MEDICAL MARIJUANA IS A LEGAL QUANDARY

People on Probation Face Questions Over Its Use.

For people who are granted probationary sentences in Pueblo district
court, the order is pretty standard.

They usually must refrain from using alcohol, illegal drugs or abusing
prescription medication.

However, Colorado's constitutional amendment allowing the use of
marijuana for some medical purposes creates a contradiction between
state and federal law, and puts the men and women sworn to uphold both
on a fine line between the two.

Some recent probation sentences from Colorado's 10th Judicial District
in Pueblo have specified that a medical marijuana registry card will
not be considered an exemption from the prohibition orders.

But Chief District Judge Dennis Maes said he's issued no specific
policy to the county's judges on how to handle the issue, nor has the
Colorado Supreme Court.

I think I would start from the statement that these are orders left to
the individual discretion of the judge," Maes said. "It's not a
situation where I would order that 'you must do this in these
circumstances.' "

While Colorado voters approved the use and possession of marijuana for
certain medical reasons, Maes said he, personally, would begin with
the position that marijuana remains illegal in every circumstance
under federal law.

Second, Maes said that he views probation as a privilege and not a
right, and that people who are placed on probation need to comply
with its conditions.

The stakes can be high. Violations of probation can land a person in
prison for months or years depending on the length of their sentence.

"If we start with the proposition that smoking marijuana is going to
be a violation of your probation, then it's incumbent upon that person
to prove that it's necessary," Maes said.

Maes said that, for his courtroom, that would likely mean another
hearing to determine the individual need for medical marijuana.

Marijuana remains on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency's list of
schedule-one controlled substances. Because of that, the federal view
of the drug is that it serves no medical purpose and therefore can't
be prescribed by physicians.

Under the state's law, medical marijuana recommended rather than
prescribed.

People who carry medical marijuana registry cards are entitled under
the state law to possess up to 2 ounces of marijuana and six plants
with three or less in the flowering or budding stage of their growth.

But the simple possession of a registry card probably wouldn't be
enough, at least not for Maes.

"The standard is going to be pretty high, I would think," Maes said.
"I would require a pretty stringent method of proof for somebody to
come in here and say they need to smoke marijuana. Just having the
card itself I don't think is going to do it."

Maes noted that some jurisdictions simply don't allow the use of
medical marijuana during probation.

It's not likely that the issue of medical marijuana is going to go
away any time soon.

The recent trial and split verdict against medical marijuana farmer
Thomas Sexton raised a number of questions about how to enforce the
constitutional amendment.

Some may be answered in the Legislature, and many more may be answered
in the courts.

"The issue has been discussed and debated quite a bit within the
judicial branch," Maes said.