Woman Wins Medical Pot Case

By JOHN L. MITCHELL, TIMES STAFF WRITER

March 19, 2002

LOS ANGELES- A woman who said she grew marijuana to treat the effects of sickle-cell anemia was acquitted of several drug charges Monday despite overwhelming evidence that her personal stash was for more than medical use.

Police testified that they found more than 200 pounds of marijuana plants in Somayah Kambui's backyard when she was arrested Oct. 5. They believed she was using her medical condition as a ruse to run a distribution operation out of her South Los Angeles house.

Also seized were six pounds of marijuana in large glasses, an additional 13 pounds in packaging, 34 marijuana cookies, 32 small brown vials of hash oil, and a pot on the stove with three liters of oil. But after six days of testimony, a Superior Court jury spent only three hours deliberating before finding Kambui, 51, not guilty on all five counts.

"The evidence was clear that it was a violation of the law," said a disappointed Sean M. Carney, the deputy district attorney who prosecuted Kambui. "But she is a very sympathetic figure. She does have sickle-cell anemia, and the jury, I think, gave a nullification verdict."

snip-

Read Complete Article Here