Truth Seeker
New Member
Nearly three years to the day after a medical marijuana raid that resulted in a conviction against a Lake Orion woman, the case was back in court Friday for an evidentiary hearing.
Agro's conviction for delivery or manufacture of marijuana was sent back to Oakland County Circuit Judge Wendy Potts' courtroom by the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Prosecutors conceded that the trial court's conclusion was valid at the time of the July 2011 conviction but is contrary to a 2012 Supreme Court ruling on the law. Agro asked for a new trial but the Court of Appeals agreed with the prosecution, which argued that a pretrial hearing should be continued.
Agro, who was not allowed to tell the jury during trial that she had a medical marijuana card, took the stand Friday to testify during the continuation of the pretrial hearing.
Agro's husband, Sal, "was in constant pain, all the time," she said during Friday's testimony.
"He was in pain for over two years before we decided to become medical marijuana patients."
Sal Agro died of a heart attack shortly after hip surgery, about a week after the raids on his Lake Orion home and his sons' dispensary, Clinical Relief in Ferndale.
"Sometimes (Sal) couldn't walk because he had gout," Agro said.
"He was debilitated. I drove most of the time. He didn't even drive."
Investigators said they found 19 marijuana plants, a brownie, topical oil and a marijuana cigarette inside the Agro home. Agro was not sure where the cigarette came from.
"Neither of us smoked, but he ingested (marijuana)," she said.
"He ate brownies and cookies and that would enable him to sleep five or six hours at nighttime."
Agro would rub the oil on her husband's shoulders to relieve pain. She'd also rub her hands on her knees after applying to oil to Sal Agro's shoulders.
Citing pain in her left knee that made it difficult to walk, Agro said she used a cane. She and her husband both had medical marijuana cards and had submitted paperwork to be their own caregivers.
"Before (investigators) ripped (the marijuana plants) up, I don't know, I guess we were doing all right before they ripped them out," Agro said.
Agro said she used marijuana because other medications damaged her body.
"Tylenol was the only thing I was really able to take without doing damage to my kidneys and my stomach," she said, adding that she and her son researched plants that had a chemical that relieved pain but did not produce a high.
The Agros would eat marijuana cookies or brownies at night in order to sleep without pain.
When asked by defense attorney Mary Chartier if her health was better because of medical marijuana, Agro said "It is." She said her husband's life was "absolutely" made better by the substance.
Agro said she never used marijuana for a recreational purpose.
The hearing will continue at 10 a.m. Sept. 13 with testimony from the doctor who certified Agro for a medical marijuana card.
Following Friday's court session, Chartier said she could not say much about the proceedings but did share an opinion about Agro's ongoing court battle.
"The fact that she's still being prosecuted three years later is heartbreaking to me," Chartier said.
Rick Thompson, editor of The Compassion Chronicles, said the hearing Friday was "very illustrative of the prosecution's lack of evidence. I have a hard time believing that an opinion as important as the Kiel decision has not been reviewed by any judge handling medical marijuana cases in Michigan. In the Kiel case it dictates that prong one and prong three of a Section 8 defense are established by the mere presence of the cards themselves. Having the cards establishes certain facts about the patient's medical conditions and that issue was ignored today in court."
FYI: For more medical marijuana coverage, read Sunday's Oakland Press, which will feature a story about the three-year anniversary of the county's first medical marijuana raids.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: theoaklandpress.com
Author: Dave Phillips and Carol Hopkins
Contact: - theoaklandpress.com
Website: Lake Orion woman's medical marijuana case returns to court after Court of Appeals ruling WITH VIDEO - theoaklandpress.com
Agro's conviction for delivery or manufacture of marijuana was sent back to Oakland County Circuit Judge Wendy Potts' courtroom by the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Prosecutors conceded that the trial court's conclusion was valid at the time of the July 2011 conviction but is contrary to a 2012 Supreme Court ruling on the law. Agro asked for a new trial but the Court of Appeals agreed with the prosecution, which argued that a pretrial hearing should be continued.
Agro, who was not allowed to tell the jury during trial that she had a medical marijuana card, took the stand Friday to testify during the continuation of the pretrial hearing.
Agro's husband, Sal, "was in constant pain, all the time," she said during Friday's testimony.
"He was in pain for over two years before we decided to become medical marijuana patients."
Sal Agro died of a heart attack shortly after hip surgery, about a week after the raids on his Lake Orion home and his sons' dispensary, Clinical Relief in Ferndale.
"Sometimes (Sal) couldn't walk because he had gout," Agro said.
"He was debilitated. I drove most of the time. He didn't even drive."
Investigators said they found 19 marijuana plants, a brownie, topical oil and a marijuana cigarette inside the Agro home. Agro was not sure where the cigarette came from.
"Neither of us smoked, but he ingested (marijuana)," she said.
"He ate brownies and cookies and that would enable him to sleep five or six hours at nighttime."
Agro would rub the oil on her husband's shoulders to relieve pain. She'd also rub her hands on her knees after applying to oil to Sal Agro's shoulders.
Citing pain in her left knee that made it difficult to walk, Agro said she used a cane. She and her husband both had medical marijuana cards and had submitted paperwork to be their own caregivers.
"Before (investigators) ripped (the marijuana plants) up, I don't know, I guess we were doing all right before they ripped them out," Agro said.
Agro said she used marijuana because other medications damaged her body.
"Tylenol was the only thing I was really able to take without doing damage to my kidneys and my stomach," she said, adding that she and her son researched plants that had a chemical that relieved pain but did not produce a high.
The Agros would eat marijuana cookies or brownies at night in order to sleep without pain.
When asked by defense attorney Mary Chartier if her health was better because of medical marijuana, Agro said "It is." She said her husband's life was "absolutely" made better by the substance.
Agro said she never used marijuana for a recreational purpose.
The hearing will continue at 10 a.m. Sept. 13 with testimony from the doctor who certified Agro for a medical marijuana card.
Following Friday's court session, Chartier said she could not say much about the proceedings but did share an opinion about Agro's ongoing court battle.
"The fact that she's still being prosecuted three years later is heartbreaking to me," Chartier said.
Rick Thompson, editor of The Compassion Chronicles, said the hearing Friday was "very illustrative of the prosecution's lack of evidence. I have a hard time believing that an opinion as important as the Kiel decision has not been reviewed by any judge handling medical marijuana cases in Michigan. In the Kiel case it dictates that prong one and prong three of a Section 8 defense are established by the mere presence of the cards themselves. Having the cards establishes certain facts about the patient's medical conditions and that issue was ignored today in court."
FYI: For more medical marijuana coverage, read Sunday's Oakland Press, which will feature a story about the three-year anniversary of the county's first medical marijuana raids.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: theoaklandpress.com
Author: Dave Phillips and Carol Hopkins
Contact: - theoaklandpress.com
Website: Lake Orion woman's medical marijuana case returns to court after Court of Appeals ruling WITH VIDEO - theoaklandpress.com
