ILL SOMERSET COUNTY MAN FOUND NOT GUILTY OF OPERATING MARIJUANA FACILITY

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP -- A multiple sclerosis patient held up as a symbol
of the medical marijuana movement in New Jersey was cleared of the
most serious charge against him today, with jurors finding the man's
backyard pot plants didn't amount to a big-time drug operation.

But John Ray Wilson, 37, could still face significant prison time
under the split verdict reached by a jury in Somerville. While Wilson
was acquitted of operating a drug-manufacturing facility, a
first-degree crime that carries a potential 20-year sentence, jurors
found him guilty of second-degree manufacturing and third-degree drug
possession. He now faces five to 10 years in prison.

Wilson, who had 17 marijuana plants in the yard of his Franklin
Township home when police arrested him in August 2008, had no visible
reaction to the verdict. His lawyer, James Wronko, said he was
"satisfied" with the decision, noting the second-degree count does
not carry a period of parole ineligibility.

"We have the ability to ask for a probationary sentence and, in
short, we will argue that his medical condition as reasons for
growing would overcome the presumption of incarceration," Wronko said.

Given Wilson's multiple sclerosis, the lawyer said, the longer
sentence "would have been incredibly difficult for him to endure."

"The family and John were scared that a conviction on the most
serious charge may have been possibly akin to a death sentence," he said.

Wilson's case has resonated on both sides of the medical marijuana
debate in recent months as state lawmakers consider passage of the
Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, which would give those with
debilitating diseases structured access to the drug.

If the measure is passed in the Legislature and signed by the
governor, New Jersey would become the 14th state to legalize
marijuana for medical purposes.

Despite an acute focus on the topic outside the courtroom, one juror
said Wilson's condition played no role in jury deliberations, which
lasted less than four hours.

"It was not part of the debate," said juror Mark Imbriani, a criminal
defense lawyer in Somerville and a former assistant prosecutor in
Union County. "The outcome was determined by the jury's feelings on
the strength of the state's evidence on the first count."

Superior Court Judge Robert Reed had barred Wilson from using a
medical marijuana defense in the three-day trial, but he did allow
Wilson to make one reference to it while on the witness stand
Tuesday. In that instance, Wilson was permitted to rebut the
testimony of two State Police detectives who said they never asked
him why he was growing the plants.

His lawyer, Wronko, attacked the credibility of those detectives
during closing arguments today.

"John Wilson told the officers that he was growing the marijuana to
treat his multiple sclerosis. The officers testified that they never
questioned him about the plants," Wronko said. "That leaves you to a
credibility determination."

The possibility of false testimony by the detectives struck home with
a number of jurors, Imbriani said. Those jurors "didn't feel as
though (the detectives) were being candid when they responded to
those questions," he said.

Deputy Attorney General Russell Curley said during his closing
arguments that Wilson knew what he was doing was illegal and that he
had carefully tended the plants, some of which had grown to 6 feet.

"These weren't plants. These were trees," Curley said, noting they
were spotted from a National Guard helicopter flying over Wilson's
home. He also urged jurors to consider Wilson's own testimony, saying
the defendant plainly confessed to the crime.

Wilson is due to be sentenced Feb. 5.

State Sens. Ray Lesniak and Nicholas Scutari (both D-Union), the
sponsors of the medical marijuana bill, had been seeking a pardon on
the first-degree count. They said they will continue to pursue a
pardon on the lesser count, calling even 10 years in prison too
severe a penalty.

"This case has been a horrible waste of taxpayers' dollars and just a
cruel and inhumane use of prosecutorial powers, which is one of the
things pardons are designed to overcome," Lesniak said.