Pubdate: Sat, 01 Nov 2003
Source: Columbus Dispatch (OH)
Copyright: 2003 The Columbus Dispatch
Contact:  http://www.dispatch.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/93
Author: Associated Press
Cited: National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws 
http://www.norml.org/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Carter+Singleton

65-YEAR-OLD CANCER PATIENT CHARGED WITH GROWING POT

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Carter Singleton says he was weak from cancer and
had lost 80 pounds in five months when he followed a friend's advice
to smoke marijuana, which helped him get back his appetite and gain
weight.

Now, Singleton is awaiting trial on a felony charge of growing
marijuana -- which he admits he cultivated in his basement for
personal use.

If convicted, the 65-year-old could be sent to prison for one to five
years or be placed on probation.

"Carter is not the type of person to intentionally violate the law,
but he was desperate," his attorney, Larry Keller, said yesterday.

Singleton, of suburban Mount Healthy, has a clean record, except for
two speeding tickets, Keller said.

A debate has raged for years in this country about whether marijuana
should be legalized for medical use by patients.

Several states have laws legalizing marijuana for people who get
physician recommendations or prescriptions. The states are Alaska,
Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Another 35 states have passed legislation recognizing the drug's
medicinal value.

Federal law bans the use of marijuana under any circumstances. But two
weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for state laws
allowing ill patients to smoke marijuana if a doctor recommends it.

It is illegal to grow or use the drug in Ohio.

Singleton is free on bond pending a Nov. 17 pretrial hearing in
Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, when a date could be set for trial.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Michael Allen said his office had no choice
but to prosecute Singleton.

"What he did is a violation of the law," Allen said. "However, if he
pleads guilty or goes to trial, his reason for growing marijuana is
something the judge can take into consideration."

Singleton said he learned he had non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma in
2001. He said he weighed 230 pounds before the cancer ravaged his
6-foot-tall body.

"I was starving to death," he said. "I did what I had to
do."

Singleton said he took his friend's advice but was afraid to ask his
doctor about using marijuana.

"I kept losing weight," Singleton said. "I went from a 38 pant to a 30
pant. I went from an extra-large shirt to a large. My butt and arms
were all skin. I couldn't eat."

He said he smoked marijuana by himself for the first time on Easter
Sunday of 2002. Then he ate ham, turkey, dressing, cherry pie, pumpkin
pie and strawberry shortcake.

"I ate till my belly about busted," he said.

A county grand jury indicted Singleton this month.

A neighbor who saw a flickering light in Singleton's basement and
feared it might be a fire called firefighters, who said they went into
the house and found the marijuana plants.

Singleton and his attorney won't say whether he still smokes
marijuana.

"It's pretty sad that someone like Carter is arrested," said Cher
Neufer of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

"People can get morphine . . . . If that's legal, marijuana should be,
too." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake