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Defendant in U.S. opioid kickback case claims constitutional right to smoke pot
Source: Reuters
U.S. | Mon Oct 31, 2016 | 2:38pm EDT
Defendant in U.S. opioid kickback case claims constitutional right to smoke pot
By Sarah N. Lynch | WASHINGTON
A U.S. ex-pharmaceutical sales representative accused of paying kickbacks to induce doctors to write prescriptions for an opioid drug is asserting he has a constitutional right to continue smoking marijuana so he can remain clear-headed for his defense.
In a filing Friday, lawyers for Jeffrey Pearlman asked a federal judge for the U.S. District Court in Connecticut to modify his bail conditions so that he can continue using marijuana that was prescribed to him by a New Jersey doctor to help him kick his opioid addiction.
"Forcing him off the medical marijuana and forcing him to return to addictive opioids would impair his Sixth Amendment right to participate fully in his defense and his Fifth (Amendment) right to due process," his attorneys Michael Rosensaft and Scott Resnik of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP wrote.
The novel request is one of only at least three such attempts in a federal court to permit the use of medical marijuana. It is possibly the only motion of its kind to assert a Sixth Amendment defense that the failure to permit medical marijuana use could re-trigger an opioid addiction and impede a person's ability to participate in his own defense.
"It is a very creative defense," said Keith Stroup, the legal counsel and founder of NORML, a nonprofit that advocates for the legalization of pot. "But I can assure you there has never been a federal judge that has granted such a motion."
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Defendant in U.S. opioid kickback case claims constitutional right to smoke pot
By Sarah N. Lynch | WASHINGTON
A U.S. ex-pharmaceutical sales representative accused of paying kickbacks to induce doctors to write prescriptions for an opioid drug is asserting he has a constitutional right to continue smoking marijuana so he can remain clear-headed for his defense.
In a filing Friday, lawyers for Jeffrey Pearlman asked a federal judge for the U.S. District Court in Connecticut to modify his bail conditions so that he can continue using marijuana that was prescribed to him by a New Jersey doctor to help him kick his opioid addiction.
"Forcing him off the medical marijuana and forcing him to return to addictive opioids would impair his Sixth Amendment right to participate fully in his defense and his Fifth (Amendment) right to due process," his attorneys Michael Rosensaft and Scott Resnik of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP wrote.
The novel request is one of only at least three such attempts in a federal court to permit the use of medical marijuana. It is possibly the only motion of its kind to assert a Sixth Amendment defense that the failure to permit medical marijuana use could re-trigger an opioid addiction and impede a person's ability to participate in his own defense.
"It is a very creative defense," said Keith Stroup, the legal counsel and founder of NORML, a nonprofit that advocates for the legalization of pot. "But I can assure you there has never been a federal judge that has granted such a motion."
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-marijuana-constitution-idUSKBN12V24B