(WA) Medical Pot User's Conviction Reversed - AP

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Medical Pot User's Conviction Reversed

The Associated Press
Wednesday, May 2, 2007; 10:45 AM

SPOKANE, Wash. -- The conviction of a motel owner who said
he grew marijuana to treat his glaucoma has been reversed on
medical grounds.

The decision may be the first successful "affirmative defense"
of a medical marijuana case in Washington, one of 11 states
that allow its use with a doctor's recommendation, the man's
lawyer, Frank L. Cikutovich, said.

Loren Hanson, 64, met the definition of a "qualifying patient"
under the state Medical Marijuana Act, even though he did
not have a prescription at the time his motel was raided,
the state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

Hanson is in poor health and allergic to other medication that
could relieve the eye pressure from glaucoma, which can
causes blindness, Cikutovich told The Spokesman-Review.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/02/AR2007050200855.html