MEDICAL POT USERS MAY BE IMMUNE TO PROSECUTION

Medical marijuana users can get some immunity from criminal prosecution,
the California Supreme Court has ruled.

People who use medical marijuana and are arrested on drug charges can use
their status in their defense before a trial starts, and if their cases do
go to trial, the burden to show they have valid prescriptions is reduced,
the court ruled Thursday. The ruling also applies to primary caregivers of
medical marijuana users.

"For marijuana patients, it means they will be treated exactly the same as
patients of physicians who receive a prescription," said Gerald Uelmen, who
represented a medical marijuana patient convicted of possessing and
cultivating the drug. "The law for many years in California has been if you
are charged with unlawful possession of prescription drugs, all you have to
do is raise a reasonable doubt that you have a valid prescription."

That is a reduction in the degree of proof previously needed.

State Attorney General Bill Lockyer, whose office prosecuted the case,
applauded the decision, saying "I believe that the court's decision strikes
an appropriate balance in helping to ensure that truly needy patients whose
doctors have recommended medical marijuana to alleviate pain and suffering
related to serious illnesses will have access to this medicine under
California law."

California was the nation's first state to approve medical marijuana in
1996 with the passage of Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act.
Nonetheless, the U.S. Supreme Court said last year that it's illegal to
sell or possess marijuana for medical use.

Santa Cruz medicinal marijuana activists say Thursday's decision shows the
state courts are behind the medicinal marijuana users and the buyer's clubs
and cooperatives that supply their medicinal pot.

Valerie Corral, founder of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana,
said the decision likely will lead to a legal showdown.

Corral said she fears the DEA will come after her club with criminal
charges for distribution, and she could face federal prosecution and a
five-year minimum prison sentence.

Santa Cruz County Sheriff Mark Tracy said the difference between the state
court support for medicinal marijuana and the federal court opposition is
somewhat confusing for law enforcement officers. But he said his office
works to interpret the law and enforce it fairly.

The state ruling stems from the arrest and conviction of Myron Mower, who
uses marijuana to alleviate complications from diabetes. Mower was arrested
in 1997 and convicted of possessing and cultivating marijuana.

The appeals court affirmed Mower's conviction and rejected his argument
that his medical marijuana user status gave him complete immunity from
prosecution.

In its ruling, the state Supreme Court stated that a section of California
law "reasonably must be interpreted to grant a defendant a limited immunity
from prosecution."

Sentinel reporter Jason Schultz contributed to this report.