MONROE - A rural Monticello man is switching from self-prescribed marijuana to a doctor-prescribed medication to treat his depression after pleading no contest Thursday, Jan. 31, to growing pot in his garden.
George W. Norton, Jr., 58, is sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to undergo any necessary counseling. As a convicted felon, he also can't possess a firearm.
There is no evidence that Norton was selling the marijuana he grew in his garden on County C west of Monticello, agreed his attorney Robert Duxstad and Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Kohl.
Drug agents found no records of sales, Kohl said.
The plants Norton cultivated and used helped him even out his "highs and lows," Duxstad said. "It was kind of like self-prescribed medication."
When Judge Thomas Vale gave Norton the chance to speak, the defendant explained that he's been smoking marijuana for 40 years to help him cope. Norton has been on a prescription for Zoloft since he stopped smoking and said it's been working well and his friends have noticed a positive difference in him.
Considering Norton's lack of criminal convictions, the judge told him probation is enough punishment and deterrent.
"Marijuana is not a solution for you, as I'm sure you've discovered," Vale told Norton. As for ethical, medical or philosophic arguments for or against marijuana usage, "I'll leave that to the legislature," said Vale.
George W. Norton, Jr., 58, is sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to undergo any necessary counseling. As a convicted felon, he also can't possess a firearm.
There is no evidence that Norton was selling the marijuana he grew in his garden on County C west of Monticello, agreed his attorney Robert Duxstad and Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Kohl.
Drug agents found no records of sales, Kohl said.
The plants Norton cultivated and used helped him even out his "highs and lows," Duxstad said. "It was kind of like self-prescribed medication."
When Judge Thomas Vale gave Norton the chance to speak, the defendant explained that he's been smoking marijuana for 40 years to help him cope. Norton has been on a prescription for Zoloft since he stopped smoking and said it's been working well and his friends have noticed a positive difference in him.
Considering Norton's lack of criminal convictions, the judge told him probation is enough punishment and deterrent.
"Marijuana is not a solution for you, as I'm sure you've discovered," Vale told Norton. As for ethical, medical or philosophic arguments for or against marijuana usage, "I'll leave that to the legislature," said Vale.