New trial sought for woman denied Medical Marijuana

LANSING, MI-- Barbara Agro, the seventy-year-old Oakland County woman who was convicted of a felony in July of 2011 after a circuit court judge did not allow her to tell the jury that she is a registered medical marijuana patient and caregiver, has filed a brief appealing her conviction. Agro was convicted of a felony after a judge ruled that she could not mention as part of her defense that she was registered by the State of Michigan as a patient and caregiver. Agro formerly worked as a police dispatcher and was growing medical marijuana for her documented medical conditions and those of her late husband Sal Agro. Agro and her husband had applied--and received--he proper registry identification cards through the State of Michigan. Agro's husband of 45 years died while the criminal case was pending after being hospitalized for one of his many serious medical conditions. Agro was constitutionally denied her right to present a defense and is pursuing relief in the Michigan Court of Appeals. A recent case from the Michigan Supreme Court--People v King--supports Agro's arguments that she was denied her right to present a defense. "We believe that the Michigan Supreme Court's recent decision will result in Agro being awarded a new trial and being vindicated by a jury of Oakland County citizens. Agro is not a criminal and never has been, and her conviction has truly been an injustice," said Agro's appellate attorney, Mary Chartier of Alane & Chartier, P.L.C. Mary Chartier is also handling two medical marijuana cases at the Michigan Supreme Court--State of Michigan v McQueen, often referred to as the "dispensary case," and People v Koon, the case that restricted the driving privileges of medical marijuana patients. Published: Thu, Aug 23, 2012

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