Articles - Law Offices of Eric D. Shevin

TEMECULA COUPLE MUST STAND TRIAL FOR GROWING MARIJUANA
September 28, 2002

TEMECULA - A judge ruled Friday that a Temecula couple must stand trial for growing marijuana to treat their medical conditions, a decision that prompted tears and rage from the defendants. Seconds after Riverside County Superior Court Judge James Warren announced his decision, Martin Victor stormed out of court and threw his briefcase against a bench. His wife, La Vonne Victor, sobbed uncontrollably.

"I'm not going to jail," said La Vonne Victor, 46, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, panic attacks, back problems and emphysema. "I'll commit suicide first. We're being crucified."

Martin Victor, 50, who suffers from cluster headaches, called Warren's decision his "worst nightmare."

"I'm going to lose my house," he said as he buried his face into the side of the courthouse. "I just can't believe it. My God, why are they doing this to us?" The Victors sought to have charges of cultivating and possession of marijuana for sale dismissed at the conclusion of their preliminary hearing Friday as part the state's 1996 medical marijuana law, which was passed by voters as Prop. 215.

Defense attorney Eric Shevin cited a July decision by the California Supreme Court that protects people who grow marijuana for medicinal purposes from state prosecution. The Victors' case marked the first time that the recent decision had been used in Inland Southern California as grounds to seek a dismissal in a medical marijuana case.

A checkerboard

But July's "Mower decision" failed to resolve how much marijuana can be grown for medicinal use. County standards vary throughout the state, and Riverside County has no set number of plants.

University of Santa Clara law professor Gerald Uelman, who argued the Mower case before the state Supreme Court, said the decision represents "another example of the checkerboard enforcement" of the 1996 medical marijuana law in California.

Some counties allow as many as 100 plants for medical use, Uelman said. Other counties, including Riverside, have no set limit. He said the state Legislature may ultimately have to establish guidelines.

Prosecutor Cynthia Brewer argued that the Victors grew and cultivated nearly 22 pounds of marijuana at their home. That was more than five times the amount they said they needed to treat their illnesses. The couple's son and his girlfriend also smoked the marijuana they grew, she said.

"The law is clear," Brewer said. "People can only possess what is necessary to receive medicinal benefit." Warren agreed.

He said he was convinced that the Victors suffer from medical maladies and had received permission from a doctor to use marijuana to treat them. But the judge said the amount authorities seized in October was "well in excess of their own medical needs." Warren said further that a jury needs to decide whether the couple grew marijuana to give to others or distribute through a cannabis club.

'No-brainer'

Defense attorney Shevin said he thought the case was "a no-brainer" and that the Victors have proved beyond a reasonable doubt that they grew marijuana for their use and not for sale. Shevin said his clients have no previous criminal record and notified Temecula police of their intent to grow marijuana.

The Victors grew 12 plants and said they had no idea how much marijuana those plants would produce. They claimed they saved less than 6 pounds of marijuana, which they stored in 106 sealed jars.

"They were making every effort to comply with the law," Shevin said. "It's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but we're going to find it."

Advocates of medical marijuana use said they have started a fund to raise the estimated $15,000 for the couple's defense. If convicted, the Victors could be sentenced to 32 months in prison. They were ordered to return to court on Oct. 11 for arraignment.

Source: The Press-Enterprise
By Joe Vargo

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