DO-IT-YOURSELF MEDICINAL POT

Ailing Man Could Get 12-Year Term in Possession Case

BRIGHTON - Medical-marijuana advocates rallied Monday for a Thornton
man who has AIDS and Hepatitis B but didn't register with the state
to grow the pot he says keeps him alive.

Jack Branson, 39, faces up to 12 years in prison, charged with
cultivating and possessing marijuana with intent to distribute.

Before opening statements in his trial at the Adams County Justice
Center, Branson said that without marijuana, "I would have gone the
way of a lot of my friends . . . friends who've died.

"They were in so much pain, they decided to go out with a bang. They
turned to alcohol."

Branson, who said he also has a slipped disc and a neurological
condition, said he was told a decade ago that he had about nine
months to live.

He's defied the odds, and he credits marijuana. It lessens his pain
and nausea, allowing him to handle the 11 pills he has to take each
day, he said.

Colorado is one of 14 states that allows marijuana to be used as
medicine under tightly regulated conditions.

Patients must get a doctor's recommendation and register with the
state.

Then, they can grow up to six plants or more "if necessary," as the
law states.

"One doctor told me that either I get medical marijuana or I'm going
to die," Branson said. "I took it upon myself to get it."

Branson said he was unable to get a doctor's recommendation, so he
never registered.

Police say they found 14 plants in his backyard - each about 7 feet
high - and a few more drying in a backyard shed.

This is believed to be only the second medical marijuana case in
Colorado to go before a jury.

During jury selection, Branson's attorney, Rob Corry, asked potential
panelists whether they would get medical marijuana for loved ones who
said they needed it.

All but one of them said they would without hesitation, although most
said that they could decide the case on its legal merits.

In opening arguments, Deputy District Attorney Trevor Moritzky told
the jury that it doesn't matter if Branson was suffering. What
matters is whether he broke the law.

The first witness, Thornton police officer Mike Couture, said a
passer-by along Thornton Parkway, glancing into the backyard in
October 2004, alerted police to the marijuana.

He said Branson first told him the marijuana just started growing
naturally. But after police noted water lines to the plants, he
admitted he was growing it for his own use.

Under cross-examination, Couture agreed with Corry that there were
other plants in the backyard, such as pumpkins and squash and that
Branson was forthcoming and didn't act like a guilty person.

Former Thornton police officer Tonya Hayes said she took photos of
what was apparently marijuana in baggies, in large plastic bags in
the garage and in a medicine cabinet. She also said Branson had a
copy of High Times magazine and a weighing scale.

The trial is expected to last three more days.

[sidebar]

MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN COLORADO

When approved: November 2000 in a statewide vote

The process:

Patient must get a doctor's recommendation that marijuana might help
alleviate a condition or the pain that goes with it.

Patient must then apply to a confidential statewide registry - $110
fee.

If approved, patient gets a registry card allowing him or her to
legally use marijuana for medicinal purposes.

If patient has a caregiver, that caregiver can assist.

Limit: Six plants, unless more are necessary.

1,458 currently on the registry

344 doctors have referred at least one patient

8 revocations of ID cards since 2001

Conditions that could qualify:

Cancer

Glaucoma

HIV-positive status

General weakness and debilitation from a chronic disease

Severe pain

Severe nausea

Seizures, including those that are characteristic of
epilepsy

Persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple
sclerosisSource: Colorado Department Of Public Health And Environment