The Zoretics attending the 2005 Democratic Party dinner

Date: August 1, 2005

SUBJECT: THE ZORETIC MEDICAL MARIJUANA TRIAL
Ohio’s Raich Case to Go before a Jury on August 8

(Columbus, OH) On Monday, August 8, 2005, the Ohio medical marijuana trial of the decade will be held in Cuyahoga County Court. Joseph and Deirdre (Joe and Dee Dee) Zoretic will be tried on felony marijuana cultivation charges. Judge Nancy Margaret Russo, a Democrat, will preside.

Summary details about this case:

What: Jury trial on felony (medical) marijuana charges
Who: Joe & Deirdre (Dee Dee) Zoretic
When: Monday, August 8, 2005
Where: Court of Common Pleas for Cuyahoga County, 1300 Ontario Street, Cleveland, OH 44111
Case No. 46477
Charges: (Five total) Cultivation of marijuana (fifth degree felony), drug trafficking w/ juvenile specification (fourth degree felony), possession of drugs (fifth degree felony), endangering children (fifth degree felony), possessing criminal tools (fifth degree felony)
Judge: Nancy Margaret Russo, Democrat

What Happened?: On Monday, February 21, 2005, Lakewood Detectives visited the Lakewood, Ohio, home of Joe and Dee Dee Zoretic allegedly in response to an earlier call by Mrs. Zoretic to a local social service agency. After claiming to smell what they thought to be marijuana, the Zoretics were asked to consent to a search, which they refused. Police then proceeded to conduct a full and destructive search of the home. They reportedly found several live plants, dried cannabis, paraphernalia, and growing equipment.

The couple was subsequently arrested and charged with five counts of felony possession and cultivation of marijuana. Mrs. Zoretic was immediately released from custody due to her medical condition. Mr. Zoretic, however, was transported to the Cuyahoga County jail where he remained for almost a week. The couple was placed on probation with drug testing a condition of release prior to trial.

When they met with their probation officer on June 1, 2005, Mr. Zoretic was informed that he had tested positive for metabolites of marijuana. However, Mr. Zoretic possessed a physician's prescription for high dose ibuprofen, which is known to cause false positives on drug tests. Based on the failed test, he was returned to the Cuyahoga County Jail that day, but was released on Wednesday, June 15, as a compassionate act on the part of Judge Russo who had received many letters describing the Zoretic's dire situation, some from political allies.

Trial for the couple, who will appear together in court, has been rescheduled for Monday morning, August 8, 2005.

Who Are the Zoretics?: Joe and Dee Dee Zoretic have become well-known, high profile medical marijuana activists. Their activism stems from a simple slip on salad dressing.

While working as a waitress, Mrs. Zoretic slipped on spilled salad dressing, fell, and injured her right arm. After a few weeks in a cast and ever-increasing pain, she demanded that her physician remove the cast, revealing the onslaught of atrophy. Narcotic painkillers had become ineffective and ceased to control the searing pain. She was quickly losing use of her right hand, but she soon had a diagnosis: Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy.

RSD is characterized as a never-ending cycle of the Fight or Flight Syndrome of the central nervous system. In the process, RSD moves from the point of origin – Mrs. Zoretic’s right arm – destroying all tissue in its path. RSD is incurable, incapacitating, and unstoppable.

Searching the Internet about RSD, Mrs. Zoretic ran across the 1999 U.S. Institute of Medicine Report, which included a written statement from a man who provided testimony about his RSD and use of medical marijuana to manage it. This began a legacy of activism that continues today.

Active in the Lakewood Democratic Club, the Zoretics worked for both the Kucinich-for-President and the Kerry-for-President campaigns. Mrs. Zoretic is a certified speaker for the ACLU Cleveland’s Speakers Bureau.

What is Senate Bill 74?: Only four days before the Zoretics were arrested, Ohio Senator Robert Hagan (D-33) introduced the Ohio Medical Marijuana Act, now called SB 74. This bill would modify various sections of the Ohio Revised Code to regulate the medical use of marijuana under the direction of a patient’s physician. It would establish a patient registry with the Ohio Department of Health and mandate that a patient application and identification process be instituted to identify authorized patients to law enforcement personnel.

It is not known whether the Zoretic’s arrest and prosecution are politically-motivated.

Why is this Case Important?: This case contains a few details that are similar to the recently-decided Gonzales (formerly Ashcroft) vs. Raich case. The marijuana in the Zoretic case was grown in the home and never left it. No money changed hands. No other drugs were involved.
As Justice Stevens wrote in his majority opinion in the Raich case, “The case is made difficult by respondents' strong arguments that they will suffer irreparable harm because, despite a congressional finding to the contrary, marijuana does have valid therapeutic purposes.” This statement affirms marijuana’s medicinal value in the eyes for the highest court in the land and should reflect in the disposition of the Zoretic case.
Further, the Zoretic case dispels the myth that medical marijuana patients are rarely arrested or suffer any sanctions as a result of their chosen medicine. In fact, Mr. Zoretic has spent almost one month in the Cuyahoga County Jail – a week right after his arrest and two weeks after failing a drug test.

The U.S. prison system has come under increasing criticism for overcrowding. In fact, according to a May 5, 2005, story by News Channel 5 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County Jails have a rated capacity of 1,750 with a current inmate population of nearly 2,000. At a per inmate cost of about $56.00 per day, Cuyahoga County has already spent almost $1,200 to incarcerate Mr. Zoretic for a failed drug test, although he had a physician’s prescription for high-dose ibuprofen which is known to cause false positives.

Adding in police and prosecutorial time, attorney fees, and lost wages (and the taxes that accrue from them), to name only a few costs, this case will likely cost the citizens of Ohio tens of thousands of dollars at a time of burgeoning fiscal deficits. Worse, the Zoretic family now finds itself on the verge of financial ruin, with chronic illness a remaining specter in their lives.

Who is the Ohio Patient Network?: The Ohio Patient Network (OPN) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit coalition of patients, caregivers, medical professionals, concerned citizens, and organizations who support the compassionate use of cannabis for various medicinal purposes. Mrs. Zoretic is among the founding members of OPN. She currently serves as its Director of Patient Advocacy and is a certified member of the OPN Speakers Bureau.

In January 2005, OPN formed the Ohio Patient Action Network (OPAN) to lobby for SB 74. Mr. Zoretic is the Executive Director of OPAN.

Information about OPN can be found at http://www.ohiopatient.net.

OPN is making a number of its members available for interview about the Zoretic case, the Raich decision, and medical marijuana in general. Please call 1-888-262-2843 for details.

For updates on the Zoretic case, please see Drug War Victory and The Zoretic Medical Marijuana Trial