Pubdate: Tue, 12 Jun 2012
Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA)
Copyright: 2012 Chico Enterprise-Record
Contact:  http://www.chicoer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/861
Note: Letters from newspaper's circulation area receive publishing priority
Author: Ryan Olson

DUELING MEDICAL EXPERTS TESTIFY ON MARIJUANA'S EFFECT ON INFANTS

OROVILLE - The prosecution and defense presented expert witnesses who 
differed on the impact fresh marijuana could have on infants.

The doctors testified Monday in Butte County Superior Court as part 
of a preliminary hearing for Daisy Jean Bram. The hearing was to 
determine whether there is probable cause to hold Bram for trial for 
felony or misdemeanor child abuse.

In a related case, Bram and Jayme Jeff Walsh face trial for felony 
marijuana cultivation and possessing it for sale after they were 
arrested Sept. 29 with 96 plants at their Concow area house.

The defense has claimed the couple were acting as a collective of two.

Under questioning by deputy district attorney Jeff Greeson, Dr. 
Angela Rosas from the Sutter Medical Group said she believed 
conditions at the Yellow Wood Road house were hazardous to the 
couple's children, Thor and Zeus.

A toddler like Thor could get access to marijuana in the house and 
consume it, leading to poisoning, she said.

Rosas said she has seen cases where children suffering from 
sleepiness or a coma who have tested positive for THC - the 
psychoactive chemical in marijuana.

Bram's attorney, Michael Levinsohn, asked Rosas about her assertion 
regarding children ingesting raw marijuana, noting the THC in the 
plant isn't active unless it's heated. She said the cases included 
reports of raw marijuana consumption and that a child could become 
sick from it.

Levinsohn put Dr. William Courtney on the stand. Courtney, who 
practices the medical study of cannabis, said there are trace amounts 
of active THC in raw marijuana. However, the amount of active THC in 
raw marijuana is so low that a 3-year-old child would have to eat 
three bagels' worth of it to have an effect.

The doctor also said the taste and texture of the raw plant is 
unpleasant for most people.

Courtney pointed out a house that has raw marijuana around a child 
would also likely have marijuana that has been processed to activate the THC.

Bram and Walsh had previously faced child abuse charges, but Judge 
Steven Howell ruled last Nov. 30 that there wasn't enough evidence to 
hold the couple on those counts. The prosecution refiled the charges 
against Bram.

Much of Monday's testimony reintroduced evidence from that first 
preliminary hearing.

Former District Attorney's Office investigator Eric Clay testified 
about marijuana throughout the house, although the growing plants 
were either outside or in a garage. There were also reportedly 
plastic grocery bags under a bathroom sink containing syringes and 
spoons, one coated with a white substance.

Butte County Sheriff's deputy Sam Burnett testified about speaking 
with a lab technician from Quest Diagnostics in Kansas. The 
technician tested a hair sample that came back as positive for THC.

A representative from Child Protective Services reportedly took the 
hair sample from Thor.

However, Levinsohn argued that the prosecution had failed to adequate 
show the chain of custody.

Burnett's testimony was allowed to stand, but Judge James Reilley 
declined to admit the actual test results into evidence.

Monday's hearing adjourned without a resolution. Reilley will set a 
new hearing date on June 26.

Bram and Walsh remain out of custody.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom