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Sunday, 21 March 2010 06:13 |
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 Former deep-sea diver Matthew Zugsberger was seriously injured while working on a pipeline for an oil company. That accident left him with damaged vertebrae, a pronounced limp, nausea and chronic pain, which he treated with physician-approved marijuana in compliance with California’s medical use laws. In December 2008, security personnel at Sacramento International Airport discovered some three pounds of marijuana in Zugsberger’s possession while he was attempting to board a flight to Louisiana. Zugsberger was hit with criminal charges as a result, but just weeks before his trial began, the California Supreme Court threw out legislated quantity limits for medical marijuana patients in the state. This meant that Zugsberger’s defense would rely entirely on demonstrating what quantities were related to his personal medical needs. When he went to trial in March 2010, Zugsberger submitted a letter from his recommending physician saying that three pounds was an appropriate amount for his possession. Zugsberger also told jurors how he intended to use the marijuana that was stashed in his luggage at the Sacramento airport – he was going to fly it to a master chef in New Orleans who had agreed to put it into medical marijuana edibles that Zugsberger would then transport back to California for his own use. The jury, however, simply didn’t buy the story and concluded that Zugsberger had more marijuana than necessary for the two-week trip. After a near-deadlock and substantial confusion over their deliberation instructions, jurors eventually acquitted Zugsberger of possession with the attempt to sell, but convicted him on a charge of simple possession and on the illegal transport of marijuana. He received a sentence of 120 days in jail.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 29 March 2011 00:17 |
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