Judge denies author's medical defense to marijuana charge

ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) A judge today reversed herself and told bestselling
author Peter McWilliams that he cannot claim medical necessity as a defense
in a marijuana possession case.

McWilliams is a coauthor of "Hypericum & Depression," which hit bestseller
lists in August. He was arrested on the marijuana charge last December at
Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

He has said that marijuana eases his nausea during chemotherapy for
nonHodgkins lymphoma and helps him tolerate the drugs he takes to control
AIDS.

On Oct. 29, Romulus District Court Judge Tina Green gave his lawyer
permission to base the defense, in part, on McWilliams' medical use of the
marijuana.

But after reviewing case law, Green said today that McWilliams does not
meet the test required for such a defense that he faced death or serious
bodily harm if he did not use the drug.

"I believe that there is no way that this court can find that if Mr.
McWilliams did not use marijuana that it would cause him serious bodily
harm," the judge said. "I apologize to the attorneys. I don't like to
change my mind."

Medical experts are divided on the benefits of marijuana, though a National
Institutes of Health report this summer concluded there is strong evidence
that the drug can help treat severe weight loss, nausea and glaucoma.

Green postponed McWilliams' scheduled Nov. 21 trial so his attorney would
have more time to prepare a defense.

"The problem is it's his only defense, and I think I have to stay it," she
said.

Defense lawyer Richard Lustig had said he would file an appeal with Wayne
County Circuit Court within a few days.

"I don't have a clue what her motive is," Lustig said.

McWilliams did not immediately return a call for comment today.

The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office would not comment.

McWilliams, whose selfhelp books include the best seller "Life 101," was
arrested as he was about to catch a flight home to Los Angeles after
visiting relatives in Michigan.

California law allows doctors to recommend marijuana, but not prescribe it.

Michigan is among the states with no law permitting medicinal marijuana use.

Washington voters on Tuesday defeated a proposal that would have made it
the third state in a year to reject federal drug policy and approve the
medical use of marijuana and other drugs.