MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA TESTED

BRONSON, Fla., July 26 (UPI) A Levy County man and his son will use a
medical necessity defense when they are tried for marijuana cultivation and
possession.

Jury selection begins today in the trial of 46-year-old Joseph Taci and his
20-year-old son Michael. They were arrested in May 1998 after deputies
allegedly saw five pot plants growing outside the family's home during an
aerial surveillance. The elder Taci suffers from pain caused by a 1993 auto
accident and has received prescriptions for marijuana from three doctors.

He said he started growing his own marijuana because it was cheaper than
buying it.

Another man who used a medical necessity defense was acquitted of similar
charges in Levy County earlier.