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At Medical Marijuana Trial, Psychiatrist Testifies Patients Use 6-12
Pounds Per Year
A psychiatrist who works with medical marijuana users testified
Tuesday that a Santa Rosa man on trial for pot cultivation had a
reasonable amount for his medical needs.
Dr. Francis Podrebarac said the 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana per week
used by the defendant was within the range used by other patients,
and that the estimated yield from the number of plants Alan
MacFarlane had was not too much for one person with his symptoms.
Podrebarac based his opinion on the amount a defense expert estimated
MacFarlane's plants would produce, which was much less than a
sheriff's detective's estimate.
Citing government studies of marijuana cultivation, a defense expert
estimated the 73 plants seized at MacFarlane's residence would have
yielded about 3 pounds of usable pot. He estimated that a second crop
of 36 more mature plants seized by officers three months later would
have yielded a little more than 4 pounds.
Podrebarac said a federal government program that supplies marijuana
to a handful of people with medical problems furnishes between 6 and
12 pounds of pot to each patient per year.
The trial is anticipated to wind up today with testimony from a
prosecution rebuttal witness - a sheriff's investigator who is
expected to testify that MacFarlane's plants would have produced much
more than the defense contends.
Judge Robert Boyd said he expects the jury will hear final arguments
this afternoon and begin deliberations.
Podrebarac, who recently moved to Guerneville from Washington state,
worked with a cooperative in Seattle that dispensed medical
marijuana. He said he reviewed the records of hundreds of people,
primarily AIDS patients, to ensure they were legitimate users.
Although the Washington law allowing medical marijuana is different
from California's, the psychiatrist testified that he worked with
patients with symptoms similar to MacFarlane's, which include chronic
pain, nausea, muscle spasticity and fatigue.
In cross-examination, presecutor Carla Claeys established that
MacFarlane's medical records never specifically mentioned any of
those symptoms.
MacFarlen's physician last week testified that he approved the use of
marijuana for him to alleviate his symptoms relating to removal of a
cancerous thyroid in 1976. Doctors testified that the operation left
MacFarlane with nerve and muscle damage that causes pain in his neck
and shoulder.
Podrebarac described for jurors the way marijuana acts to alleviate
pain, but he said the amount patients use varies widely, from 1/2
pound per month, to 3 or 4 ounces per week.
MacFarlane was told by his doctor to use "as much as necessary" to
alleviate his pain.
"Shouldn't there be limits?" asked defense attorney Sandy Feinland.
"There are no limits," Podrebarac replied, explaining that the lethal
dose is incredibly high. He cited figures from the New England
Journal of Medicine that show the lethal dose for the average person
is 1,500 pounds of marijuana consumed in 15 minutes.
Newshawk: Alan Silverman
Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001
Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)
Copyright: 2001 The Press Democrat
Contact: letters@pressdemo.com
Website: Home, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Bay Area Newspaper, CA news
Details: MapInc
Author: Clark Mason
Pounds Per Year
A psychiatrist who works with medical marijuana users testified
Tuesday that a Santa Rosa man on trial for pot cultivation had a
reasonable amount for his medical needs.
Dr. Francis Podrebarac said the 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana per week
used by the defendant was within the range used by other patients,
and that the estimated yield from the number of plants Alan
MacFarlane had was not too much for one person with his symptoms.
Podrebarac based his opinion on the amount a defense expert estimated
MacFarlane's plants would produce, which was much less than a
sheriff's detective's estimate.
Citing government studies of marijuana cultivation, a defense expert
estimated the 73 plants seized at MacFarlane's residence would have
yielded about 3 pounds of usable pot. He estimated that a second crop
of 36 more mature plants seized by officers three months later would
have yielded a little more than 4 pounds.
Podrebarac said a federal government program that supplies marijuana
to a handful of people with medical problems furnishes between 6 and
12 pounds of pot to each patient per year.
The trial is anticipated to wind up today with testimony from a
prosecution rebuttal witness - a sheriff's investigator who is
expected to testify that MacFarlane's plants would have produced much
more than the defense contends.
Judge Robert Boyd said he expects the jury will hear final arguments
this afternoon and begin deliberations.
Podrebarac, who recently moved to Guerneville from Washington state,
worked with a cooperative in Seattle that dispensed medical
marijuana. He said he reviewed the records of hundreds of people,
primarily AIDS patients, to ensure they were legitimate users.
Although the Washington law allowing medical marijuana is different
from California's, the psychiatrist testified that he worked with
patients with symptoms similar to MacFarlane's, which include chronic
pain, nausea, muscle spasticity and fatigue.
In cross-examination, presecutor Carla Claeys established that
MacFarlane's medical records never specifically mentioned any of
those symptoms.
MacFarlen's physician last week testified that he approved the use of
marijuana for him to alleviate his symptoms relating to removal of a
cancerous thyroid in 1976. Doctors testified that the operation left
MacFarlane with nerve and muscle damage that causes pain in his neck
and shoulder.
Podrebarac described for jurors the way marijuana acts to alleviate
pain, but he said the amount patients use varies widely, from 1/2
pound per month, to 3 or 4 ounces per week.
MacFarlane was told by his doctor to use "as much as necessary" to
alleviate his pain.
"Shouldn't there be limits?" asked defense attorney Sandy Feinland.
"There are no limits," Podrebarac replied, explaining that the lethal
dose is incredibly high. He cited figures from the New England
Journal of Medicine that show the lethal dose for the average person
is 1,500 pounds of marijuana consumed in 15 minutes.
Newshawk: Alan Silverman
Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001
Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)
Copyright: 2001 The Press Democrat
Contact: letters@pressdemo.com
Website: Home, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Bay Area Newspaper, CA news
Details: MapInc
Author: Clark Mason