COURT SIDES WITH CONRAD MAN IN MARIJUANA CASE

The director of a statewide medical marijuana advocacy group is
calling a Wednesday decision by the Montana Supreme Court a "big
victory" for the state's patients and voters.

In a 6-1 ruling, the high court said District Judge Laurie McKinnon
overstepped her authority with two sentencing conditions she placed
on Timothy Nelson of Conrad.

Nelson was charged in May 2006 after authorities searched his house
and found evidence of a marijuana growing operation. He suffers from
a degenerative disc disorder and was later accepted into Montana's
medical marijuana program.

In February 2007, Nelson pleaded no contest under a plea agreement to
criminal possession or manufacture of dangerous drugs.

During sentencing, McKinnon expressed concerns about Nelson's
marijuana use and the fact that he was raising two children. She
eventually gave him a three-year deferred sentence subject to 20 conditions.

Nelson filed an appeal challenging two of those conditions: an order
than he not possess marijuana except in prescription pill form, and
an order that he comply with all state and federal laws. He was
joined by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Montana
and the advocacy and support group Patients and Families United.

Nelson argued that McKinnon ignored the intent of the Montana Medical
Marijuana Act and treated his medical marijuana use like it was
illegal. He said the sentencing conditions unduly restricted his use
of marijuana and needlessly required him to suffer physical pain.

The Medical Marijuana Act, passed by voters in November 2004, allows
patients to use marijuana if they suffer from diseases like cancer,
glaucoma and HIV, or if they have chronic pain.

Nelson also argued McKinnon exceeded her authority in requiring him
to obey all federal laws, since federal law prohibits marijuana
possession and allows no exceptions for medical marijuana use.

Attorneys for the state said Nelson didn't become a participant in
Montana's medical marijuana program until after his arrest, and his
history suggested he may be addicted to the drug. They said Nelson
admitted he had used marijuana illegally for years and sought
protection under the Medical Marijuana Act only "after he got caught."

The Supreme Court sided with Nelson, reversing the two sentencing
conditions and remanding the case for further proceedings. Justice
Jim Rice dissented.

The high court said state law allows qualifying patients to possess
up to six marijuana plants and one ounce of "usable" 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,"
the Supreme Court said.

Tom Daubert of Helena, director of Patients and Families United, said
the ruling was the high court's first in a medical marijuana case.

"We're very pleased," Daubert said. "We think this decision is a big
victory not only for the state's suffering patients, but also for
voters, because it affirms the voters' decision."

The ruling also affirms three fundamental points, Daubert said.

The first is that for participants in Montana's medical marijuana
program, "marijuana is a legal medicine that should be treated no
differently than ordinary prescription drugs," he said. The second is
that the prescription-pill form of marijuana is not the same as
regular marijuana.

And the third important point the ruling makes "is that Montana has
every right, as do other states, to adopt its own policy on this
issue," Daubert said.

Betsy Griffing, legal director for the Montana ACLU, also lauded the
ruling, saying it recognizes the "full force and effect of the
Montana Medical Marijuana Act."