JUDGE TOSSES OUT POT CASE

A Yolo County judge dismissed a case against a Esparto man last week after
his attorney successfully argued that the marijuana his client grew was for
medical use.

Fermin "Ed" Aldana, 61, was charged with cultivation of marijuana, a felony
punishable by up to three years in state prison, after Yolo County
sheriff's deputies discovered 50 marijuana plants growing near his
apartment last August.

Following a preliminary hearing last Friday, Judge Thomas Warriner
dismissed the case after hearing testimony from Aldana's doctor and a
marijuana expert who said the number of plants Aldana grew would yield just
about the amount of marijuana he used -- about a half-ounce a week -- to
curb pain from arthritis.

"It was probably the right call," Deputy District Attorney Rob Gorman, who
prosecuted the case, said of Warriner's ruling. "The ironic thing is, this
doesn't do anything for Mr. Aldana's next grow."

Gorman said the case highlights the confusion surrounding Prop. 215, a
ballot measure passed by California in 1996 that makes it legal to
prescribe marijuana for medical purposes. He said it provides no guidelines
because different people require varying amounts of marijuana to treat
their symptoms, and that it doesn't legalize marijuana cultivation.

"Simply growing the pot is against the law in any case," Gorman said.
"However, the people who have a legitimate recommendation for marijuana, I
think they have a misguided belief that they're immune to prosecution, and
they're not."

Aldana's attorney, Assistant Public Defender John Klopfenstein, said his
client has suffered from arthritis in his knees since 1990 but suffered
side-effects from the medication prescribed to him by a Woodland doctor. He
decided to try marijuana to ease his pain following the passage of Prop. 215.

After receiving a written recommendation from Dr. Eugene Schoenfeld of
Sausalito, Aldana obtained some marijuana from dispensaries in the Bay Area
but found that process "time-consuming and expensive," Klopfenstein said.
He decided to grow his own plants and went to the Yolo County district
attorney's office for information about how many plants he could legally grow.

"He was trying to get some guidelines so he wouldn't get arrested,"
Klopfenstein said, adding that Aldana left the office empty-handed. "He
went to great pains to try to conform to the law."

Gorman said while he's not aware of the circumstances surrounding Aldana's
query, people who ask about marijuana cultivation are advised that it is
illegal, but that they can raise a medical-use defense if they're arrested.

In Aldana's case, the charges arose after the son of Aldana's landlord
discovered the marijuana plants in various stages of growth on a patch of
land between Aldana's apartment complex and the landlord's home.
Klopfenstein said Aldana got permission from the landlord to grow the
plants, and there were signs posted saying the marijuana was for medical
purposes.

Nonetheless, the landlord's son contacted authorities, who -- according to
countywide protocol since Prop. 215 passed -- confiscated the plants and
referred the case to the district attorney's office. Aldana was not
arrested, but prosecutors sent him a notice to appear in court after filing
the cultivation charge in August.

Although Gorman alleged that 50 plants was too many for Aldana's personal
needs, marijuana expert Chris Conrad of El Cerrito testified that the
amount was indeed sufficient for his personal use. Schoenfeld also took the
stand, confirming he recommended the drug to Aldana following a review of
his past medical records.

Gorman said about 90 percent of people arrested for growing marijuana in
Yolo County claim it is for medical use. However, few are able to meet the
requirements for their defense, although two -- including Aldana -- have
been successful in the past six months, he added.