First, it was post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by his service in the Vietnam War. Then came two bouts with throat cancer, which left him without a voice box. Now, 61-year-old Gary Muntz has a new ailment — lymphoma, a slow-moving cancer of the lymph nodes. He speaks only with the aid of a mechanical device pressed tightly to his neck. Long periods outside his home require a wheelchair, and he often cannot sleep. Marijuana helps. It relaxes him, Muntz said. It wards off the nightmares of his childhood, of his time as a paratrooper in Vietnam. It eases pain that sometimes prevents him from getting out of bed. Michigan voters approved the state’s medical marijuana law for people like Muntz, who has a card authorizing him to use the drug for medicinal purposes, said his lawyer, Robert Gaecke. “It was designed for people who really are suffering, that you can see, and this guy was it,” Gaecke said. Muntz, however, was charged with a felony drug crime for violating the law. His case illustrates the muddle surrounding the 2008 voter-enacted legislation and the uncertainty that police and prosecutors face about how to enforce it. “There are still a lot of questions out there, and there is not a lot of definitive legal guidance on how we are supposed to treat these cases,” said John Holda, Jackson deputy police chief. The law must be “far more specific” regarding under what conditions someone can grow marijuana, possess it and acquire it, said Jackson County Circuit Judge John McBain. Hopefully, the courts or state lawmakers can give authorities some clarification, McBain said. Many cases are pending, and governments are looking into it. Last week, Wyoming, a city near Grand Rapids, became the latest municipality to ban medical marijuana. McBain lightly sentenced Muntz on Nov. 30, saying he believed Muntz substantially complied with the law. http://www.jackherer.com/archives/pot-charge-against-vietnam-veteran-illustrates… added by: JackHerer
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