Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
BOULDER, Colo. — A Louisville man on trial for allegedly possessing excessive amounts of medicinal marijuana broke down in court Wednesday as he testified about the pain he has endured since being hit by a snowboarder on the slopes of Eldora Mountain Resort nearly five years ago.
Jason Lauve fought back tears as he described how he went from being an avid outdoorsman and an expert telemark skier — who taught disabled children how to ski — to being a person in chronic pain who takes a laundry list of medications and uses a wheelchair to get around much of the time.
He said smoking and ingesting marijuana — with a state-issued medical marijuana license — has given him pain relief that no other pharmaceutical drug or medical treatment has been able to provide.
Lauve, 38, faces a felony marijuana possession charge — punishable by up to three years in prison — after police found more than 30 plants and other forms of the drug in his home last summer.
The jury will hear closing arguments in the three-day trial Thursday morning.
Boulder County District Judge Maria Berkenkotter told the eight men and four women on the jury Wednesday that they could find Lauve guilty of a felony possession charge of more than 8 ounces of marijuana, or one of two lesser counts — possession of 1 to 8 ounces or possession of less than an ounce.
He also faces a charge of possessing marijuana concentrate.
Lauve’s testimony dominated the day, as he spoke about being forced to abandon his days of 100-mile bicycle rides for a cane and wheelchair following the December 2004 ski collision.
“For the first two years, I don’t think I did anything,” Lauve said. “It took me two years to finally learn how to start over. I still suffer pain from that accident.”
He told the jury his health was further compromised in a 2007 auto accident, in which he was rear-ended by a woman who was texting on her phone.
During breaks in the trial, Lauve would lie down on a couch in the hallway outside the courtroom.
Combing through a bag of medications that have been prescribed to him, Lauve testified that he takes Vicodin and Relafen, among other painkillers. But he said they all have side effects that require him to take additional medication.
Lauve told the jury that after discussing the possible benefits of marijuana with his doctor, he was approved for a medical marijuana card and has renewed his license every year.
“I took a considerable amount of time to learn what worked for me,” he said. “I didn’t just jump in and smoke a garbage can of marijuana.”
He said marijuana has helped him function again and allowed him to wean himself off of a couple of the painkillers he was taking, such as morphine and Oxycodone.
“I didn’t want a role of growing marijuana in my life,” he testified. “It was a necessity. It allowed me to be participating in society, to have a life.”
Lauve testified that he sprinkles the potent part of the marijuana bud into his tuna fish or oatmeal or mixes it into his butter before eating it, allowing him to get through the work day without excessive discomfort. He also typically smokes pot three times a day, Lauve said.
Prosecutors allege that the 34 ounces — or more than 2 pounds — of pot seized at Lauve’s house in June 2008 were a clear violation of the constitutional amendment Colorado voters passed decriminalizing medical marijuana. The law limits a patient to 2 ounces of usable marijuana and six plants.
But Lauve argues that the amendment also includes a provision that protects a patient or caregiver who claims to need more than the state-mandated maximum to address a debilitating condition.
He said he simply grew what he needed to ease his pain and never used the drug to get high. He said the 10 to 12 Ziploc bags of marijuana seized by police contained a typical amount of the drug that he would have in his possession at any given time.
He is not an accomplished marijuana grower, Lauve testified, and many of his plants died at his house. He said he kept much of the unusable parts of the plants — the stems, seeds and leaves — in his garage because he was afraid that putting them on the curb for trash collection would make them available to children or criminals.
“Did you ever think in June of 2008 that you had more than what was medically necessary?” asked his lawyer, Rob Corry.
“No,” the defendant replied.
“Did you ever intend to break the law?” Corry asked.
“I had no intent to do that — my main intent was to find an acceptable quality of life for myself,” Lauve said. “From what I understood, I was doing the right thing.”
Earlier Wednesday, Lauve watched as the evidence collected against him was weighed for the jury.
Dana May, a medical marijuana grower who also suffers from chronic pain, testified that the pot recovered from Lauve’s home was low-grade “schwag” full of stems and leaves.
“I smell some very dry, what I consider to be low-grade cannabis with a lot of stems,” May said after placing his face in the opening of a pot-filled Ziploc bag. “This is so low-grade and so low-count, I would have no use for it.”
After the defense rested, Lauve said he felt good about his testimony because “it was coming from my heart.”
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: DailyCamera.com
Author: John Aguilar
Copyright: 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co.
Contact: Contact John Aguilar : : News : Boulder Daily Camera
Website: Defendant: Pot lets me ?have a life? : Louisville : Boulder Daily Camera
Jason Lauve fought back tears as he described how he went from being an avid outdoorsman and an expert telemark skier — who taught disabled children how to ski — to being a person in chronic pain who takes a laundry list of medications and uses a wheelchair to get around much of the time.
He said smoking and ingesting marijuana — with a state-issued medical marijuana license — has given him pain relief that no other pharmaceutical drug or medical treatment has been able to provide.
Lauve, 38, faces a felony marijuana possession charge — punishable by up to three years in prison — after police found more than 30 plants and other forms of the drug in his home last summer.
The jury will hear closing arguments in the three-day trial Thursday morning.
Boulder County District Judge Maria Berkenkotter told the eight men and four women on the jury Wednesday that they could find Lauve guilty of a felony possession charge of more than 8 ounces of marijuana, or one of two lesser counts — possession of 1 to 8 ounces or possession of less than an ounce.
He also faces a charge of possessing marijuana concentrate.
Lauve’s testimony dominated the day, as he spoke about being forced to abandon his days of 100-mile bicycle rides for a cane and wheelchair following the December 2004 ski collision.
“For the first two years, I don’t think I did anything,” Lauve said. “It took me two years to finally learn how to start over. I still suffer pain from that accident.”
He told the jury his health was further compromised in a 2007 auto accident, in which he was rear-ended by a woman who was texting on her phone.
During breaks in the trial, Lauve would lie down on a couch in the hallway outside the courtroom.
Combing through a bag of medications that have been prescribed to him, Lauve testified that he takes Vicodin and Relafen, among other painkillers. But he said they all have side effects that require him to take additional medication.
Lauve told the jury that after discussing the possible benefits of marijuana with his doctor, he was approved for a medical marijuana card and has renewed his license every year.
“I took a considerable amount of time to learn what worked for me,” he said. “I didn’t just jump in and smoke a garbage can of marijuana.”
He said marijuana has helped him function again and allowed him to wean himself off of a couple of the painkillers he was taking, such as morphine and Oxycodone.
“I didn’t want a role of growing marijuana in my life,” he testified. “It was a necessity. It allowed me to be participating in society, to have a life.”
Lauve testified that he sprinkles the potent part of the marijuana bud into his tuna fish or oatmeal or mixes it into his butter before eating it, allowing him to get through the work day without excessive discomfort. He also typically smokes pot three times a day, Lauve said.
Prosecutors allege that the 34 ounces — or more than 2 pounds — of pot seized at Lauve’s house in June 2008 were a clear violation of the constitutional amendment Colorado voters passed decriminalizing medical marijuana. The law limits a patient to 2 ounces of usable marijuana and six plants.
But Lauve argues that the amendment also includes a provision that protects a patient or caregiver who claims to need more than the state-mandated maximum to address a debilitating condition.
He said he simply grew what he needed to ease his pain and never used the drug to get high. He said the 10 to 12 Ziploc bags of marijuana seized by police contained a typical amount of the drug that he would have in his possession at any given time.
He is not an accomplished marijuana grower, Lauve testified, and many of his plants died at his house. He said he kept much of the unusable parts of the plants — the stems, seeds and leaves — in his garage because he was afraid that putting them on the curb for trash collection would make them available to children or criminals.
“Did you ever think in June of 2008 that you had more than what was medically necessary?” asked his lawyer, Rob Corry.
“No,” the defendant replied.
“Did you ever intend to break the law?” Corry asked.
“I had no intent to do that — my main intent was to find an acceptable quality of life for myself,” Lauve said. “From what I understood, I was doing the right thing.”
Earlier Wednesday, Lauve watched as the evidence collected against him was weighed for the jury.
Dana May, a medical marijuana grower who also suffers from chronic pain, testified that the pot recovered from Lauve’s home was low-grade “schwag” full of stems and leaves.
“I smell some very dry, what I consider to be low-grade cannabis with a lot of stems,” May said after placing his face in the opening of a pot-filled Ziploc bag. “This is so low-grade and so low-count, I would have no use for it.”
After the defense rested, Lauve said he felt good about his testimony because “it was coming from my heart.”
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: DailyCamera.com
Author: John Aguilar
Copyright: 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co.
Contact: Contact John Aguilar : : News : Boulder Daily Camera
Website: Defendant: Pot lets me ?have a life? : Louisville : Boulder Daily Camera
