Look at the facts of this case:

A doctor accused of growing marijuana in his home will be allowed to resume his practice under probation, the state Medical Licensing Board decided.

Dr. Arnaldo Trabucco and his wife, Pamela, still face a Jan. 17 trial in Bartholomew Superior Court on charges of possession of marijuana.

The state suspended the urologist’s license indefinitely following the couple’s arrest this spring. Police said they found marijuana growing equipment, 33 plants and bagged marijuana in the couple’s home on April 28.
Evidence suggested that Trabucco, 49, was using the marijuana to treat his 50-year-old wife, who suffered from several documented illnesses including Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, a painful viral infection of the facial nerve, The Republic reported Sunday.

After reviewing the evidence, the board voted to fine Trabucco $2,000. Officials said he failed to exercise reasonable care and diligence in the treatment of his wife, based upon generally accepted methods and theory.
His license was reinstated on condition that he obtain board approval before beginning medical practice, receive legal and ethics education and have a psychological examination.

There’s no evidence that this guy was dealing drugs. Indeed, as the article says, he was growing marijuana to treat his ailing wife.

Now, regular readers of this site know that the reason marijuana isn’t among the medical “generally accepted methods and theory” is because the federal government won’t let independent groups test its benefits. But even credentialed conservatives attest to marijuana’s considerable benefits for a variety of ailments.

Clearly, this doctor isn’t a criminal. Clearly, he was treating his wife with marijuana because it was making her feel better. Why in the world should he have to endure harassment from medical boards and the criminal justice system for that?

Is this really the way we should be spending our criminal justice dollar? Jailing those who obtain effective drugs to relieve the pain of loved ones? Put yourself in Dr. Trabucco’s shoes. Wouldn’t you do the same damned thing? I sure as hell would. Frankly, I think he’s also exactly the kind of guy you’d want for a doctor.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 19th, 2005 at 6:22 pm by Radley Balko and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.