Source: Orange County Register (CA) Contact: http://www.ocregister.com/ Copyright: 1998 The Orange County Register Pubdate: 10 Nov 1998 Author: John McDonald-OCR POT CLUB'S OWNER CITES PROP 215 Courts: If the judge allows the defence in the medical-marijuana co-op founder's trial. It would be a first. The marijuana-sale trial of Orange County Cannabis Co-Op founder Marvin Chavez opened with testimony from a physician on why Chavez should be allowed to defend himself under provisions of Proposition 215, which allows for medical use of the drug. If permitted, the defense would be the first in California under the 1996 measure. Superior Court Judge Thomas Borris has already tentatively ruled that Chavez is legally a caregiver under Prop. 215, but only for two of the 10 sale or transportation charges he faces. Borris has also allowed defense lawyers James Silva and J. David Nick to ask prosecution witnesses about their medical reasons for buying pot from Chavez. The physician said he referred about 250 patients to the co-op. "Under Prop. 215 I can only recommend it (marijuana use)," said De. Del Dalton, an anesthesiologist from Laguna Niguel. "What I'd like to do is prescribe it on a milligrams-per-day basis. Right now there is no way to do that." Deputy District Attorney Carl Armbrust maintains that sale of marijuana is not sanctioned by Prop. 215. The first witness to testify before the jury was Fountain Valley landscaper Thomas Pollard. Pollard described how an old friend, who had been best man at his wedding, was terminally stricken with cancer. "The marijuana was not helping his condition but it was making him feel a lot better" by relieving the pain from chemotherapy, Pollard testified. Pollard testified earlier this year at the trial of co-op officer David Herrick, but was barred from describing his friend's medical need for marijuana. Herrick, a retired San Bernardino County deputy sheriff, lost his bid to use a Prop. 215 defense, and was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison. - --- Checked-by: Mike Gogulski