Pot not excessive amount, witness says
At medical marijuana trial, psychiatrist testifies patients use 6 to 12 pounds per year

January 24, 2001

By Clark Mason, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, January 24, 2001

A psychiatrist who works with medical marijuana users testified Tuesday that a Santa Rosa man on trial for pot cultivation had a reasonable amount for his medical needs.

Dr. Francis Podrebarac said that the 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana per week used by the defendant was within the range used by other patients, and that the estimated yield from the number of plants Alan MacFarlane had was not too much for one person with his symptoms.

Podrebarac based his opinion on the amount a defense expert estimated MacFarlane's plants would produce, which was much less than a sheriff's detective's estimate.

Citing government studies of marijuana cultivation, a defense expert estimated the 73 plants seized at MacFarlane's residence would have yielded about 3 pounds of usable pot. He estimated that a second crop of 36 more mature plants seized by officers three months later would have yielded a little more than 4 pounds.

Podrebarac said a federal government program that supplies marijuana to a handful of people with medical problems furnishes between 6 and 12 pounds of pot to each person per year.

The trial is anticipated to wind up today with testimony from a prosecution rebuttal witness-a sheriff's investigator who is expected to testify that MacFarlane's plants would have produced much more than the defense contends.

Judge Robert Boyd said he expects the jury will hear final arguments this afternoon and begin deliberations.

Podrebarac, who recently moved to Guerneville from Washington State, worked with a cooperative in Seattle that dispensed medical marijuana. He said he reviewed the records of hundreds of people, primarily AIDS patients, to ensure they were legitimate users.

Although the Washington State law allowing medical marijuana is different from California's, the psychiatrist testified that he worked with patients with symptoms similar to MacFarlane's, which include chronic pain, nausea, muscle spasms, and fatigue.

In cross-examination, prosecutor Carla Claeys established that MacFarlane's medical records never specifically mentioned any of those symptoms.

MacFarlane's physician last week testified that he approved the used of marijuana for him to alleviate his symptoms relating to removal of a cancerous thyroid in 1976. Doctors testified that the operation left MacFarlane with nerve and muscle damage that caused pain in his neck and shoulder.

Podrebarac described for jurors the way marijuana acts to alleviate pain, but he said the amount patients use varies widely, from 1/2 ounces per month, to 3 or 4 ounces per week.

MacFarlane was told by his doctor to used "as much as necessary" to alleviate his pain.

"Shouldn't there be limits?" asked defense attorney Sandy Feinland.