RULING FAVORS MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS

Advocates of Montana's medical marijuana law hailed a Montana Supreme
Court decision that safeguards the rights of sick probationers and
parolees who are prescribed marijuana for pain relief.

In a 6-1 decision Tuesday, the high court said a district court judge
in Pondera County exceeded her authority by sentencing a qualifying
medical marijuana patient to three years of probation with the
stipulation that he could not use medical marijuana.

The patient, Timothy S. Nelson of Conrad, uses medical marijuana to
alleviate chronic pain from a car accident. Nelson suffers from a
degenerative disc disorder and has had four surgeries on his back. He
was thrown from a pickup truck in an accident involving a drunken
driver, according to the decision, which was written by Justice
Patricia O. Cotter.

Nelson was charged in May 2006 after authorities searched his house
and discovered evidence of a marijuana-growing operation. He pleaded
no contest to criminal possession or manufacture of dangerous drugs,
and received a three-year deferred imposition of sentence. Among the
20 conditions of his probation was an order that he not possess or
use marijuana, except in pill form.

Nelson argued successfully on appeal that the sentencing condition
ignored the intent of Montana's Medical Marijuana Act, which was
passed by voters in 2004.

"The District Court unlawfully denied Nelson the right and privilege
to use a lawful medical treatment for relief from a debilitating
condition under the Medical Marijuana Act," according to the court's
decision. "When a qualifying patient uses medical marijuana in
accordance with the MMA, he is receiving lawful medical treatment. In
this context, medical marijuana is most properly viewed as a
prescription drug."

Tom Daubert, of Patients and Families United, a medical marijuana
advocacy group, called the decision "a big victory for Montana
patients as well as Montana voters. It reflects a common sense and
accurate interpretation of our law, and recognizes the voters' intent."

Daubert said the order limiting Nelson's medical treatment to
Marinol, a synthetic version of the active ingredient in marijuana,
flies in the face of the voter-passed initiative. Daubert says, and
many patients agree, that the synthetic treatment is not as effective
because it mimics just one substance in the cannabis plant, when a
combination of substances may be what helps relieve the pain.

The law also provides that a qualifying patient may possess up to six
marijuana plants and one ounce of marijuana.

"In limiting Nelson to the ingestion of marijuana in pill form, and
requiring him to have a physician's prescription to do so, the
District Court ignored the clear intent of the voters of Montana that
a qualifying patient with a valid registry identification card be
lawfully entitled to grow and consume marijuana in legal amounts,"
according to the decision.

Colin Stephens, a Missoula attorney who represented Nelson on appeal,
said the decision reinforces the legal rights of medical marijuana patients.

"I think that this case basically solidifies the rights of qualifying
medical marijuana patients," Stephens said. "I don't think right now
that probation officers can stop a patient from using medical
marijuana as prescribed by a physician. I think it's pretty clear in
the case law."

In May, the state Department of Corrections backed down from a
proposed rule that would have barred anyone on parole or probation
from obtaining medical marijuana without a judge's approval.
Proponents of the medical marijuana law argued that the law does not
allow any penalty for using medical marijuana, regardless of a
person's criminal history.

Daubert said Nelson's is the first substantive case relating to
medical marijuana to reach Montana's Supreme Court, and the first
case taken on by his advocacy group.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana and Patients and
Families United worked jointly to defend Nelson.