Jury acquits Florida man who claimed pot was medicinal

[RandiFan1290]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/ap/ap/florida/jury-acquits-florida-man-who-claimed-pot-was-medic/nkMR6/

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A South Florida man has been acquitted by a jury after contending that dozens of marijuana plants he was growing were used for his own medicinal purposes.

The Broward County jury on Monday found 50-year-old Jesse Teplicki of Hollywood not guilty of criminal charges.

[trumad]

1. +1

K&R

[ms liberty]

2. K&R...and about time. n/t

[Cha]

3. Wow and Wow.. Great! mahalo RF

[Warren DeMontague]

4. Well thank heavens our poltical leaders down there are all on the right side of this issue...

Oh, wait

[Alkene]

5. "...not guilty of criminal charges," should always be the verdict

for the cultivation of cannabis. Indeed, there shouldn't be a court involved.

[Fred Drum]

6. rare good news

should become the standard

[valerief]

7. I'm pretty sure we can assume the man wasn't black and probably not poor either. nt

[progressoid]

15. yup...

[Dustlawyer]

8. Texas will be in a race with Alabama to be the last one to approve it. With a former AG as

Governor, hell will have to freeze over first!

[joshdawg]

9. You sure got that right!

[dixiegrrrrl]

11. Actually, I think the SCOTUS will rule for national legalization at some point.

It seems to be generally accepted that SCOTUS will rule for equal marriage rights, now that enough states are supporting it.
so I expect the same pattern will be true in the case of cannabis.
Can't happen fast enough down here, IMHO.

[ryan_cats]

10. This is good but it should be legal.

This is good but it should be legal. I still can't believe that my fellow Californians didn't vote to legalize it a couple of years ago. Everyone I know has smoked pot and even my teachers in high school were loaded in the 70s.

Is there a standard for DUI for pot? I know it is detectable in your system for 30 days or more but if they find it in your system, are you driving under the influence according to the law???

[sunnystarr]

12. The interesting point here is that ..

Teplicki's attorney Michael Minardi says the case was the first of its kind in Florida decided by a jury rather than a judge.

Which makes you wonder why? Was a jury trial deliberately denied? Was that just a policy? If so why? How many others would have been acquitted if they had the option of a jury trial? Or did they all decide not to have a trial by jury?

[wildbilln864]

14. I thought you were given a choice...

trial by judge or jury?
I would always pic the jury in this type case.
Also people need to be informed about jury nullification in these cases.

[1monster]

16. The States Attorneys pile on astronomical charges with decades worth

Of prison time, offer a deal with a stiff sentence but considerably less than a guilty jury verdict would bring; then they dare you to choose a jury trail.

Most people don't have the money or the nerve to accept that dare. And justice is not served.

[L0oniX]

13. Mean while real and violent criminals run free.