Drug Policy Forum of Florida | National/International Organizations

Newshawk: John Chase
Pubdate: Thur 4/08/99
Source: Gainesville Sun, The (FL)
Copyright: 1996-1999 The Gainesville Sun
SunONE is a trademark of The New York Times Company.  
Contact: gigabit@ufl.edu
Website: http://www.sunone.com/
Forum: http://www.sunone.com/interactive.shtml
Author:  By KAREN VOYLES,Sun staff writer

[Note: The trial was continued and is now(7/11/99) scheduled to begin with jury selection Monday July 26th]

Family rallies for medicinal pot use

BRONSON - Joseph Tacl was holding his walking cane in one hand and his membership card for a California marijuana purchasing cooperative in the other hand Wednesday afternoon outside the Levy County Courthouse as he tried to draw attention to his case.

When Tacl and his wife and adult son return to the courthouse at the end of April to face trial on marijuana charges, their attorney will argue that use of cannabis is a medical necessity for Tacl.

Tacl, who will be 46 next week, his wife of 25 years, Anne, and the couple's 20 year old son, Michael, were all arrested in May 1998 and charged with cultivation of marijuana, possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. The Levy County Sheriff's Department said the arrests were made after a helicopter team spotted five marijuana plants being grown outside the Tacl home between Bronson and Williston.

Joseph Tacl said he began using marijuana to relieve pain in 1993 after he was hit by a car while he was a pedestrian. He was declared permanently disabled after the accident, unable to return to his 14- year career as a car salesman.

"I have doctors who offer me narcotics for my pain, but I can't take them -- I get violently ill from narcotics," Tacl said.

Tacl's attorney, Andy Fine of Gainesville, said Tacl got his first prescription for marijuana from a doctor in November 1995.

"He (Tacl) got that prescription from a doctor (Robert Trossel) who was trained at Boston University and is now setting up a clinic in Spain," Fine said. Tacl said two other doctors also prescribed marijuana for him and he expects to have at least one of them to testify during his trial later this month.

Anne Tacl said her husband started growing his own marijuana after it became too expensive to buy from others.

The Tacls used to live in California, but moved to Levy County 20 months ago to help Joseph Tacl's parents. The couple had planned to move back to California where marijuana purchases for medical purposes are legal.

"But we were waiting for our son to graduate from high school so that he didn't have to change schools, and then we got arrested so we can't go until this is taken care of," Joseph Tacl said.

The Cannabis Action Network helped the Tacls stage their protest Wednesday, carrying signs, talking with a few of the people entering and leaving the courthouse and encouraging people to sign a petition making marijuana legal in Florida for specific certified medical purposes.

"We want people to know that there is an alternative to narcotics which can cost hundreds a month," said Kevin Aplin of the Cannabis Action Network.

A jury will be selected April 26 and the Tacls' trial will begin on the 27th or 28th.

Back to Joe Tacl's Trial page