(Marijuananews note: Some
very seriously ill people may look healthy, but this case is truly outrageous. The stories
are similar but each has some information.)See
Oregon And
Washington State Medical Marijuana Laws Go Into Effect – 2 Articles
and
Washington
State Medical Association Betrays Its Patients And Shows Its Collective Incompetence
and
The University of Washington
Student Newspaper Reports on Medical Marijuana Bill --
The Governor is Bizarre
and
Blind Man
Subject To Uncontrollable Vomiting Convicted In California
Of Growing Marijuana For Other Medical Users
and
Lie About
Medical Marijuana,
But Admit That It Was Suppressed When It Was The Only Relief Available -- From the Mfiles
From The Everett Herald
letters@heraldnet.com
http://www.heraldnet.com/
January 2, 1999
The Associated Press
ARRESTS TEST ISSUE OF MEDICINAL POT
AIDS patient, mom busted despite law.
TACOMA A 61-year-old woman and her blind son who has AIDS were
arrested earlier this week after Tacoma police found three marijuana plants in their home.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington is investigating whether the arrests
thwarted the intent of a recently passed initiative that lets patients with certain
illnesses grow and keep a 60-day supply of marijuana.
"At this point, we don’t know what end is up. We are still wanting to know
the details," said Gerard Sheehan, ACLU legislative director. "But we’re
real interested in this, and we are very concerned if the facts turn up to be as we have
been told."
Police contend they acted properly because Kelly Grubbs, 35, and Tracie Morgan had no
medical documents showing they were exempt under the law, which also provides protection
for caregivers. Morgan is Grubbs’ designated caregiver.
In addition, it requires people claiming the right to possess small amounts of
marijuana have documented evidence they are exempt from prosecution. That would usually
include medical records proving the existance of terminal or
debilitating disease and a document showing that a physician had discussed
potential medical benefits with the patient.
Dr. Rob Killian, Grubbs’ personal physician, acknowledged
Thursday that although he had talked to Grubbs about the medical benefits of marijuana in
November, he never gave the Tacoma man any document confirming the discussion.
But, Killian said, it should have been obvious to police that Grubbs’ use of the
controlled substance was covered by the initiative.
"This is not a borderline case," he said. "This was a clearcut, obvious
mistake."
Grubbs spent Wednesday night in jail and was released Thursday.
"He spent two days in jail getting his head screwed up and
his body, too," Morgan said. "I’m really worried about him. I’m very
upset."
Her son was diagnosed with an advanced stage of AIDS in 1996, she said. Since then, he
has had a stroke, lost his eyesight and is semiparalyzed on one side of his. body.
But medications have caused a recent rebound, she said, and marijuana is playing a role
in improving Grubbs’ eyesight.
Federal law classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, meaning it is dangerous and has
no medical benefit. Drugs such as cocaine and morphine are Schedule II drugs, which can be
prescribed legally but are controlled because of the potential for abuse.
Marijuana proponents say the drug has significant medical benefits, including reduction
of nausea for cancer patients going through chemotherapy.
There is still no legal way to obtain marijuana, despite the new law, which took effect
Dec. 3. While it provides a legal defense to some seriously ill people and their
caregivers if they are charged with illegal possession of marijuana, it doesn’t
prohibit police from investigating patients’ use in the first place.
Morgan was bailed out of jail quickly but Grubbs remained because of unresolved charges
involving a 1987 case of possesion of less than a gram of marjuana and a 1991 trespassing
case.
Copyright: 1999 The Daily Herald Co.
January 2, 1999
From the Tacoma News Tribune
leted@p.tribnet.com
http://www.tribnet.com/
By Cheryl Reid
MEDICAL POT USE DOESN’T STOP ARRESTS
Mother, Aids-Afflicted Son Jailed After Police Find Plants
Despite a new state law that allows some medical use of marijuana, a 61-year-old Tacoma
woman and her blind son who has AIDS were arrested this week after Tacoma police found
three marijuana plants in their home. But it was unresolved past brushes with the law that
kept the man in jail until New Year’s Eve, his mother acknowledged Friday.
The current pot-growing charges against mother and son have been dropped pending
further investigation.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington is investigating whether the arrests
thwarted the intent of a recently passed initiative that lets patients with certain
illnesses grow and keep a 60-day supply of marijuana.
"At this point, we don’t know what end is up. We are still wanting to know
the details," said Gerard Sheehan, ACLU legislative director. "But we’re
really interested in this, and we are very concerned if the facts turn up to be as we have
been told."
The trouble started Tuesday afternoon as Tracie Morgan picked up her son, Kelly Grubbs,
35, from an appointment with a counselor.
Their outgoing telephone service had been disconnected and while they were gone, the
telephone company reconnected it.
That triggered an alarm on Grubbs’ lifeline alarm system. Operators couldn’t
reach Grubbs or a neighbor, so police were dispatched to check on him.
Among the usual furnishings of a seriously ill man - a portable
toilet chair, walker, scooter and Braille reading machine - the officers found a mature
marijuana plant and two smaller plants.
Morgan said she tried to explain her son’s medical situation to the officers,
including a sergeant at the scene, but they would have none of it.
"One phone call could have solved this whole thing," Dr. Rob Killian, a
leading proponent of the initiative, complained Friday. "No one called me."
Instead, mother and son were booked into the Pierce County Jail.
Morgan was able to come up with the $1,000 needed to get a bail bondsman to post her
bail. She was out by midnight.
But Grubbs had some unresolved legal problems: A 1987 conviction for possession of less
than a gram of marijuana and a 1991 trespassing charge that had turned into a burglary
conviction, Morgan said.
He was in violation of his terms of release and therefore wasn’t eligible for
bail, Morgan said.
Killian said Grubbs’ arrest is the kind of thing voters wanted to abolish when
they passed the medical marijuana initiative.
"This was not a borderline case," Killian said. "This man has AIDS.
... I don’t know about his past; I know about him the past few months."
Police contend they acted properly because Grubbs and Morgan had no medical documents
showing they were authorized to grow marijuana for personal medical use.
Such documents would usually include medical records proving the existence of terminal
or debilitating disease and a document showing a physician had discussed the potential
medical benefits with the patient.
But Killian said doctors are advised to put that documentation in their patients’
files, not distribute it to patients. The fear is that doctors could be prosecuted for
prescribing marijuana, which is illegal to possess or grow under federal law.
Killian said he had talked to Grubbs about the medical benefits of marijuana in
November, and a note documenting that discussion is in Grubbs’ medical file.
Grubbs was released Thursday, based on his terminal illness.
"He spent two days in jail getting his head screwed up and his body, too,"
Morgan said, complaining that jail food wasn’t plentiful or nutritious enough for an
AIDS patient.
Grubbs was diagnosed with advanced AIDS in 1996, she said. Since then, he has had a
stroke, lost his eyesight and is semi-paralyzed on one side of his body.
But medications have caused a recent rebound, she said, and marijuana is playing a role
in improving Grubbs’ eyesight.
Marijuana proponents say the drug has significant medical benefits, including reduction
of nausea for cancer patients going through chemotherapy.
There is still no legal way to obtain marijuana, despite the new law, which took effect
Dec. 3. While it provides a legal defense to some seriously ill people and their
caregivers if they are charged with illegal possession of marijuana, it doesn’t
prohibit police from investigating patients’ use in the first place.
Morgan acknowledged she and her son used marijuana long before
the initiative passed.
Morgan said she was charged with manufacture and sale of marijuana a few years ago, but
that she mostly provided it to sick people.
Morgan said she has used pot for more than half of her 61 years.
Killian said marijuana helps many AIDS patients maintain their appetites to keep them
from wasting away.
Although Morgan says she is angry about the treatment of her son, she sees it and his
illness as part of a larger plan.
"Sometimes God just tests you real hard, you know."
Copyright: 1999 The News Tribune
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