Tuesday, March 11, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
But in the three weeks since Burton's arrest at a Carson City hotel-casino, no documents have been presented and he still faces a preliminary hearing April 2 in Municipal Court.
"Far be it from me to second-guess some doctor's prescription. All I know is I haven't seen a prescription," Waters told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "I'm not going to just take his word for it or completely ignore the charges based on his medical condition.
Burton, 44, of Moreno Valley, Calif., was arrested Feb. 14 at the Carson Station Hotel-Casino for smoking marijuana in his room.
Burton suffers from thyroid cancer and said he obtained the marijuana legally on the recommendation of his doctor and uses it to ease the effects of cancer and chemotherapy.
California voters in November approved Proposition 215, which legalized marijuana for medical purposes with a doctor's prescription.
Waters said Nevada law allows the possession of prescription narcotics, but forbids transporting marijuana across state lines.
Burton said he didn't do anything wrong and called his arrest unfair.
"I'm supposed to worry about my health," he said. "I'm not supposed to have to worry about things like this."
Meanwhile, the author of Prop 215 said the case will make Burton a hero for the cause of medicinal marijuana.
Dennis Peron, director of the Cannabis Cultivators Club in San Francisco, said Burton's case will force the issue in Nevada. Burton joined the organization to obtain marijuana through his doctor's recommendation.
"I want him to shake it up so sick and dying people can get marijuana in Nevada," Peron said. "He didn't choose cancer. He's using marijuana and it's helping him."
Waters said Nevada law allows the possession of prescription narcotics, but forbids transporting marijuana across state lines.
archive
