FLORIDA MAN TELLS GEORGIA JUDGE MEDICAL POT TOO EXPENSIVE

DUBLIN, Ga. - A Florida man charged with marijuana possession claims he
bought the drug because the prescription form of the drug he uses for pain
is too expensive.

Joseph Walbroehl of Key West is asking a Superior Court judge here to throw
out the charge as unconstitutional. Authorities say they found a 1
1/2-pound bag of marijuana in Walbroehl's car after stopping him for speeding.

Doctors prescribed Marinol, a medicinal form of marijuana, to Walbroehl.
But the prescription costs $800 per month, compared with just $100 a month
for the recreational variety, said his attorney, Joe Thalgott.

"It's not for social purposes," Thalgott said of Walbroehl's drug use.
"It's for quality-of-life purposes."

Walbroehl, 42, suffers severe pain as a result of four accidents, including
a crushed sternum from when a car fell on him, his attorney said. He has
been prescribed 17 other drugs, Walbroehl said.

"I don't know if I will make this motion, but he's asked me that if he
loses on final appeal, he wants the court to impose the death penalty,"
Thalgott told the judge.

Prosecutor Brock Buchanan declined comment.

Superior Court Judge Gibbs Flanders agreed Tuesday to hold a hearing on the
matter, but didn't immediately set a date.