MEDICAL-MARIJUANA SUPPORTER PLEADS GUILTY

A man who became the pro-pot poster child for the medical marijuana battle
pleaded guilty Friday to misdemeanor marijuana possession.

Rory Poliac, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and says he uses pot to
ease his pain before he goes to bed, was originally charged with felony
marijuana cultivation after police found 13 plants in his apartment this
summer.

Poliac and his attorney, Warren Edson, said at the time they wanted the case
to go to trial to raise awareness for medical marijuana.

Instead, Poliac, 44, pleaded guilty in Arapahoe County court to possessing
less than an ounce of marijuana and received a $25 fine.

Poliac could be the last person in Colorado prosecuted for possessing
medical marijuana. Last month, voters approved Amendment 20, which allows
people to possess six plants or 2 ounces of marijuana as long as they use it
for medicinal purposes.

"We decided to continue the case until after Amendment 20 was voted on by
the population to give us a little bit of direction," Arapahoe County
District Attorney Jim Peters said. "We wanted to give Mr. Poliac the benefit
of any changes in the law that would help him."

The new law could not help Poliac this time because he was arrested before
it went into effect. Edson said Poliac, after the passage of Amendment 20,
decided to take the plea bargain to avoid the more serious charges.

"He was glad that he's not facing a felony anymore," Edson said. "This is a
guy who doesn't have any priors. But it was tough to actually say "guilty.'
"

Poliac still faces misdemeanor charges in Littleton for possession of less
than an ounce of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, after police went back to
his home last month. Peters said his office understood Poliac's situation
but had to uphold the law as it stood.

"For somebody in Mr. Poliac's condition, we've got a lot of sympathy for
him," Peters said. "We want to make sure he obtains the best treatment
available for his pain."