MORMON CLAIMS MEN FED HIM 10 CANNABIS COOKIES

A Mormon missionary who unwittingly ate 10 cannabis-laced cookies
while on a house call preaching his faith panicked when he became ill,
fearing he might be suffering the effects of gas inhalation, a court
was told yesterday.

Mr Tom Petitt told Dandenong Magistrates Court he and his fellow
missionary, Mr Andrew Housley, were offered the cookies while visiting
three men to explain their religion.

Mr Petitt said about an hour after eating the 10 cookies, which he
consumed within 10 minutes, he lost his vision, suffered chest pain,
blacked out and had to go to hospital.

Two men, Mr Douglas James Lynch, 46, and Mr Alexander Maclean, 46,
both of Mount Waverley, have pleaded not guilty to seven charges
including introduction of a drug into another and recklessly causing
serious injury.

Mr Lynch has pleaded guilty to three charges of using, possessing and
cultivating cannabis.

The court heard the two visiting American missionaries were working
for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints.

Mr Petitt said he had met Mr Lynch one day when he was walking his dog
on the street and they had agreed to meet at Mr Lynch's house in a
week's time. "We explained to them what we share as missionaries about
the meaning of life and he seemed interested," he told the court.

When the two missionaries arrived at Mr Lynch's home on 19 May, Mr
Lynch was smoking a bong filled with cannabis. While drugs were
against their religion, they respected other people's privacy in their
own homes, the missionaries said.

Mr Petitt said Mr Maclean was making the cookies. "He said, `it's a
new recipe I'm trying out called American chocolate cookies'."

After the two-hour visit the missionaries rode their bikes home. "When
we left the residence we felt that it was a good visit," Mr Housley
told the court.

Mr Petitt said he consumed the high number of cookies to help "build
the relationship" with the men. About an hour later both men suffered
poor vision and were nodding off.

Mr Petitt called the ambulance and the fire brigade, fearing they were
suffering from the effects of a gas leak. "I was scared because I had
no idea what was happening to my body," he said. Both men were taken
to hospital and stayed overnight.

The hearing continues.