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Wyo. Court Rejects Colo. Man’S Medical Pot Defense


bobandtorey

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CHEYENNE — People who legally obtain medical marijuana in other states are not exempt from criminal prosecution for drug possession in Wyoming, the state Supreme Court has ruled.

 

The court unanimously ruled this week in the case of Daniel J. Burns, of Boulder, Colo., who was arrested in March 2009 in Laramie County on a felony drug possession charge after being caught with more than a pound of marijuana in his vehicle.

 

Colorado is one of 16 states and the District of Columbia that allow medical marijuana use or make special concessions on penalties for marijuana users with a medical condition.

 

Medical marijuana advocates say it’s important for marijuana users to understand that they can’t possess the drug in states where it is illegal.

 

“This certainly should serve as wake-up call to Colorado’s 100,000-plus medical marijuana patients that their rights will not necessarily be respected in Wyoming and other states,” Brian Vicente, head of the marijuana-advocacy group Sensible Colorado, said Thursday.

 

Burns, who has a Colorado registry card and doctor’s certification to use marijuana for medical purposes, argued that Wyoming drug laws exempt people who are prescribed drugs by a doctor.

 

However, the Supreme Court ruled this week that under Colorado’s medical marijuana laws, doctors do not prescribe medical marijuana but simply recommend use of marijuana for treatment. A person who receives a doctor’s recommendation must apply for the Colorado medical marijuana registry card and the state determines whether to issue one.

 

“Importantly, it is not the action of the physician that determines any potential possession of marijuana by the patient,” the court opinion, authored by Justice Michael Golden, said. “Clearly, therefore, the physician is not prescribing or ordering the possession of marijuana.”

 

Tina Kerin, a member of the public defender’s office who served as part of Burns’ defense team, said the team is considering asking the state court to rehear the case. Rehearings are rarely granted by the Supreme Court, Kerin said.

 

Keith Stroup, lawyer for the Washington-based National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said states with medical marijuana laws do not allow doctors to prescribe the drug because marijuana is still an illegal substance under federal law.

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I'm not a bit surprised at the decision as I am quite familiar with the legal and conservative environment in the little bittiest populated state in the Union (Detroit at 1/2 its size of a decade ago after losing a million folks still has 300,000 more souls than Wyoming with 500,000 people in the whole state). How you doin'(dick) Cheney? Wyo. makes lots of bucks from intercepting pot transport on I-80, the freeway that spans its 450 mile width on a straight arrow shot. The only surprise to me is they never took up the researchers on their proposal, the same ones who sold their program to the State of Iowa which posted tail-pipe nano-exhaust emission analysts (molecule 'spinners') every 5 miles to ID every vehicle carrying over an ounce of bud just from its tailpipe drove-by emissions. (Also suprised that after 1000's of busts Iowa terminated the program on I-35). In fall 1999 Iowa's freeway signs advertised it (warned of it) 'Buckle up and Beware Bud Tailpipe Detectors Active' after that--no warning, just busts!

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I'm not a bit surprised at the decision as I am quite familiar with the legal and conservative environment in the little bittiest populated state in the Union (Detroit at 1/2 its size of a decade ago after losing a million folks still has 300,000 more souls than Wyoming with 500,000 people in the whole state). How you doin'(dick) Cheney? Wyo. makes lots of bucks from intercepting pot transport on I-80, the freeway that spans its 450 mile width on a straight arrow shot. The only surprise to me is they never took up the researchers on their proposal, the same ones who sold their program to the State of Iowa which posted tail-pipe nano-exhaust emission analysts (molecule 'spinners') every 5 miles to ID every vehicle carrying over an ounce of bud just from its tailpipe drove-by emissions. (Also suprised that after 1000's of busts Iowa terminated the program on I-35). In fall 1999 Iowa's freeway signs advertised it (warned of it) 'Buckle up and Beware Bud Tailpipe Detectors Active' after that--no warning, just busts!

 

B&T, Great reminder! And 'pic book', thanks for the info.

 

And Wyoming is one of the nicest states I've ever driven through.

 

But I suspect it will be some time before the 'good folks' of Wyoming EVER consider legal MMJ.

 

But we can always hope.

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"tail-pipe nano-exhaust emission analysts" - i guess the world previously considered, "science-fiction" is alive and well now that we have arrived in the future. in this instance, those molecule spinners should be properly placed up the tailpipe's of whomever voted to implement such a misguided use of technology and political power.

that Colorado fellow seemed to be a wee bit over for regular medicinal standards for weight. that would be one helluva medical condition to be rollin w/ that much personal, but who am i to say...

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