CANCER PATIENT SEEKS JUDGE'S OK TO USE MARIJUANA

Courts: Man freed on bail as he awaits trial on charges of growing pot says
he needs the drug for pain.

Lawyers for medical marijuana proponent Todd McCormick, who was arrested
last summer for allegedly growing thousands of marijuana plants in a home
in Bel-Air, asked a federal judge Wednesday to allow him to smoke marijuana
while he awaits trial.

McCormick, 27, has said he used marijuana to treat pain from recurrent
cancer, which he has suffered from since he was a child. His rented home on
Stone Canyon Road was filled with more than 4,000 marijuana plants when he
was arrested last July.

Using marijuana for medical purposes became legal in California with the
passage of Proposition 215 in 1996. But McCormick faces a federal charge of
manufacturing marijuana, punishable by at least 10 years in prison.

He is free on $500,000 bail, but the standard conditions of bail prohibit
him from using illegal drugs. In addition, he is required to undergo random
pretrial drug tests.

McCormick's lawyer, David M. Michael, said, "Any judge that has a sense of
compassion is going to realize that what Todd is asking for is . . .
something that's bona fide, something that's been so extraordinarily
documented. . . . I can't think of a reason why a judge would want to deny
him his medical marijuana."

McCormick said during a news conference outside the Roybal Federal Building
that since being deprived of marijuana, he has suffered from chronic pain
and fatigue, lack of appetite and depression. Other pain remedies have been
less effective than marijuana, he said.

"I never used to get depressed about cancer," he told a reporter after the
news conference. "I used to smoke a joint and forget about it."

McCormick said that if he is allowed to resume using marijuana he will
probably procure it from a cannabis buyers' club. Such clubs have been
under fire from federal authorities.

Michael said the motion filed Wednesday also asks Judge George King to
reduce the amount of McCormick's bail, which was posted by actor Woody
Harrelson. A hearing will be held March 9.

Copyright Los Angeles Times

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