Pot Charge Against Vietnam Veteran

bobandtorey · December 13, 2010

CITIZEN PATRIOT | NICK DENTAMAROGary Muntz is a cancer patient and veteran of the Vietnam War. He was charged with a drug crime for violating the medicinal marijuana law. 130Share 56 Comments First, it was post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by his service in the Vietnam War. Then came two bouts with throat cancer, which left him without a voice box.

Now, 61-year-old Gary Muntz has a new ailment — lymphoma, a slow-moving cancer of the lymph nodes.

He speaks only with the aid of a mechanical device pressed tightly to his neck. Long periods outside his home require a wheelchair, and he often cannot sleep.

Marijuana helps.

It relaxes him, Muntz said. It wards off the nightmares of his childhood, of his time as a paratrooper in Vietnam. It eases pain that sometimes prevents him from getting out of bed.

Michigan voters approved the state’s medical marijuana law for people like Muntz, who has a card authorizing him to use the drug for medicinal purposes, said his lawyer, Robert Gaecke.

“It was designed for people who really are suffering, that you can see, and this guy was it,” Gaecke said.

Muntz, however, was charged with a felony drug crime for violating the law.

His case illustrates the muddle surrounding the 2008 voter-enacted legislation and the uncertainty that police and prosecutors face about how to enforce it.

“There are still a lot of questions out there, and there is not a lot of definitive legal guidance on how we are supposed to treat these cases,” said John Holda, Jackson deputy police chief.

The law must be “far more specific” regarding under what conditions someone can grow marijuana, possess it and acquire it, said Jackson County Circuit Judge John McBain.

CITIZEN PATRIOT | NICK DENTAMAROJackson County Circuit Judge John McBain lightly sentenced Gary Muntz on Nov. 30, saying he believed Muntz substantially complied with the law.Hopefully, the courts or state lawmakers can give authorities some clarification, McBain said. Many cases are pending, and governments are looking into it. Last week, Wyoming, a city near Grand Rapids, became the latest municipality to ban medical marijuana.

McBain lightly sentenced Muntz on Nov. 30, saying he believed Muntz substantially complied with the law.

The prosecutor’s office charged Muntz last summer after Jackson police found 13 marijuana plants in his house on Wilson Street. Police saw the grow lights shining in the second story of the home, Muntz said.

Muntz was authorized to use the drug but not to grow it, and he did not realize that until it was too late, he said.

“(Authorities) have to realize some of us do get confused,” he said.

On the Michigan application for the state medical marijuana registry, those seeking a card have to choose whether they or their caregiver will be growing marijuana. Only one person per patient can possess plants. A patient cannot cultivate marijuana if he or she has designated someone else to do it, Gaecke said.

At first, Muntz said, he was getting marijuana from another person, but it was expensive, so he started growing his own with help from a friend who lives with Muntz and assists him with his medical needs.

The prosecutor’s office agreed to allow Muntz to plead guilty to marijuana possession, a misdemeanor. McBain ordered Muntz and the friend, who did not have a card when the police came to Muntz’s house, to pay less than $200. The judge did not place them on probation, though both men have criminal records. Muntz said he has spent nine years of his adult life in prison.

Muntz was pleased with the outcome but said the whole ordeal cost him about $3,000 in marijuana.

Gaecke argues Muntz should not have been charged at all.

Muntz fought for his country, Gaecke said. He was exposed to Agent Orange, a herbicide used during the Vietnam War.

“He gets relief from smoking a joint, and he had a few plants in his house. Who cares?” Gaecke said.

Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mark Blumer said that while the drug is legally available to some people, limits remain. Voters did not completely legalize marijuana.

“If you are going to have a permit from the government to do something that is otherwise prohibited,” Blumer said, “you have to obey the restrictions of the permit.”

It does not best serve the public for legal authorities always to take a “hard line,” but violations cannot be ignored, Blumer said.

Law enforcement agencies tend to take a harsher stance; advocates take a looser approach, and this causes conflict, Blumer said.

A plea agreement can be a way to balance the harshness of a law with the facts of a case, he said.

The prosecutor’s office has seen other cases of people growing far more marijuana than their permits allow, Blumer said.

According to state law, a patient may have 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana and, if he or she has not specified a caregiver, 12 plants kept in an enclosed, locked facility.

As an example of one issue, the law does not take into consideration the quality or potency of the marijuana, which can vary, McBain said.

Additionally, 12 plants can yield a lot more than 2.5 ounces, Gaecke said.

An Iowa native, Muntz moved to Michigan in November 2009 because of the marijuana law.

He had gotten into trouble before for using the drug, which he started smoking while he was in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968 as part of the U.S. Army airborne infantry rangers.

Muntz said he volunteered to join the Army. He was eager about the prospect, but people spit on when he came home, and the experience ultimately turned him against his country. Drinking took over his life, he said.

He worked on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and off Scotland in the North Sea; as a truck driver; and for Rockwell Collins, an aviation company. He married three times and is divorced with two sons and two adopted daughters.

In 1996, as Muntz struggled with throat cancer a second time, he quit drinking and smoking both marijuana and cigarettes.

“I figured I’d been doing everything wrong. I better start doing right,” he said, sitting in a recliner and eyeing one of his several cats.

About five years later, a doctor suggested he smoke marijuana, he said.

It relieves his sore neck and makes some of his medications unnecessary. Medical personnel try to give him tranquilizers, he said.

“I don’t need no tranquilizers; give me a little weed and I am fine.”

Muntz said the drug soothes his stomach, which is made uneasy by regular ingestion of morphine; helps with medication-induced constipation; and stimulates his appetite. Muntz, whose diet is mostly restricted to nutrition shakes and soft foods, said he hardly eats. He looks thin, even frail.

He smokes about one-eighth ounce of marijuana a day.

“I have so many medical problems, I could go on and on and not cover them,” Muntz said. “Marijuana does something for every little thing.”

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2010/12/pot_charge_against_vietnam_vet.html

guteman · December 13, 2010

I only wish good things for you brother welcome home.

rockinlespaul · December 13, 2010

Is that the face of a criminal?

I think not.....

Willy · December 13, 2010

just another case of over enthusiastic legal system with a ace to grind. soo soo sad.

+Annnie · December 13, 2010

God bless this brother of mine.. thank you for your service to our country.. And i appologize for the awful behavior of some of us.

Croppled1 · December 13, 2010

POT CHARGE AGAINST VIETNAM VETERAN ILLUSTRATES CONFUSION WITH MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW

Danielle Salisbury | Jackson Citizen Patriot

First, it was post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by his service in the Vietnam War. Then came two bouts with throat cancer, which left him without a voice box.

Now, 61-year-old Gary Muntz has a new ailment -- lymphoma, a slow-moving cancer of the lymph nodes.

He speaks only with the aid of a mechanical device pressed tightly to his neck. Long periods outside his home require a wheelchair, and he often cannot sleep.

Hopefully, the courts or state lawmakers can give authorities some clarification, McBain said. Many cases are pending, and governments are looking into it. Last week, Wyoming, a city near Grand Rapids, became the latest municipality to ban medical marijuana.

McBain lightly sentenced Muntz on Nov. 30, saying he believed Muntz substantially complied with the law.

The prosecutor's office charged Muntz last summer after Jackson police found 13 marijuana plants in his house on Wilson Street. Police saw the grow lights shining in the second story of the home, Muntz said.

Muntz was authorized to use the drug but not to grow it, and he did not realize that until it was too late, he said.

"( Authorities ) have to realize some of us do get confused," he said.

On the Michigan application for the state medical marijuana registry, those seeking a card have to choose whether they or their caregiver will be growing marijuana. Only one person per patient can possess plants. A patient cannot cultivate marijuana if he or she has designated someone else to do it, Gaecke said.

At first, Muntz said, he was getting marijuana from another person, but it was expensive, so he started growing his own with help from a friend who lives with Muntz and assists him with his medical needs.

The prosecutor's office agreed to allow Muntz to plead guilty to marijuana possession, a misdemeanor. McBain ordered Muntz and the friend, who did not have a card when the police came to Muntz's house, to pay less than $200. The judge did not place them on probation, though both men have criminal records. Muntz said he has spent nine years of his adult life in prison.

Muntz was authorized to use the drug but not to grow it, and he did not realize that until it was too late, he said.

"( Authorities ) have to realize some of us do get confused," he said.

On the Michigan application for the state medical marijuana registry, those seeking a card have to choose whether they or their caregiver will be growing marijuana. Only one person per patient can possess plants. A patient cannot cultivate marijuana if he or she has designated someone else to do it, Gaecke said.

At first, Muntz said, he was getting marijuana from another person, but it was expensive, so he started growing his own with help from a friend who lives with Muntz and assists him with his medical needs.

The prosecutor's office agreed to allow Muntz to plead guilty to marijuana possession, a misdemeanor. McBain ordered Muntz and the friend, who did not have a card when the police came to Muntz's house, to pay less than $200. The judge did not place them on probation, though both men have criminal records. Muntz said he has spent nine years of his adult life in prison.

Muntz was pleased with the outcome but said the whole ordeal cost him about $3,000 in marijuana.

Gaecke argues Muntz should not have been charged at all.

Muntz fought for his country, Gaecke said. He was exposed to Agent Orange, a herbicide used during the Vietnam War.

"He gets relief from smoking a joint, and he had a few plants in his house. Who cares?" Gaecke said.

Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mark Blumer said that while the drug is legally available to some people, limits remain. Voters did not completely legalize marijuana.

"If you are going to have a permit from the government to do something that is otherwise prohibited," Blumer said, "you have to obey the restrictions of the permit."

It does not best serve the public for legal authorities always to take a "hard line," but violations cannot be ignored, Blumer said.

Law enforcement agencies tend to take a harsher stance; advocates take a looser approach, and this causes conflict, Blumer said.

A plea agreement can be a way to balance the harshness of a law with the facts of a case, he said.

The prosecutor's office has seen other cases of people growing far more marijuana than their permits allow, Blumer said.