Pot Law on Hold

JUDGE TEMPORARILY HALTS MEDICAL MARIJUANA LIMIT

For now, David Damien LaGoy can get his marijuana - thanks in large
part to a judge's ruling Tuesday.

LaGoy sued the state because the registered medical marijuana provider
he wanted to use, Daniel Pope, had reached the state's five-patient
maximum and couldn't help him.

The lawsuit claimed the five-patient rule was unfair. Denver District
Judge Larry Naves agreed, calling the policy arbitrary. Naves granted
an injunction that temporarily allows registered providers to take on
as many patients as they like.

"There is no reason this plaintiff should suffer," Naves
said.

During the hearing, LaGoy sat quietly - his gaunt, 105-pound frame
shivering from being in the air-conditioned courtroom. At one point,
Pope draped his blazer over his shoulders to help keep the 47-year-old
warm.

LaGoy said during a court recess that he hadn't had any marijuana
since last week and that it had been a battle to keep the medications
he takes for AIDS and Hepatitis C down. The marijuana, he said, eases
the nausea. He testified that if he continues to be erratic about
taking the battery of pills, he likely would die.

Naves' ruling, he said, gave him hope. "It felt good," he said. "I
don't gamble, but it's like winning the lottery."

Lawyers for the Colorado attorney general's office argued there were
many medical marijuana providers registered with the state and that
LaGoy had options. State Registrar Ron Hyman testified that of the 636
caregivers registered with the state, 548 were single-patient
providers - meaning each one could take on four more patients under
the state statute.

But LaGoy said providers were hard to find and that he had developed a
trusting relationship with Pope.

"It's not like they're listed in the Yellow Pages," LaGoy
said.

In his ruling for the temporary injunction, the judge also criticized
the way the Colorado Department of Health and Environment came up with
the five-patient policy.

Naves accused the agency of not actively involving the public in the
process and also not seeking professional medical input on the matter.
The department came up with the five-patient maximum after voters
approved the medical marijuana amendment in 2000.

Mark Salley, spokesman for the department, said his agency was
prepared to follow through with the judge's ruling.

"We'll be looking at how best to move forward from here," Salley said.
"If people think a limit is appropriate, a way to establish a limit is
to involve the state board of health with public input."

No date has been set for LaGoy's lawsuit to be tried on its merits,
although attorneys for LaGoy believe it could happen in the fall.
Based on LaGoy's health, Naves said he was inclined to hurry things
along.