Man Vows To Fight

[User]

THIBODAUX -- A man authorities arrested last month on drug-possession charges returned to California this week after a district judge granted him permission to seek treatment while awaiting his next court date.

Hours before he returned to his home in California on Wednesday, Matthew Zugsberger said he remains resolute in his fight to prove his California license for medical marijuana should be recognized in Louisiana and anywhere else in the U.S.

Zugsberger, 32, faces three drug charges stemming from a June arrest where State Police allegedly discovered 951 grams, or 2.12 pounds, of marijuana inside his apartment, 2316 St. Bernard Road Apt. E.

At the time of his arrest, Zugsberger was housesitting his girlfriend’s apartment while she participated in an internship in New York.

Zugsberger was initially scheduled to plead on July 18 to charges of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of hashish and possession of drug paraphernalia.

That date has been rescheduled to Aug. 18 at the request of the Lafourche Parish District Attorney’s Office.

In lieu of his court date, District Judge Bruce Simpson granted Zugsberger’s request to return to California, where he grows marijuana at home. Calls to Simpson’s office were not returned.

"It’s been very difficult," Zugsberger said of the past month. "On top of the waiting, it costs a tremendous amount of money to stage a legal defense."

He is represented by Brandon Brown of Baton Rouge.

State Police investigators were tipped off by California authorities that a large shipment of marijuana addressed to Zugsberger was en route to his apartment, Troop C spokesman Gilbert Dardar said following his arrest.

Zugsberger was released from the Lafourche Parish jail after posting a $5,000 bond hours after being booked.

Zugsberger said he believes his case will end one of two ways: the prosecutors will drop the charges or it will end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Though he is confident he will eventually be vindicated, he laments what he envisions as a long road ahead.

"I don’t want to be the guinea pig, but unfortunately society’s made me the guinea pig," said Zugsberger, who uses marijuana to ease the severe nausea caused by a spinal cord injury suffered while working offshore.

State Police has not yet returned his marijuana, Zugsberger said, but it did give him back his medical order. His prescription, legal in that state, was issued by a doctor in California.

The reason for the delay in Zugsberger’s case, Assistant District Attorney Joe Soignet said, was that prosecutors are awaiting an investigative report from State Police, which requires them to obtain the defendant’s medical records in California.

"I have no hard feelings against the state," Zugsberger said. "They’re going to do what they feel is best. It’s the same thing for law enforcement."

And in return, Zugsberger said he will continue to do what he feels is best.

"I’m not fighting for marijuana," he said. "I’m fighting for the concept that civil liberties are still alive. We must hold on to the civil liberties we have before they fade away."


News Hawk: User: http://www.420magazine.com/
Source: DailyComet.com
Copyright: 2008 DailyComet.com
Contact: http://www.dailycomet.com/contactus2
Website: Man vows to fight drug charges | DailyComet.com | The Thibodaux Daily Comet | Thibodaux, LA