Pubdate: Thu, 29 July 1999
Source: Gainesville Sun, The (FL)
Copyright: 1999 The Gainesville Sun
Contact:  http://www.sunone.com/
Forum: http://www.sunone.com/interactive.shtml
Author: Lise Fisher, Sun staff writer

DOCTOR, EXPERT TESTIFY IN MEDICINAL-POT TRIAL

BRONSON -- A Levy County marijuana case isn't about Joseph S. Tacl smoking
joints, but whether his medical needs outweigh state drug laws, defense
attorneys tried to show jurors Wednesday.

None of the defense's witnesses, including a doctor and an expert on
pharmacology and drug dependance, denied that Joseph S. Tacl, 46, has used
marijuana.

Last year, Tacl and his son, Michael, 20, were arrested for growing nine
marijuana plants at their home, deputies reported. They also were charged
with possession of drug paraphernalia and a bag of marijuana seeds.

Tacl's wife, Ann, took the stand Wednesday and acknowledged that her
husband smokes marijuana.

"If he didn't smoke a joint he was unable to eat," she said.

Tacl uses the drug to combat side effects from his prescription medication.
He has taken a variety of costly pain and antidepressant medicine, from
morphine to codeine, since 1993, when a van struck him. That medication,
while relieving pain from the injury, has caused severe nausea and other
health problems.

But while prosecutors Wednesday focused on the men's arrest and marijuana
use, Tacl's defense team tried to prove that his medical condition demands
using the illegal drug.

Scott Lipoff, a Gainesville pain management specialist who has been
treating Tacl, said he did not recommend that Tacl use marijuana. But he
told jurors that Tacl said the marijuana helped him deal with the side
effects stemming from the prescribed medication.

Defense attorneys called John Morgan, a New York pharmacology professor who
has written about marijuana and is considered an expert on drug abuse.
Morgan serves on advisory boards of at least two groups opposed to current
drug laws.

"I am not in favor of setting up a legal system to distribute all illegal
drugs," Morgan said. But he also said he doesn't believe jail time helps
people who use drugs.

Morgan testified that, based on his medical expertise and Tacl's medical
history, he believed Tacl needed marijuana for medicinal use. He also
testified about the advantages of using marijuana. Morgan said marijuana
doesn't have the kind of side effects like nausea caused by some of the
prescribed medication Tacl uses. People who need marijuana for medical
reasons have few options but to get it illegally, he said.

After releasing the jury Wednesday, Circuit Judge Frederick Smith denied
defense attorneys' motion to dismiss the case against the two men even
though Smith said the evidence for a medicinal use defense is "substantial"
and "compelling."

Tacl and his son could face up to 10 years in prison for felony charges and
another year for the misdemeanor paraphernalia charge.

The case is expected to go to the jury today.

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