POT CHARGE AGAINST VIETNAM VETERAN ILLUSTRATES CONFUSION WITH MEDICAL
MARIJUANA LAW

First, it was post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by his
service in the Vietnam War. Then came two bouts with throat cancer,
which left him without a voice box.

Now, 61-year-old Gary Muntz has a new ailment -- lymphoma, a
slow-moving cancer of the lymph nodes.

He speaks only with the aid of a mechanical device pressed tightly to
his neck. Long periods outside his home require a wheelchair, and he
often cannot sleep.

Hopefully, the courts or state lawmakers can give authorities some
clarification, McBain said. Many cases are pending, and governments
are looking into it. Last week, Wyoming, a city near Grand Rapids,
became the latest municipality to ban medical marijuana.

McBain lightly sentenced Muntz on Nov. 30, saying he believed Muntz
substantially complied with the law.

The prosecutor's office charged Muntz last summer after Jackson
police found 13 marijuana plants in his house on Wilson Street.
Police saw the grow lights shining in the second story of the home, Muntz said.

Muntz was authorized to use the drug but not to grow it, and he did
not realize that until it was too late, he said.

"(Authorities) have to realize some of us do get confused," he said.

On the Michigan application for the state medical marijuana registry,
those seeking a card have to choose whether they or their caregiver
will be growing marijuana. Only one person per patient can possess
plants. A patient cannot cultivate marijuana if he or she has
designated someone else to do it, Gaecke said.

At first, Muntz said, he was getting marijuana from another person,
but it was expensive, so he started growing his own with help from a
friend who lives with Muntz and assists him with his medical needs.

The prosecutor's office agreed to allow Muntz to plead guilty to
marijuana possession, a misdemeanor. McBain ordered Muntz and the
friend, who did not have a card when the police came to Muntz's
house, to pay less than $200. The judge did not place them on
probation, though both men have criminal records. Muntz said he has
spent nine years of his adult life in prison.

Muntz was authorized to use the drug but not to grow it, and he did
not realize that until it was too late, he said.

"(Authorities) have to realize some of us do get confused," he said.

On the Michigan application for the state medical marijuana registry,
those seeking a card have to choose whether they or their caregiver
will be growing marijuana. Only one person per patient can possess
plants. A patient cannot cultivate marijuana if he or she has
designated someone else to do it, Gaecke said.

At first, Muntz said, he was getting marijuana from another person,
but it was expensive, so he started growing his own with help from a
friend who lives with Muntz and assists him with his medical needs.

The prosecutor's office agreed to allow Muntz to plead guilty to
marijuana possession, a misdemeanor. McBain ordered Muntz and the
friend, who did not have a card when the police came to Muntz's
house, to pay less than $200. The judge did not place them on
probation, though both men have criminal records. Muntz said he has
spent nine years of his adult life in prison.

Muntz was pleased with the outcome but said the whole ordeal cost him
about $3,000 in marijuana.

Gaecke argues Muntz should not have been charged at all.

Muntz fought for his country, Gaecke said. He was exposed to Agent
Orange, a herbicide used during the Vietnam War.

"He gets relief from smoking a joint, and he had a few plants in his
house. Who cares?" Gaecke said.

Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mark Blumer said that while the drug is
legally available to some people, limits remain. Voters did not
completely legalize marijuana.

"If you are going to have a permit from the government to do
something that is otherwise prohibited," Blumer said, "you have to
obey the restrictions of the permit."

It does not best serve the public for legal authorities always to
take a "hard line," but violations cannot be ignored, Blumer said.

Law enforcement agencies tend to take a harsher stance; advocates
take a looser approach, and this causes conflict, Blumer said.

A plea agreement can be a way to balance the harshness of a law with
the facts of a case, he said.

The prosecutor's office has seen other cases of people growing far
more marijuana than their permits allow, Blumer said.

According to state law, a patient may have 2.5 ounces of usable
marijuana and, if he or she has not specified a caregiver, 12 plants
kept in an enclosed, locked facility.

As an example of one issue, the law does not take into consideration
the quality or potency of the marijuana, which can vary, McBain said.

Additionally, 12 plants can yield a lot more than 2.5 ounces, Gaecke said.

An Iowa native, Muntz moved to Michigan in November 2009 because of
the marijuana law.

He had gotten into trouble before for using the drug, which he
started smoking while he was in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968 as part of
the U.S. Army airborne infantry rangers.

Muntz said he volunteered to join the Army. He was eager about the
prospect, but people spit on when he came home, and the experience
ultimately turned him against his country. Drinking took over his
life, he said.

He worked on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and off Scotland in the
North Sea; as a truck driver; and for Rockwell Collins, an aviation
company. He married three times and is divorced with two sons and two
adopted daughters.

In 1996, as Muntz struggled with throat cancer a second time, he quit
drinking and smoking both marijuana and cigarettes.

"I figured I'd been doing everything wrong. I better start doing
right," he said, sitting in a recliner and eyeing one of his several cats.

About five years later, a doctor suggested he smoke marijuana, he said.

It relieves his sore neck and makes some of his medications
unnecessary. Medical personnel try to give him tranquilizers, he said.

"I don't need no tranquilizers; give me a little weed and I am fine."

Muntz said the drug soothes his stomach, which is made uneasy by
regular ingestion of morphine; helps with medication-induced
constipation; and stimulates his appetite. Muntz, whose diet is
mostly restricted to nutrition shakes and soft foods, said he hardly
eats. He looks thin, even frail.

He smokes about one-eighth ounce of marijuana a day.

"I have so many medical problems, I could go on and on and not cover
them," Muntz said. "Marijuana does something for every little thing."