Pubdate: Sun, 15 Aug 2010
Source: Aurora Sentinel (CO)
Copyright: 2010 Aurora Sentinel
Contact:  http://www.aurorasentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1672
Author: Brandon Johansson

DA REFUSES TO CHARGE MD WITH ILLEGAL DISTRIBUTION IN MEDICAL MARIJUANA STING

AURORA | The lawyer for an Aurora doctor arrested last month amid 
accusations he gave out bogus medical marijuana recommendations said 
the doctor's only mistake was believing two undercover Aurora police 
officers who lied to him.

Dr. Manuel Aquino-Villaman was arrested in early July after police 
say he gave medical marijuana recommendations to two undercover 
police officers who shouldn't have qualified.

Robert Corry, the Denver lawyer representing Aquino-Villaman, called 
the case against the doctor "meritless" and said the officers - one 
who had plates in his head from a serious motorcycle crash - should, 
in fact, qualify for a medical marijuana card under Colorado law.

"Different doctors have different opinions, it's a subjective 
determination that a physician has to make based on trusting his 
patient," Corry said. "That was Dr. Aquino's only mistake, trusting 
what somebody who purported to be a patient told him. As we know now 
the police were lying to Dr. Aquino."

According to an arrest affidavit filed against Aquino-Villaman, two 
separate Aurora police officers went to Aquino-Villaman's office 
undercover to obtain medical marijuana recommendations, the first in 
February and the second in April.

In the first visit, the officer told Aquino-Villaman that he had been 
in a motorcycle accident 10 years ago and had two metal plates 
inserted in his head because of injuries from the crash.

The officer said he never told the doctor he was in pain because of the crash.

In the second case, an officer told Aquino-Villaman that he had been 
run over by a tractor and sustained abdominal and facial injuries.

Again, the officer didn't say he was in pain because of the crash, 
but he did say he had ringing in his ears.

Aquino-Villaman wrote medical marijuana recommendations for both 
officers, citing pain as the reason.

Neither officer received marijuana at Aquino-Villaman's clinic, 
though the first officer tried to.

Both officers recorded the doctor's visits on hidden microphones and 
the first paid $125 for the consultation. It wasn't clear from the 
affidavit if the second officer paid.

Corry said Aquino-Villaman acted appropriately when he recommended 
medical marijuana for the two officers.

"The officers went in and said they were suffering from medical 
conditions, asked for a medical marijuana recommendation and Dr. 
Aquino, who denies people who ask for these on a regular basis, 
believed what these officers were telling him, which was his only 
mistake," Corry said.

In July, police arrested Aquino-Villaman on two charges: conspiracy 
to contribute marijuana and attempting to influence a public servant, 
both felonies.

When prosecutors got the case, they didn't pursue the distribution 
charge, instead charging Aquino-Villaman with attempting to influence 
a public servant, namely the director of the state's medical 
marijuana registry, and with forgery, alleging he falsified the 
medical marijuana recommendation.

A spokeswoman for the Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office said 
Tuesday she couldn't discuss why prosecutors opted not to file the 
distribution charge that police had sought.

Corry said the marijuana distribution charge was unwarranted in the 
first place.

"There was no marijuana that changed hands, Dr. Aquino never 
possessed it so I think that charge made no sense and apparently the 
prosecutors agreed," he said.

Aquino made his first court appearance last month, at which a judge 
granted his request to leave the state while he is free on $6,000 bond.

He is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 20 for a disposition hearing.

Corry said Aquino-Villaman has never been in trouble with the law 
before and is taking the case very seriously, something he said all 
doctors in Colorado who make medical marijuana recommendations should be doing.

"This is really a full-frontal attack on every single doctor in 
Colorado who advises patients to use medical marijuana," he said. 
"Every single doctor in the state of Colorado should be taking notice 
of this, which is probably their intent, to scare doctors away from 
this medical specialty and intimidate them and thus decrease patient 
access to medical marijuana."

Aquino-Villaman did not return a message left at his east Denver home 
last week seeking comment.

A spokesman for Aurora police also did not return a call seeking 
comment late Friday.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart