Action News In-Depth: The "Legal" Marijuana

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Story Published: Apr 27, 2007 at 5:51 PM PST

By Aaron Kellogg

SUNNYSIDE -- Every year crews rip up hundreds of marijuana plants grown illegally on vast tracts of land in the valley, but also in backyards. One man living here is growing the plants in his home and doing it legally, however.

This story unfolded at the Sunnyside Police Department when the Action News ran into a man who showed up at the department's service counter and asked if he could buy weed from an officer. It sounds like an unusual idea and it probably doesn't happen frequently; he hoped they'd sell him the marijuana they'd collected from recreational users. Officers said they didn't sell the weed.

It's the latest chapter in Martin Smith's struggle to find the drug for medical use.

"When you get an injury like this, you investigate everything," he said, adding that he's sought out chiropractors, back specialists and prescription drugs to ease the suffering.

Martin -- who's actual name we're not revealing for privacy reasons -- said he lives in constant pain. He hurt his back moving medical equipment four years ago. Doctors operated on his neck to repair damage to his spine, but he said it's an everyday struggle to control the pain that pulses through his nerves and ripples down his arms.

Like thousands of Americans, he didn't like the side effects of narcotics and turned to marijuana in his search for alternatives.

"I'll get a headache from the morphine that will last two days after I take it," Smith said.

Under Washington State Law, Smith has every right to grow a small number of plants and use the drug. He showed us his growing license and has a doctor's permission.

Under Federal Law, however, he's committing a crime; any marijuana use is illegal. That means he can't pick the drugs up at a pharmacy and his insurance company won't cover the cost of the weed. He's forced to drive hundreds of miles to dealers in Spokane and Seattle -- and search in places like the Sunnyside Police Department -- as he tries to control his pain and avoid highly addictive pills he no longer wants to take.

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