Washington v. Shepherd

Arthur Shepherd (defendant) served as the primary caregiver to John Wilson. Wilson suffered from a serious spinal condition and other afflictions. Wilson’s physician issued a letter authorizing Wilson to use marijuana to treat his conditions, finding that the benefits of Wilson using medical marijuana “may outweigh” any risks to Wilson. Based on the medical-marijuana authorization letter from Wilson’s physician and Wilson’s inability to grow marijuana because of the spinal condition, Shepherd began growing marijuana for Wilson to consume. The police learned about Shepherd’s marijuana plants and confiscated the plants. Shepherd sought to recover the seized marijuana plants, arguing that he was the primary caregiver to an individual authorized to use medical marijuana. Shepherd’s attempts to recover the seized marijuana plants were unsuccessful, and the police subsequently confiscated additional marijuana plants from Shepherd. Ultimately, Shepherd was charged with possession of marijuana and convicted after a bench trial. During the trial, Shepherd argued that he should be acquitted because the medical-marijuana defense outlined in Washington’s medical-marijuana law, which is available to both patients and patients’ primary caregivers, applied. The trial judge ruled that Shepherd could not avail himself of the defense because the defense requires proof that the physician who recommended that a patient use medical marijuana concluded that the benefits of using medical marijuana likely outweigh—not just might outweigh—the risks to the patient. Shepherd appealed.