COURT AGREES MARIJUANA GROWER NOT COVERED BY PROPOSITION 215

SAN FRANCISCO -- A state appeals court upheld a lower court ruling Thursday
that Proposition 215 does not grant a medical marijuana grower immunity
from prosecution if the grower does not have a doctor's recommendation or
does not qualify as a primary caregiver for the patients who receive the
marijuana.

Robert Michael Galambos was arrested in 1997 by Calaveras County sheriff's
deputies and charged with one count of marijuana cultivation and one of
possession of marijuana for sale.

Galambos used marijuana as a treatment for ailments resulting from an
automobile accident and sought to distribute it to a medical marijuana club.

Galambos argued that the marijuana was medically necessary and that the
immunity offered to patients who use medical marijuana and primary
caregivers who recommend it should cover him as a grower.

He also said the proposition did not spell out what constituted illegal
conduct, but the higher court concluded that the proposition is not vague
about what is legal and illegal in terms of cultivating and possessing
marijuana.

The Third Appellate District court sided with the lower court in ruling
that Galambos did not meet requirements for medical necessity. The court
also agreed with the Calaveras County Superior Court that Galambos did not
qualify as a primary caregiver and couldn't receive the immunity that
Proposition 215 gives to primary caregivers.

California voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996.

The case is People v. Galambos, C032873