Cancer Patient Says He Had Legal Right to Grow Marijuana

August 22, 1998 - The Fresno Bee - letters@fresnobee.com

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (AP) -- A man critically ill with cancer could face prison for growing marijuana he claims was legal under California's Proposition 215.

Timothy Weltz, 38, was to face felony charges of cultivating marijuana at a scheduled Tuesday hearing in San Bernardino County Superior Court.

"I did nothing criminally wrong," said Weltz, who has lymphatic cancer and may have only six months to live.

"This is insane," he told The Press-Enterprise of Riverside for a story published Saturday.

Sheriff's deputies found more than 20 marijuana plants growing in his yard last month when they answered a report of a domestic disturbance at his home. Weltz said he had an argument with his ex-wife, who was visiting.

Weltz was not arrested but he later received a summons from the district attorney's office to appear in court to face the pot cultivation charge and a count of battery on his former wife.

He contends the marijuana helps relieve some of the nausea from his cancer treatments, and that he legally grew it under Proposition 215, the state initiative that legalized the cultivation, use and possession of marijuana for medicinal purposes on a doctor's recommendation.

Weltz said he won't plead guilty or accept a plea bargain.

"I won't accept this," he said. "I would rather take my chances with serious jail time than make a deal for probation ... I'm fighting for my life here."

Assistant District Attorney Dan Lough said Weltz was unable to produce evidence for the deputies of his illness or his doctor's endorsement for using marijuana.

Weltz said he will bring a letter from his doctor to court.

Dr. Linda D. Bosserman, a Rancho Cucamonga cancer specialist, wrote that Weltz has used "inhaled THC" from privately grown plants, free of pesticides, and found this effective in controlling his severe nausea, vomiting and anxiety caused by his treatments and the overall stress of his disease.

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