JUDGE ORDERS TRIAL FOR MEDICAL POT USERS

A Superior Court judge ordered Wednesday that a 33-year-old Newbury Park man
who uses marijuana for an ailment stand trial on felony charges of
possession of an illegal drug for sale and cultivation of an illegal drug.

Judge Edward Brodie found sufficient evidence to order that Michael Loftus,
who is disabled with an inner-ear ailment and uses marijuana to prevent
dizziness and nausea, be tried on charges that carry a maximum sentence of
three years and eight months in prison.

The ruling came after prosecutors maintained that Loftus' possession of a
scale, nearly a pound of marijuana packaged in plastic bags, $4,300 in cash
and 29 marijuana plants showed he was growing the drug for sale.

Arraignment is set for April 2.

The judge dismissed two counts of child endangerment filed, prosecutors
said, because Loftus' young children had access to a hot marijuana growing
lamp.

A 1996 state law allows for the medical use of marijuana but does not say
how much a patient can possess. Last year, Ventura County law enforcement
agencies set a guideline generally allowing possession of six plants or up
to 1 pound of dried marijuana for medical needs confirmed by a doctor.

Most of California's 58 counties still have no quantity guideline and deal
with possession on a case-by-case basis. Some allow possession of up to 99
plants and 3 pounds of the dried drug; and some allow as few as five plants
and 1 pound of dried drug.