A Pueblo, CO. jury took nearly eight hours Saturday to decide that a Beulah marijuana farmer was innocent of cultivating marijuana, but guilty of possessing it.
The 12 men and women were asked to settle the question of whether Thomas Sexton, 55, was legally growing 128 marijuana plants on his property off Siloam Road or whether he used the vague language of Colorado's medical marijuana law to manipulate the system into getting a higher plant count.
The past week was filled with testimony about the legality of medical marijuana, the botany behind growing the plant and a growing body of scientific evidence suggesting marijuana is useful for many ailments.
But for advocates looking to the Sexton case as a test for Amendment 20, they may have to look elsewhere.
"I think in regard to the medical marijuana law, there is so little guidance for somebody who chooses to use medicinal marijuana and cultivate it, it's almost a setup for failure for anybody who sticks their neck out and tries," said Sexton's attorney, Karl Tameler. Sexton expressed his own frustration, noting that he's followed every piece of legal advice he's given to stay within the law.
"I don't know how to be any more impeccable than to follow the law," he said. "I've taken every step I know how to follow the law."
District Attorney Anthony Marzavas said he respected the jury's decision.
"They certainly put a lot of thought into this, that's for sure," he said.
He also noted the difficulty presented by the law's language and said he hoped the Legislature would be able to clarify some of it.
Other's of Sexton's supporters were frustrated with the contradiction of the verdict.
"How can you be found guilty of one and not the other?" said Robert Love, one of three people whose extended plant counts were at the center of the case.
"I feel like this sets up every state-registered medical marijuana patient for prosecution," he said.
Tameler said he was disappointed with the outcome of the trial and believed that he had presented sufficient evidence that each of Sexton's plant would have been used for medicinal purposes.
The medical marijuana law allows patients and their caregivers to possess up to 2 ounces of marijuana and six plants.
The law allows patients and caregivers to defend their possession of greater amounts of marijuana if they can exhibit a justifiable medical need.
When Pueblo County sheriffs deputies raided Sexton's farm Aug. 14, 2007, Sexton provided them with a notebook containing medical marijuana registry cards for seven people and three physician recommendations allowing Sexton, Love and Angeline Medina to have more than six plants.
Sexton was listed as caregiver to Love. Love was listed as caregiver to Sexton and Love's wife was caregiver to Medina.
But Marzavas and Deputy District Attorney Steve Jones painted the caregivers as a social group and suggested the added plant counts were negotiated rather than medically justified.
They also argued that the medical marijuana garden was started before Love, Medina and Sexton got recommendations for the extended plant counts.
Sexton is scheduled to be in court March 1 to get a sentencing date.
News Hawk- Weedpipe 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: The Pueblo Chieftain
Author: JEFF TUCKER
Contact: The Pueblo Chieftain Online ::
Copyright: 2010 The Pueblo Chieftain
Website:The Pueblo Chieftain :: Pot case gets split verdicts
The 12 men and women were asked to settle the question of whether Thomas Sexton, 55, was legally growing 128 marijuana plants on his property off Siloam Road or whether he used the vague language of Colorado's medical marijuana law to manipulate the system into getting a higher plant count.
The past week was filled with testimony about the legality of medical marijuana, the botany behind growing the plant and a growing body of scientific evidence suggesting marijuana is useful for many ailments.
But for advocates looking to the Sexton case as a test for Amendment 20, they may have to look elsewhere.
"I think in regard to the medical marijuana law, there is so little guidance for somebody who chooses to use medicinal marijuana and cultivate it, it's almost a setup for failure for anybody who sticks their neck out and tries," said Sexton's attorney, Karl Tameler. Sexton expressed his own frustration, noting that he's followed every piece of legal advice he's given to stay within the law.
"I don't know how to be any more impeccable than to follow the law," he said. "I've taken every step I know how to follow the law."
District Attorney Anthony Marzavas said he respected the jury's decision.
"They certainly put a lot of thought into this, that's for sure," he said.
He also noted the difficulty presented by the law's language and said he hoped the Legislature would be able to clarify some of it.
Other's of Sexton's supporters were frustrated with the contradiction of the verdict.
"How can you be found guilty of one and not the other?" said Robert Love, one of three people whose extended plant counts were at the center of the case.
"I feel like this sets up every state-registered medical marijuana patient for prosecution," he said.
Tameler said he was disappointed with the outcome of the trial and believed that he had presented sufficient evidence that each of Sexton's plant would have been used for medicinal purposes.
The medical marijuana law allows patients and their caregivers to possess up to 2 ounces of marijuana and six plants.
The law allows patients and caregivers to defend their possession of greater amounts of marijuana if they can exhibit a justifiable medical need.
When Pueblo County sheriffs deputies raided Sexton's farm Aug. 14, 2007, Sexton provided them with a notebook containing medical marijuana registry cards for seven people and three physician recommendations allowing Sexton, Love and Angeline Medina to have more than six plants.
Sexton was listed as caregiver to Love. Love was listed as caregiver to Sexton and Love's wife was caregiver to Medina.
But Marzavas and Deputy District Attorney Steve Jones painted the caregivers as a social group and suggested the added plant counts were negotiated rather than medically justified.
They also argued that the medical marijuana garden was started before Love, Medina and Sexton got recommendations for the extended plant counts.
Sexton is scheduled to be in court March 1 to get a sentencing date.
News Hawk- Weedpipe 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: The Pueblo Chieftain
Author: JEFF TUCKER
Contact: The Pueblo Chieftain Online ::
Copyright: 2010 The Pueblo Chieftain
Website:The Pueblo Chieftain :: Pot case gets split verdicts
