marijuana illegally anymore. He is going to try a pill substitute with a lower success rate. To use marijuana legally, he will have to move to New Mexico.


*Amarillo medical marijuana case (Video) : News : KVII - By Laura Rice

5drive

This is cool. The fact that it happened in Texas is SUPER COOL.

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