Pot Law On Hold

Colorado has a 5 patient maximum for medical providers who prescribe marijuana as a medication. That law is currently being challenged.

DENVER-For now, David Damien LaGoy can get his marijuana - thanks in large part to a judge's ruling Tuesday.

LaGoy sued the state because the registered medical marijuana provider he wanted to use, Daniel Pope, had reached the state's five-patient maximum and couldn't help him.

The lawsuit claimed the five-patient rule was unfair. Denver District Judge Larry Naves agreed, calling the policy arbitrary. Naves granted an injunction that temporarily allows registered providers to take on as many patients as they like.

"There is no reason this plaintiff should suffer," Naves said.

During the hearing, LaGoy sat quietly - his gaunt, 105-pound frame shivering from being in the air-conditioned courtroom. At one point, Pope draped his blazer over his shoulders to help keep the 47-year-old warm.

LaGoy said during a court recess that he hadn't had any marijuana since last week and that it had been a battle to keep the medications he takes for AIDS and Hepatitis C down. The marijuana, he said, eases the nausea. He testified that if he continues to be erratic about taking the battery of pills, he likely would die.

Rocky Mountain News