CANCER PATIENT CHARGED WITH POT USE

Ohio Man Says He Couldn't Eat Without Smoking Marijuana

CINCINNATI -- Carter Singleton says he was weak and lost 80 pounds in five
months from cancer; then he followed a friend's advice to smoke marijuana,
which helped him get back his appetite and gain weight.

Now, Singleton is awaiting trial on a felony charge of growing marijuana --
which he admits he grew in his basement for personal use. If convicted, the
65-year-old could go to prison for one to five years or be placed on probation.

"Carter is not the type of person to intentionally violate the law, but he
was desperate," his lawyer, Larry Keller, said Thursday.

Singleton has a clean record except for two speeding tickets, Keller said.
The suburban Mount Healthy man is free on bond pending a Nov. 17 pretrial
hearing, when a date could be set for his trial in Hamilton County Common
Pleas Court. Singleton grew up in Kentucky's Bluegrass region, the son of
divorced parents. He dropped out of school in the fourth grade.

Nine states have laws legalizing marijuana for people with physician
recommendations or prescriptions: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado,
Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. And 35 states have passed
legislation recognizing the drug's medicinal value. But federal law bans
the use of marijuana under any circumstances.

It is illegal to grow or use the drug in Ohio.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Michael Allen said his office had no choice but
to prosecute Singleton.

"What he did is a violation of the law," Allen said. "However, if he pleads
guilty or goes to trial, his reason for growing marijuana is something the
judge can take into consideration."

Two weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for state laws
allowing ill patients to smoke marijuana if a doctor recommends it.

The 6-foot-tall Singleton said he was diagnosed in 2001 with non-Hodgkin's
malignant lymphoma. He said he weighed 230 pounds before the cancer ravaged
his body.

"I was starving to death," he said. "I did what I had to do."

Singleton said he took his friend's advice but was afraid to ask his doctor
about using marijuana.

"I kept losing weight," Singleton said. "I went from a 38 pant to a 30
pant. I went from an extra-large shirt to a large. My butt and arms were
all skin. I couldn't eat."

He said he smoked marijuana by himself for the first time on Easter Sunday
of 2002. Then he ate ham, turkey, dressing, cherry pie, pumpkin pie and
strawberry shortcake.

"I ate till my belly about busted," he said.

A county grand jury indicted Singleton this month. A neighbor who saw a
flickering light in Singleton's basement and feared it might be a fire
called firefighters, who said they went into the house and found the
marijuana plants.

Singleton and his lawyer won't say whether he still smokes marijuana.