News (Media Awareness Project) - US CA: Two Face Arraignment in Medical Marijuana Case |
| Title: | US CA: Two Face Arraignment in Medical Marijuana Case |
| Published On: | 2009-02-03 |
| Source: | Ventura County Star (CA) |
| Fetched On: | 2009-02-04 07:57:52 |
TWO FACE ARRAIGNMENT IN MEDICAL MARIJUANA CASE
Two men will be arraigned Feb. 27 after a judge ruled there is sufficient
evidence to hold them to answer for felony charges of cultivating
marijuana in Ventura.
The two defendants, who include a veteran of the war in Iraq, say they use
the marijuana for medical reasons so their actions were legal under
Proposition 215. The ruling came Friday at a preliminary hearing.
The two men - Breze Meyer, 28 and Eric Lee Jeffrey, 24, - were arrested on
Feb. 24, 2008 after officers found 77 marijuana plants growing inside the
house they were renting.
The two defendants have entered a not guilty plea.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge James Cloninger set arraignment for
Feb. 27.
After the hearing, prosecutor Robert Denton said Meyer and Jeffrey face up
to three years behind bars if convicted of the felony. In California,
there is no uniform standard of the cultivation or distribution of medical
marijuana, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The state leaves the growth and distribution guidelines to local
jurisdictions, the DEA states. In Ventura County, Denton said a patient
with a medical marijuana condition can grow six mature plants or 12
immature plants along with eight ounces of the drug for their personal
use.
However, Denton says a doctor can recommend that a patient have more
medical marijuana. Denton said the laws regarding the use of medical
marijuana are complex and changing.
Lawyers for the two defendants argued that the marijuana was being grown
for medical use, and therefore, the plants were legal under Proposition
215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.
Attorney Joseph Allen told the judge that his client, Jeffrey, uses
marijuana because he is bipolar, has attention deficit disorder and
suffers from back and neck pain.
Attorney Richard Loy who represented Meyer said his client was in the
military and served in Iraq and suffers from Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder and uses marijuana and other drugs to alleviate the symptoms of
his mental disorder.
Two men will be arraigned Feb. 27 after a judge ruled there is sufficient
evidence to hold them to answer for felony charges of cultivating
marijuana in Ventura.
The two defendants, who include a veteran of the war in Iraq, say they use
the marijuana for medical reasons so their actions were legal under
Proposition 215. The ruling came Friday at a preliminary hearing.
The two men - Breze Meyer, 28 and Eric Lee Jeffrey, 24, - were arrested on
Feb. 24, 2008 after officers found 77 marijuana plants growing inside the
house they were renting.
The two defendants have entered a not guilty plea.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge James Cloninger set arraignment for
Feb. 27.
After the hearing, prosecutor Robert Denton said Meyer and Jeffrey face up
to three years behind bars if convicted of the felony. In California,
there is no uniform standard of the cultivation or distribution of medical
marijuana, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The state leaves the growth and distribution guidelines to local
jurisdictions, the DEA states. In Ventura County, Denton said a patient
with a medical marijuana condition can grow six mature plants or 12
immature plants along with eight ounces of the drug for their personal
use.
However, Denton says a doctor can recommend that a patient have more
medical marijuana. Denton said the laws regarding the use of medical
marijuana are complex and changing.
Lawyers for the two defendants argued that the marijuana was being grown
for medical use, and therefore, the plants were legal under Proposition
215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.
Attorney Joseph Allen told the judge that his client, Jeffrey, uses
marijuana because he is bipolar, has attention deficit disorder and
suffers from back and neck pain.
Attorney Richard Loy who represented Meyer said his client was in the
military and served in Iraq and suffers from Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder and uses marijuana and other drugs to alleviate the symptoms of
his mental disorder.
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