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At Medical Marijuana Trial, Psychiatrist Testifies Patients Use 6 To 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 21/2 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, prosecutor Carla Claeys established that MacFarlane's
medical records never specifically mentioned any of those symptoms.
MacFarlane'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 ounce 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 in 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: Jo-D and Tom-E
Pubdate: Wed, 24 Jan 2001
Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)
Copyright: 2001 The Press Democrat
Contact: letters@pressdemo.com
Address: Letters Editor, P. O. Box 569, Santa Rosa CA 95402
Fax: (707) 521-5305
Feedback: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/opinion/letform.html
Website: Home, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Bay Area Newspaper, CA news
Forum: Home, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Bay Area Newspaper, CA news
Author: Clark Mason, The Press Democrat
Related: MapInc
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 21/2 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, prosecutor Carla Claeys established that MacFarlane's
medical records never specifically mentioned any of those symptoms.
MacFarlane'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 ounce 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 in 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: Jo-D and Tom-E
Pubdate: Wed, 24 Jan 2001
Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)
Copyright: 2001 The Press Democrat
Contact: letters@pressdemo.com
Address: Letters Editor, P. O. Box 569, Santa Rosa CA 95402
Fax: (707) 521-5305
Feedback: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/opinion/letform.html
Website: Home, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Bay Area Newspaper, CA news
Forum: Home, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Bay Area Newspaper, CA news
Author: Clark Mason, The Press Democrat
Related: MapInc