POT GROWER HAS HOME CONFISCATED

Duane D. Gray tried painkillers, lithium and Prozac, he watched what
he ate and he soaked in mineral-filled springs.

But he said nothing worked to relieve the nausea, fatigue and muscle
pains he'd had since serving in the Gulf War I until he tried marijuana.

To punish Gray, 28, for growing 77 marijuana plants in his attic,
Butte District Court Judge James Purcell gave Gray a three-year
suspended sentence Thursday, fining him $1,000 and confiscating Gray's
home at 1741 Grand Ave.

"Regardless of what (the marijuana) does for you, to ask this court to
legalize drugs because of your situation ... I cannot condone that,"
Purcell said.

Sheriff John McPherson said he hoped the sentencing would deter drug
crimes.

"This is the first time property was seized in a drug bust done solely
by Butte law enforcement," he said Thursday evening. "This should send
a message out that we're damn serious about cracking down on drug offenders."

Chief Deputy County Attorney Brad Newman said the state considered
Gray's lack of criminal background and that he earned his bachelor's
degree in metallurgy from Montana Tech in December when it offered the
three-year suspended sentence.

Gray pleaded guilty to manufacturing drugs and using his home for the
production of drugs I both felonies I last month.

On Thursday, Gray told the court he knew he broke the law, but asked
for lenience.

"I'm asking for a chance, not condemnation," he said. "I feel it saved
my life."

Gray enlisted in the Marines after graduating from Butte High School
in 1988, serving for five years, including in the Gulf War.

He testified Thursday at his sentencing hearing that the symptoms hit
him slowly after he returned from Iraq. He said he had difficulties
adjusting to the cold weather, he vomited frequently and lost weight
because he couldn't eat, he felt faint and his bones and muscles
creaked and ached.

Over a two-year period, he went to the Veterans' Administration
Hospital in Helena nearly 20 times, receiving various medications for
an "undiagnosed illness."

The defense produced a letter Gray wrote in 1995 to then Congressman
Pat Williams, urging him to talk to the veterans' hospital about what
was becoming known as Gulf War Syndrome.

Gray told the court that he didn't smoke marijuana until 1996, "when
the VA hospital pretty much said you're on your own.

"I wanted relief bad," he said. "With the marijuana I was able to eat,
hold down my food and it reduced my stress."

An Anaconda doctor, Paul Blocker, testified that Gray's symptoms
matched those of other Gulf War veterans who experienced Gulf War syndrome.

Blocker also said that while he doesn't support marijuana use, it
isn't unusual for people who have Gulf War Syndrome to smoke marijuana
for relief.

Gray said he tried buying marijuana on the street, but wasn't
comfortable not knowing what else might be in the stash so he began
growing his own.

For about two years, Gray smoked two joints a day. He said he
harvested about two ounces monthly.

But Detective Jerry Stradinger, who works with the Southwest Montana
Drug Task Force, said the number of plants found indicated Gray wasn't
just consuming for personal use.

Had all 77 plants grown to maturation, 30 to 35 pounds of marijuana
could have been produced and sold in Butte for somewhere between
$21,000 and $52,500.

"If he would have used them all for personal use, he would have to
smoke them 24 hours a day for the next 200 years," McPherson said
after the hearing.

Butte police were granted a warrant in the fall of 1997 after a
confidential informant told them Gray and another man had been
building a marijuana greenhouse in the attic. Police also looked at
Gray's power bill which increased in wattage in September and October
of 1997.

Newman asked Gray if fighting in the war or graduating from Tech
excused him from obeying Montana's drug laws.

"You made a conscious choice to take marijuana, didn't you?" Newman
asked. "There are alternative means other than illegal means."

Gray's lawyer, Jack Morris, asked Judge Purcell to give Gray a
three-year deferred sentence so the two felonies could eventually be
erased from his record. Morris also asked to have the state sell the
house, worth $27,000 according to court documents, and split the money
between Butte and the defendant.

"There's no evidence he sold (the marijuana.) No money was found. The
marijuana wasn't packaged in Baggies," he said. "We're asking for a
second chance. He was at the end of his rope. He admits he was wrong
and made a mistake."

Morris said Gray plans to appeal the case to the Supreme Court, which
will delay his home being sold.

McPherson said the money made from selling Gray's house will go
towards drug use prevention and confiscation, including equipment,
dogs or to purchase drugs to catch sellers.

If Gray didn't appeal, his house would go on the market in 10
days.

Purcell chastised Gray after sentencing him, saying that drugs are
decaying the country.

"You're very fortunate... to get a suspended sentence," he said. "With
this size of operation I this is the largest growth operation we've
had in this court I I can't conceive that this was just for personal
use.

"The court really doesn't have any sympathy for you in this
matter."

Morris said Gray hasn't smoked marijuana since he was arrested in the
fall of 1997, and instead is being counseled for post-war shock.