DISABLED MAN FACES ANOTHER DRUG CHARGE

OREGON, Ohio (AP) -- A quadriplegic who was convicted three years ago of
growing marijuana in his backyard for medicinal purposes is facing another
drug charge.

Police in this Toledo suburb have charged Daniel Asbury, 42, of Oregon, with
felony drug possession after he allegedly received three pounds of marijuana
in the mail from a supplier in Sweden.

A police detective dressed in a postal uniform delivered the package
addressed to Asbury on Jan. 4 after U.S. Customs Service officials
intercepted it.

Asbury was given a summons and turned himself in to Oregon Municipal Court
on Feb. 10.

Oregon police are awaiting the results of an analysis of the package's
contents by the Ohio Bureau of Identification and Investigation to verify it
is marijuana, Lt. Virginia Todd said on Tuesday. She said the case will be
presented to a Lucas County grand jury if the contents test positive.

Paralyzed from a spinal injury suffered in a fall nearly 19 years ago,
Asbury says he uses marijuana to alleviate pain.

Asbury, who gets around in a motorized wheelchair, was convicted of
aggravated trafficking in 1996 after Oregon police seized about a dozen
marijuana plants that were growing in his yard.

Asbury received a suspended prison sentence on the trafficking charge. The
judge placed him on probation for two years and warned him to stay away from
illicit drugs.

Since then, Asbury has been active in the fight to legalize marijuana for
medicinal uses. In 1997 he made a five-day trip to Columbus in his
wheelchair to raise awareness on the medicinal uses of the plant.

He appeared in August in a black-and-white striped prisoner's costume at a
rally in front of the Toledo Municipal Court to protest marijuana laws.

"The government declared war on drugs and they are harassing the sick, dying
and disabled all over the country," Asbury told The Blade of Toledo on
Tuesday. "The government's idea of compassion is a pair of handcuffs."