TILLER MAN CHARGED IN MEDICAL MARIJUANA CASE

A Tiller man claiming to have grown marijuana in a humanitarian effort
approached a Douglas County judge this week hoping his case would be heard
by a jury or dismissed.

He's still waiting.

A controversial medical marijuana advocate and doctor appeared in Douglas
County Circuit Court this week to defend his patient, 39-year-old Richard
Freeman of Tiller.

Freeman was arrested during a drug bust in Tiller last October. He said
although he was not a registered user of medical marijuana at the time, he
was entitled to grow the plants for several card-carrying medical marijuana
users who were too ill to harvest it themselves.

He is charged with possession, manufacture and delivery of a controlled
substance. Two women, who were also living on the property at the time,
were registered to grow by the state and were not charged for possessing
marijuana.

Freeman doesn't claim all the plants found during the bust, but admits to
growing 60 clones, or marijuana starters, weighing less than an ounce --
enough for two people. He said he was growing the plants at the request of
pro-medical marijuana organization Douglas County Voter Power.

Defense attorney Ken Madison questioned osteopath Philip Leveque of Molalla
about his relationship with his client.

Leveque holds the distinction of being the Oregon physician who endorsed
the largest number of patients in the state registered to use the drug
since the Medical Marijuana Act passed in 1998. He was suspended last year
based on allegations he had not met all of his patients in person prior to
authorizing their use of the drug.

"It's somewhere between ludicrous and bizarre," Leveque said of the
controversy he's drawn in the past year. "If I were doing anything wrong,
the AMA (American Medical Association) would have revoked my license."

There are between 3,500 and 4,000 people with medical marijuana cards in
the state now, Leveque said. In addition to the 2,500 Leveque has already
helped enroll, he says he has a waiting list of 1,500 people hoping to
become certified.

Physicians do not prescribe marijuana, but sign a statement confirming
eligibility to participate in the state's program. Once certified, patients
can possess and grow medicinal marijuana and are exempt from prosecution
under state and local laws.

According to the law, patients or their proxies can grow up to seven
marijuana plants, three of which may be mature, and have three ounces of
dried marijuana in their garden if issued a permit by the Oregon Health
Division.

Only one ounce can be in a patient's possession away from the garden. It
must be kept out of public view.

Freeman claimed he was in the process of obtaining a card when the bust
went down. He said he had the forms filled out.

"The DINT (Douglas Interagency Narcotics Team) Team threw them on the floor
and said, 'It didn't matter,'" Freeman recalled.

Once he was released, Freeman actively sought to become certified for
personal use and to grow for others. He met with a Roseburg doctor who
documented that he suffers from chronic pain as a result of a 14-foot fall
he took from a roof in Santa Cruz, Calif., in 1994.

He collected his medical records -- which included information about a
steel plate in his left leg, a bad back and a jaw that was twice broken by
his father when he was 9 years old=CA-- and brought them to Leveque.

The doctor decided "this is a rather serious injury and he (Freeman) would
probably be in chronic pain for the rest of his life."

On Leveque's recommendation, Freeman was issued a medical marijuana card
months after the incident in Tiller.

Prosecuting attorney Jeff Sweet questioned whether Leveque had conducted a
thorough examination of Freeman before authorizing permission to possess 14
plants, and if he could be considered an "attending physician" as required
by state law if he saw him only once.

Sweet asked, "If he had bronchitis, would he come to you?"

Leveque said he deals only with a patient's need for medical marijuana,
wasn't sure where his file on Freeman was, nor did he know how many times
he'd examined him. He maintained, however, that Freeman's need for the drug
was apparent and stood by his decision to help him.

Freeman had previously been prescribed Percodan, Vicodin, Oxycodone and
morphine, drugs Leveque said are far more severe than marijuana, which he
touted caused only sleepiness or the "munchies."

Freeman, who cuts wood and clears brush at neighbors' homes in order to
make a living, limped as he made his way to the stand.

He maintained what he was doing for Voter Power was legal, and the fact he
hadn't yet received his card was irrelevant because his intent was to do so.

He told the court, "Marijuana has given me back my life."

Judge Robert Millikan said he would accept written closing arguments on
Nov. 8, and take the request for dismissal or a jury trial under advisement.