JURY CAN'T INTERPRET MARIJUANA LAW

Nevada City - Ambiguity prevailed in the first medical-marijuana case to
challenge Nevada County's cultivation guidelines. How much marijuana is too
much for a patient to grow? Jurors in John D. Cassatt's trial couldn't
agree, and a mistrial was declared after they deadlocked Thursday in Nevada
County Superior Court.

Differences hinged on language in the Compassionate Use Act, which
California voters passed as Proposition 215 in 1996. "I just think it's the
way the law is - it's very, very vague. It doesn't set limits," said juror
Chaylinn Tanguay of Grass Valley. Her vote changed from not guilty to guilty
during four hours of deliberation. The jury stalled at 7 to 5 in favor of
conviction and told Judge Ersel Edwards they were unlikely to reach the
unanimity required for conviction.

The judge scheduled a pretrial conference for today, and Deputy District
Attorney Ken Tribby pledged to try Cassatt again. Jury foreman Harry Wyeth
of Grass Valley considered Cassett not guilty and also cited vagueness. He
and others got stuck on the law's phrasing of "reasonably related to" - the
closest the statute comes to saying how much marijuana a given illness
requires. Cassatt, a 51-year-old San Juan Ridge resident, claimed he suffers
from hepatitis C and a brain injury sustained as a young man. "There was no
question that he needed it," Wyeth said, "but the issue was he had a whole
lot of plants."

Sheriff's narcotics agents found 386 plants at Cassatt's home off
Tyler-Foote Road when they arrested him Jun 27, 2000. The heights ranged
from 18 inches to 3 1/2 feet.

Just weeks before the bust, in an effort to overcome the law's language, the
District Attorney's Office adopted guidelines that allow patients two pounds
and 10 plants. Other counties developed similar measures - some more
lenient, others more strict. The guidelines - reached after talks with law
enforcement and marijuana activists - were designed to avoid Thursday's
outcome. Cassatt's case creates doubt about how other cultivation cases will
be handled., including a San Juan Ridge bust last week that allegedly netted
105 plants.

"This is an issue that won't be put to bed in Nevada County," said a
frustrated Tribby, who called the law poorly worded. "We have to get the
issue resolved."

As for Cassatt, a jovial, lanky figure, he was relieved to avoid conviction
after the two-day trial, but felt jurors didn't hear enough about why he
grew nearly 40 times the county limit. Some plants were needed to produce
seeds for his subsequent crops. He also maintained that only half the
plants would have become females, which produce the active ingredients in
marijuana. "I have mixed feelings," he said of the non-verdict, "But I'm
confident there will be in the future a meaningful, intellectual
resolution."