Source: Sacramento Bee (CA) Contact: http://www.sacbee.com/ Pubdate: Fri, 15 May 1998 Author: Wayne Wilson - Bee Staff Writer TRIAL HINGES ON POT'S PURPOSE Man says it was for medical treatment; DA argues it was for sale He says he smokes marijuana to relieve a stutter that has afflicted his speech for 41 of his 49 years. But prosecutors allege that the pound of marijuana seized by sheriff's deputies in the Dutch Flat home of David Dale Black was not for his personal use -either medicinally or recreationally. They have charged Black with possession for sale, and on Thursday they opened his trial in Placer County Superior Court by contending that a scale, sandwich bags and $3,620 in cash found in close proximity to the weed prove their point. Black's defense -- that the drug was used strictly as a medical treatment for a speech impediment -- hit a snag Wednesday when Judge J. Richard Couzensruled Black could not rely on Proposition 215, the medical marijuana initiative, as a legal justification. Couzens pointed out that Black did not seek or obtain a doctor's recommendation to use marijuana until three months after his arrest. The judge did say, however, Black could testify about the benefits he receives from marijuana to explain the presence of the pot in his home. It will be up to the jury panel of 10 women and three men (one will be designated an alternate at the close of the case) to decide which scenario is true. According to Deputy District Attorney David H. Tellman, Black admitted on the day of his arrest in February 1997 to selling marijuana to friends. Black's attorney, Robert A. Young, did not offer an opening statement to the jury Thursday, but he said that when his client testifies, it will be clear just how important marijuana is to his well-being. Young said Black has been diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome, a neurological disorder caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. In a pre-trial proceeding, Black declared: "I'm in perfect health, except for hyper-anxiety. In other words, I can't talk two words, back-to-back, without smoking marijuana, once every other day, to where it stays in me, you know, as a pill might work." The trial will continue today. Copyright ) 1998 The Sacramento Bee - --- Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)