cannabisnews.com: Man To Defend Marijuana Use





Man To Defend Marijuana Use
Posted by CN Staff on May 16, 2006 at 07:26:34 PT
By Felix Doligosa Jr., Rocky Mountain News 
Source: Rocky Mountain News 
Colorado -- An HIV-positive man who smokes marijuana to fight nausea triggered by antiviral drugs can defend his pot use to a jury, a judge ruled Monday. David La Goy, 46, is the second person to challenge a pot possession ticket issued by Denver police since city voters passed an initiative in November to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults.
In January, the city dismissed the first case after the prosecutor said police didn't have enough probable cause to justify searching the defendant's car, where the pot was found. La Goy, whose trial is scheduled for September, was ticketed for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia on March 3. Prosecutors opposed his request for a jury trial, saying La Goy wasn't in dire need of marijuana and hasn't tried medical alternatives to pot. Tiffanie Bleau, the lead prosecutor, said La Goy hasn't talked to the the Colorado AIDS Project to obtain a legal medical marijuana prescription. She also said that over the past eight years La Goy hasn't taken new medicines available to fight nauseas. "I don't think all viable options have been pursued," she said. "He has to make at least some effort." La Goy said he smokes pot to battle the nausea he gets from taking 15 pills every day to control his infection. La Goy also has hepatitis C and now weighs 103 pounds. When he gets nauseous, La Goy said, he gets a watery mouth, hot and cold flashes, and sweats a lot. At one time he drank ginger ale and ate crackers to deal with the queasiness but eventually turned to pot, which is more effective. "You wish you could take one pill that could knock you out completely," La Goy said. "When you're unconscious, you're not sick." La Goy's attorney, Sean McAllister, said his client can't afford a doctor to prescribe medical marijuana for him. La Goy receives $643 a month in disability payments and uses more than half of it for rent, he said. "He throws up the drugs and lays in bed and doesn't do anything," McAllister said. "Marijuana is the only effective medicine." Bob Melamede, a professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs who teaches a medical marijuana class, said people with HIV prefer to smoke pot because it's less potent than antiviral drugs. "For many people, it really is life-saving," he said. Note: HIV sufferer who battles nausea taking case to jury.Source: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)Author:  Felix Doligosa Jr., Rocky Mountain News Published: May 16, 2006Copyright: 2006, Denver Publishing Co.Contact: letters rockymountainnews.comWebsite: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/Related Articles:Just Say No - Denver Posthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21705.shtmlMan Contests Pot Busthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21689.shtml
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Comment #8 posted by b4daylight on May 17, 2006 at 13:02:43 PT
how far
another example of narrow mindness
you must die a horrible death damm it. I say give him what works. 
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Comment #7 posted by OverwhelmSam on May 17, 2006 at 07:31:39 PT
After The Jury Finds Him Not Guilty
... in his impending criminal trial, he should sue the city, DA's office and law enforcement. The prosecutor is obviously afraid of a jury trial, intent upon maintaining the status quo of their defunct cannabis prohibition laws. I say it's time to start taking these guys to the mat and pin them down until they cry uncle.
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Comment #6 posted by mayan on May 16, 2006 at 17:12:18 PT
Heartless
Prosecutors opposed his request for a jury trial, saying La Goy wasn't in dire need of marijuana and hasn't tried medical alternatives to pot.That's because there isn't a jury in the world that would convict this dying man! Only the ruthless,heartless prohibitionists would persecute the dying. They are lower than scum.Thank God the judge has a heart.
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Comment #5 posted by runruffswife on May 16, 2006 at 14:50:52 PT
runruff
We love you too.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on May 16, 2006 at 09:54:25 PT
Linda
Thank you for telling us. You and Jerry are so very brave. We love you.
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Comment #3 posted by runruffswife on May 16, 2006 at 09:36:39 PT
runruff
Hi Everyone,
Jerry just called and I read to him the comments you all posted in response to my story about yoga in the prison system. He was so very touched by your love and support. He feels it. He thanks you for keeping him in a loving space. And I thank you also.
Love Love Love,
Linda
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on May 16, 2006 at 08:10:01 PT
Cannabis is Medicine
Excerpt: Cesamet, a synthetic cannabinoid similar to the active ingredient found in naturally occurring Cannabis sativa L (marijuana; delta-9-THC), http://www.docguide.com/news/content.nsf/news/852571020057CCF685257170004E0403
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on May 16, 2006 at 07:49:28 PT
Off Topic: Border Problem
I didn't watch Bush on tv last night but I did listen. I think if I was president how would I help fix the border problem. I agree with the SFC article that we need to make the ones who hire illegals responsible. We shouldn't go after the poor immigrants but those who use them like slave labor. To me it is a spirit of slavery that still must not be broken from the slave days. We had a business and we had an accountant and we followed the rules of employment. They can require companies to drug test employees so why can't they require an employer to make sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that a person they want to hire is here legally? To me Bush doesn't want slave labor to stop. He might offend the people who employ poor people. They aren't black anymore but Mexican.****Excerpt from SFC: The whole focus on the border shows that Bush is not serious about curbing illegal immigration. Washington already has increased the ranks of the Border Patrol, which is good. Meanwhile, as many as one third of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in America are visa violators. They didn't sneak over the border. Want to find them? Want to discourage more people from coming to America so they can work here illegally? SQUEEZE EMPLOYERS. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/05/16/EDGDOIJK9H1.DTL
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