Pubdate: Tue, 05 Mar 2013 Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI) Copyright: 2013 Star Advertiser Contact: http://www.staradvertiser.com/info/Star-Advertiser_Letter_to_the_Editor.html Website: http://www.staradvertiser.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5154 Page: B2 POT CLASSIFIED INCORRECTLY, LAWYER ARGUES Hawaii island marijuana advocate Roger Christie urged a federal judge Monday to be the first in the country to dismiss marijuana charges because he contends the drug incorrectly falls under the most restrictive federal classification of drugs. Christie's lawyer, Thomas Otake, told U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi that dismissing the charges would be historic. He said Washington and Colorado recently legalized marijuana and that Hawaii and 17 other states permit medical marijuana. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Kawahara argued that a federal appeals court for Washington, D.C., as recently as January rejected a challenge to the classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug. Kawahara quoted from the ruling, which said there a "serious debate" about the effects of marijuana for medical purposes. Kobayashi said she will rule by the end of April at the latest. Christie, 63, is charged with marijuana conspiracy and distribution and failing to file federal tax returns on his income. He has been held in custody since his arrest in July 2010. His trial is scheduled for July. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom