Dr. Gordon Piland, a former practicing physician, became a symbol of medical cannabis activism in the 1980s. News reports at the time, said the trial was the first of its kind involving a physician in the U.S.
Throughout his life, Dr. Piland has advocated for the legalization and use of cannabis for medical and health purposes.
Now at the age of 69, he faces new charges in Asheville, North Carolina, and needs your help in this legal fight.
He was a practicing medical doctor but lost his license after cannabis convictions in 1981.
Dr. Piland said he doesn't currently see patients in a "conventional office" sense, but considers himself a health practitioner. "I never stopped telling people what I see as the truth about their health," he said.
Stephen Lindsay, one of two defense attorneys representing Dr. Piland, said, “You have a man who cares very very much about peoples health and wants to help them with a type of medication that was given us by Mother Earth and has proven effective in so many cases.”
Lindsay said, “I’m proud to represent him. More people are talking about it now and to keep that trend moving forward is incredibly important.”
"We have a chaotic mess with laws right now across the U.S.," said defense attorney Rod Kight, "And that needs to be cleared up and I think this is a good case to go before the public."
Cannabis is now legal in Colorado, Washington state and Oregon.
"Dr. Piland was a licensed physician who practiced medicine, but for the past 35 years or so, he’s been practicing in the form of natural tradition. He knows the full spectrum of what it is to be a healer and a physician, and that’s been his life’s purpose,” Kight said.
Dr. Piland served as an officer in the US Navy from 1969-74. He attended the Bowman Gray School of Medicine and also studied nutrition at the University of California at Berkeley. He started in family practice in Canada before moving to Hatteras Island in 1979. He lost his medical license in 1984, following the cannabis conviction three years earlier.
Dr. Piland now faces more charges and at a recent bond hearing a defense attorney said, “Your Honor, it’s unfortunate that I don’t have the ability to cross examine some of the witnesses whose statements were read into the record.”
Some of the allegations stem from a domestic dispute and child custody case. "The incidents of untruthfulness or stretching the truth go up markedly to try to get some sort of advantage, so I think you'll find that that will be hotly contested and we'll see where the chips fall," defense attorney Lindsay said.
This has already become a long and costly battle. Dr Gordon Piland urgently needs your help. Please donate now to his legal defense and fees.
In the News
Videos
For more information please visit www.FundedJustice.com or click here
#cannabis #marijuana for #medical and health purposes
#420
No comments:
Post a Comment