A district court judge yesterday decided that an AIDS and cancer patient facing marijuana possession charges may present evidence that he uses the drug as part of his medical treatment.
The case involves Peter McWilliams, a best-selling author and former Detroit resident who is facing criminal charges for possession of seven marijuana cigarettes. McWilliams, who now lives in California, uses marijuana medicinally to alleviate the side effects of the AIDS wasting syndrome and cancer chemotherapy. He was arrested December 17, 1996, at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after telling officers that he was carrying marijuana legally acquired in California.
“This [ruling] is an important victory for all Michigan patients,” McWilliams said. “I’m fighting so all patients can have the choice to use a safe, natural, and non-addictive therapeutic drug.”
NORML Legal Committee member Richard Lustig, who is defending McWilliams, praised the judge’s pre-trial decision. “This decision is an important precedent that will help thousands of Michigan residents suffering from chronic pain,” he said. “We are fighting for the right of patients to get all the medical help available.”
In the sole court case since the passage of Proposition 215 involving a California resident arrested for possessing medical marijuana out-of-state, Nevada state prosecutors eventually dismissed all charges after deciding that the marijuana was for medical use only.
For more information, please contact either R. Keith Stroup, Esq. of NORML @ (202) 483-5500 or NORML Legal Committee member Richard Lustig @ (810) 258-1600.