OTTAWA — A jury has acquitted a medical cannabis patient after the defendant testified that the cannabis helped him treat his pain and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Loren J. Swift, a Vietnam Veteran, had served 49 days in custody before posting $10,000 bond after his arrest in October 2007 and was found not guilty of cannabis distribution charges last week in a La Salle County Circuit Court.

Jury nullification is the process of ruling a not guilty verdict when jurors feel that the law is wrong.  Illinois NORML encourages all those facing cannabis charges to ask for a jury trial and all those serving on a jury to nullify cannabis laws by acquitting defendants of cannabis charges.

The 96th Illinois General Assembly began on January 14, 2009, and thus we need to contact state legislators and tell them to introduce new legislation to reform cannabis laws in Illinois.  We need to have as many people as possible contact these local officials and urge them to reform cannabis laws.