MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE LANDS LOCALS IN COURT

A pair of medical marijuana cases were heard in Kitsap County
Superior Court this week, both concerning patients taking the
controlled substance for pain management under a doctor's supervision.

Pamela Olson of Ollala, who was arrested last May, and Robert of
Bremerton, face prosecution for their use of the drug, for which they
received doctor's approval. Robert's lawyer Douglas Hiatt requested
that Robert's full name not be published, as it could endanger his employment.

Kitsap County prosecutors, who have turned a blind eye to several
medical cases over the last several years, are pursuing these
particular cases because, according to Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Kelly,
"We have evidence in both cases that they were dealing."

Attorneys for both defendants deny this assertion.

As a result, Kitsap County has become part of the nationwide debate
about the use of marijuana in the treatment of pain, the means for
distributing and growing the substance, and exactly how much a
patient needs to manage their symptoms.

At the center of the debate is an argument over "plant count" and how
many live plants translate to an amount of usable medicine. For
instance, Olson was arrested with plants that added up to more than 19 pounds.

This, according to her attorney Scott Moriarty, could yield less than
a pound of usable product.

The guidelines for use allow patients to hold a 60-day supply at one
time. Since Olson bakes rather than smokes to administer the drug,
her holdings could fall within these recommended limits.

But on Tuesday, Judge Leila Mills ruled that Olson would not be
allowed to use a medical defense, setting her up for a possession or
distribution charge.

Moriarty subsequently filed a motion to reconsider this ruling. If
Mills declines to reconsider the motion, he plans to ask for a
continuance, as the Department of Health will soon set concrete 60-day limits.

Moriarty feels Mills' ruling to come up with a doctor's prescription
for the amount needed for Olson's treatment is a legal impossibility.

Since marijuana is illegal, a doctor can recommend but not prescribe the drug.

Moriarty said prosecutors have no solid evidence that Olson herself
was dealing. The only evidence comes from a confidential informant,
he said, and that shouldn't be enough to convince a jury of her guilt.

Robert also has been accused of dealing, a charge Hiatt vehemently refutes.

"They have absolutely no evidence," Hiatt said. "He was asked about
what he would do if he had more than he could use and he answered
that he would give it away to little old ladies who could use it if
he could do so legally. This was repeated to others, where he was
quoted as saying he had already given it to the little old ladies."

Aside from jeopardizing his retirement, Robert's property aE" five
acres he has owned for years aE" could be confiscated if he is
convicted of dealing or distributing drugs.

Moriarty recommended that Olson use more traditional methods of pain
control while the case is pending, saying, "I have told her that it
doesn't make sense to use marijuana while she is in the crosshairs of
the prosecutor."

Hiatt said he does not know how Robert is handling his pain.

"I always advise my clients to do what their doctors recommend and we
will sort out the legalities at a later time," said Hiatt, who has
worked with medical marijuana cases for several years.

Hiatt acknowledges there is a potential for abuse in medical
marijuana cases, but it is less than for medications like morphine or percocet.

"If a patient has some medical marijuana and their grandson takes
some off of the top, the grandson is breaking the law and the patient
is not discharging their responsibilities," he said.

Hiatt takes issue with the notion that any medical marijuana patient
is "getting high," since the prime motivator is pain management.

The Olson trial is scheduled to begin May 5.