Matthew Zugsberger, an injured former oil rig worker and medical marijuana user, was convicted today of felony transportation of marijuana for attempting to take three pounds of pot onto a Sacramento flight to New Orleans in December, 2008.
Zugsberger, 34, who had a Mendocino County physician's recommendation for five pounds of pot, was considered a test case for how much marijuana a patient may possess for reasonable personal use.
Last month, the California Supreme Court threw out California limits on the amount of plants or dried marijuana medical users can have at any time.
The Supreme Court ruled that the Legislature improperly amended the Proposition 215 medical marijuana law without the consent of voters. Yet the decision still allowed authorities to arrest medical cannabis patients suspected of possessing pot for sale or exceeding state or local possession guidelines.
After intense deliberations that lasted twice as long as his trial, a jury acquitted Zugsberger of a felony count of possession for sale. But it convicted him of felony transportation as well as misdemeanor possession.
Zugsberger, who could receive four years in prison on the felony count, was immediately taken into custody in the courtroom.
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Roland Candee set his sentencing for April 8.
For the full report in The Sacramento Bee and a video of an interview with Zugsberger, click here.
-- Peter Hecht
Pictured: Matthew Zugsberger, with his attorney, Grant Pegg, was convicted today of felony transportation of marijuana for attempting to take 3 pounds of pot onto a Sacramento flight in December 2008. Andy Alfaro/aalfaro@sacbee.com
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