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Auburn - The prosecution in the Steve and Michele Kubby medical marijuana
trial put one of its key witnesses on the stand Tuesday in an attempt to
rebut earlier defense testimony on the average yield from an indoor pot
grow.
Despite strenuous objections from defense attorneys J. Tony Serra and J.
David Nick, retired state Department of Justice special agent supervisor
Mick Mollica was allowed to testify. He said a single marijuana plant, grown
indoors, could yield about four ounces of high-potency bud.
The Kubbys were arrested and charged with possession of marijuana for sale
after a January 1999 raid on their Olympic Valley home netted 265 plants.
Depending on the size of the plant, amount of light and other factors, the
yield would range from three to six ounces, Mollica added.
Earlier in the trial, "Hemp for Health" author Chris Conrad testified as an
expert witness for the defense on yields. Conrad, who has also served as a
curator of a museum in Amsterdam devoted to marijuana, said the Kubby yield
would be about 3.5 pounds.
Mollica was also asked to give his opinion of a 1992 University of
Mississippi study for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration that
estimated the average cannabis plant would produce a half ounce of
marijuana. The study had been used by Conrad as a basis for his estimate of
the Kubby crop. Taking into account parts of the plants that were not
smokable, dirt and "assorted trash" found in the evidence bags of pot
confiscated from the Kubbys, Conrad had told jurors in the Placer County
Superior Court trial that the indoor grow's yield would be consistent with
personal use.
Mollica said that he believed the marijuana grown in Mississippi isn't the
same as the marijuana grown in California because of different growing
techniques.
"It's just not possible to have the same yield study for this and the plants
we chop down in Northern California," Mollica said. "We grow it differently
here than they do."
California growers use techniques like deflowering tops to get a bigger
unit, he said.
"Our yields in California are much more," he said.
The Mississippi study used outdoor plantings, but indoor gardens provide an
"all away better situation for growing," Mollica said.
Mollica said that by controlling the carbon dioxide in the air, indoor
growers can increase yields. He added that there is less product indoors
than outdoors because of height limitations and subsequently, less yield.
Mollica was blocked by objections from Serra and Nick from giving testimony
on the question of whether the Kubby garden was consistent or inconsistent
with a medical grow. The two defense attorneys had argued before Judge John
Cosgrove that Mollica had no medical expertise.
Prosecutor Chris Cattran attempted to move his line of questioning toward
the garden's yield and the amount the Kubbys could smoke, based on Mollica's
estimate. Again, objections by Serra and Nick to questions on the size of
joints Mollica had seen were sustained by Cosgrove.
The Kubbys contend that they grew marijuana for their own personal, medical
use. Both had doctor's recommendations to use marijuana at the time of their
arrests - Michele Kubby for irritable bowel syndrome, Steve Kubby for a rare
form of adrenal cancer.
Pubdate: 14 Dec, 2000
Source: Tahoe World
Copyright: 2000 Tahoe World
Contact: world@tahoe.com
Address: P.O. Box 138 Tahoe City, CA 96145
Website: Lake Tahoe
Author: Gus Thomson, World News Service
Bookmark: MapInc (Cannabis - Medicinal)
trial put one of its key witnesses on the stand Tuesday in an attempt to
rebut earlier defense testimony on the average yield from an indoor pot
grow.
Despite strenuous objections from defense attorneys J. Tony Serra and J.
David Nick, retired state Department of Justice special agent supervisor
Mick Mollica was allowed to testify. He said a single marijuana plant, grown
indoors, could yield about four ounces of high-potency bud.
The Kubbys were arrested and charged with possession of marijuana for sale
after a January 1999 raid on their Olympic Valley home netted 265 plants.
Depending on the size of the plant, amount of light and other factors, the
yield would range from three to six ounces, Mollica added.
Earlier in the trial, "Hemp for Health" author Chris Conrad testified as an
expert witness for the defense on yields. Conrad, who has also served as a
curator of a museum in Amsterdam devoted to marijuana, said the Kubby yield
would be about 3.5 pounds.
Mollica was also asked to give his opinion of a 1992 University of
Mississippi study for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration that
estimated the average cannabis plant would produce a half ounce of
marijuana. The study had been used by Conrad as a basis for his estimate of
the Kubby crop. Taking into account parts of the plants that were not
smokable, dirt and "assorted trash" found in the evidence bags of pot
confiscated from the Kubbys, Conrad had told jurors in the Placer County
Superior Court trial that the indoor grow's yield would be consistent with
personal use.
Mollica said that he believed the marijuana grown in Mississippi isn't the
same as the marijuana grown in California because of different growing
techniques.
"It's just not possible to have the same yield study for this and the plants
we chop down in Northern California," Mollica said. "We grow it differently
here than they do."
California growers use techniques like deflowering tops to get a bigger
unit, he said.
"Our yields in California are much more," he said.
The Mississippi study used outdoor plantings, but indoor gardens provide an
"all away better situation for growing," Mollica said.
Mollica said that by controlling the carbon dioxide in the air, indoor
growers can increase yields. He added that there is less product indoors
than outdoors because of height limitations and subsequently, less yield.
Mollica was blocked by objections from Serra and Nick from giving testimony
on the question of whether the Kubby garden was consistent or inconsistent
with a medical grow. The two defense attorneys had argued before Judge John
Cosgrove that Mollica had no medical expertise.
Prosecutor Chris Cattran attempted to move his line of questioning toward
the garden's yield and the amount the Kubbys could smoke, based on Mollica's
estimate. Again, objections by Serra and Nick to questions on the size of
joints Mollica had seen were sustained by Cosgrove.
The Kubbys contend that they grew marijuana for their own personal, medical
use. Both had doctor's recommendations to use marijuana at the time of their
arrests - Michele Kubby for irritable bowel syndrome, Steve Kubby for a rare
form of adrenal cancer.
Pubdate: 14 Dec, 2000
Source: Tahoe World
Copyright: 2000 Tahoe World
Contact: world@tahoe.com
Address: P.O. Box 138 Tahoe City, CA 96145
Website: Lake Tahoe
Author: Gus Thomson, World News Service
Bookmark: MapInc (Cannabis - Medicinal)