BY MATT FOUNTAIN – New Times – September 14, 2011 In 1925, the landmark Scopes “Monkey” trial turned a small Tennessee hamlet upside down in a battle between the theories of creation and evolution. Not wholly unlike that highly publicized trial, which would alter the court of public opinion over evolution, a recent trial concluded in San Luis Obispo Superior Court. It had all the elements of good drama: two sympathetic defendants, the big-city attorneys defending them, the native son prosecutor, and lots of finger-quoting around the words “science” and “reasonable.” But instead of calling the theory of evolution into question, ours was a defining moment for medical marijuana access in SLO County. After hearing more than two weeks of testimony, 12 jurors made history on Sept. 7, completing the first criminal trial relying on a medical marijuana defense ever to take place in the county. And to the surprise of safe-access proponents—and the dismay of San Luis Obispo Narcotics Task Force (NTF) officers and the District Attorney’s Office—the jury…[For full story: http://www.newtimesslo.com/news/6630/the-age-of-reason/ ]
Originally posted here:
California – Two defendants are acquitted in a historic medical marijuana case for San Luis Obispo County