37-year-old John Ray Wilson has multiple sclerosis, and he's found that smoking the leaves of a certain plant helps alleviate his symptoms. So he grew 17 of the plants in the ground on his property. But the government of New Jersey believes that plant is evil and must be driven from the earth, so the Attorney General is trying to send Wilson to prison. For twenty years. The plant, obviously, is marijuana, and America, obviously, is really screwed up. The most serious charge against Wilson is that he was operating a drug production facility, and unfortunately for him, the judge has forbidden his lawyers from making any mention his illness during the trial.
Superior Court Judge and human paraquat Robert Reed ruled in July that the decision to allow medical marijuana was a matter for the Legislature and inadmissible in court. Wilson's lawyer says, "Imagine going to trial and you can't tell the jury why you were doing what you were doing?... We're not having one hand tied behind us, we're having two hands tied behind us... He is not a dealer, he is not involved in any distribution, he is trying to treat himself. And the state of New Jersey wants to put him in prison for 20 years? It's outrageous. You're better off being a crooked politician; you've got a much better chance of not being charged with anything."
The Jersey State Senate has actually passed a bill that would allow the use of marijuana under certain medical circumstances, and a similar measure is pending in the Assembly, the Star-Ledger reports. If the bill becomes law, New Jersey would become the 14th state to stop being so insane and legalize medical marijuana. But it will probably be too late for Wilson, whose case has sparked angry protests outside the Somerville court. Below, check out a great video of the sick, rightfully infuriated demonstrators.
| Medical marijuana advocates protest at Somerset courthouse |
