Marijuana not why he's running for governor
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By Jesse Fruhwirth
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
BOUNTIFUL -- Monty Nafoosi finds that if he smokes a non-commercial herbal pain reducer he can lower his reliance on very addictive commercial narcotics such as hydrocodone that have worse side effects.
"These are felonies to have if you don't have a prescription," he said, pulling a bottle of Lortab from his jacket outside a courtroom in Bountiful.
Nafoosi, 52, was in court for possession of marijuana, the herbal drug he's used illegally for two years to treat the painful results of immobility brought on by an adult-onset muscular disease.
Nafoosi admits to using marijuana only one year less than he has used his wheelchair, both being the result of his degenerative muscle disease related to muscular dystrophy.
Twelve states -- including Utah neighbors Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico -- have legalized the medical use of marijuana. The federal government, through the Drug Enforcement Agency and FBI, however, continues to seize the product and arrest managers from marijuana dispensaries in those states.
Confident, articulate and social, Nafoosi is a successful real estate businessman who enjoys demonstrating his wheelchair that glides upright to two wheels like a Segway to give him extra height. He's an environmentalist, a proponent of electric cars and most recently a registered candidate for Utah governor.
The court case
His candidacy, he said, was intended to bring attention to ending America's dependence on oil and its deteriorating environment, not medical marijuana. He's reluctant to embrace the issue of medical marijuana in his campaign because he sees it as a deeply personal matter, but he said the criminal prosecution against him has forced his hand.
"I'm going to have to deal with it, but I'm not going to stress it," he said. "I didn't want to bring up this issue, but I didn't break down the governor's door. He broke down mine."
Nafoosi's two class A misdemeanor charges -- for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia -- stem from a Dec. 3 burglary and assault in which Nafoosi was the victim. Four individuals entered his home.
"They beat me up and robbed me," Nafoosi said.
Nafoosi believes a woman he once allowed to sleep on his couch, but later kicked out, became disgruntled and sent some tough guys to punish him.
Then on Jan. 3, Bountiful Police served a warrant at his home authorizing them to search for drugs.
"They came in with a dog and found a couple of joints and a smoking apparatus, because I smoke it, I don't eat it," Nafoosi said.
The search warrant was based on items found by police in Nafoosi's garbage. He said he doesn't know why they were searching through his garbage in the first place, but Nafoosi said they found marijuana stems, an empty package of rolling papers and a friend's empty prescription bottle.
He said he suspects the police prior to executing the warrant believed or hoped he was a drug dealer of sorts, but instead found he's a low-level user who had no more than two joints of marijuana in his home.
"That's like a week's supply for me," he said.
Calls to a Bountiful police spokesperson were not returned.
No arrests have yet been made in the robbery.
Nafoosi has retained defense attorney Bill Albright. At his pretrial conference Thursday at the 2nd District Court in Bountiful, Albright asked for more time to receive more evidence.
Nafoosi said their first step may be to challenge the legality of the search. He said he has not decided whether he will raise a constitutional argument that he has a right to medical use of marijuana or simply take a plea deal and exit the court system with as much expediency as possible.
He said he's reluctant to accept any guilt, however, and believes the persecution will continue unless he fights.
"(Police) broke into my house once," he said, "they'll break into it again."
Narcoticsvs. marijuana
The irony that the narcotics he takes can cause lethal overdoses but are legal with a prescription, while marijuana that cannot cause overdose deaths is illegal under any circumstance, is not lost on Nafoosi. His brother, Dr. Sammy Nafoosi, is a California doctor of internal medicine and supports the medical use of marijuana.
"With the development of tolerance (to narcotics), he required higher doses, and marijuana is a different class of pain relief," Sammy Nafoosi said. "He was able to decrease the dose of those oral narcotics. He's more active, he sleeps better -- but not prolonged sleep -- so he can participate in his campaign more. ... They have to understand that (marijuana) reduces the side effects of oral narcotics."
Successful pothead?
Though he crushes the stereotype of a lazy, long-haired marijuana user, Nafoosi sees himself more as "the fall guy" than a crusader. He's not simply a pothead who is trying to find a way to excuse his illegal habit, he said, and he doesn't appreciate being treated like one by police.
"Potheads in wheelchairs generally aren't millionaires," Nafoosi said. "The image of a person with a disability is basically poor and helpless. My business success proves I'm not that."
On being misunderstood, Nafoosi is hopeful that Utahns -- especially stem cell research-supporting lawmakers like Orrin Hatch -- will learn that marijuana control is a complicated issue in need of reform.
"I've got a few e-mails already from people who support me ... I'm sure people in pain can understand my issue," Nafoosi said. "The right to life is for the living, too."
Add Your Comment
Keep the FAITH, and KNOW that there are literally HUNDREDS of legal mmj patients in the Rocky Mountain State pulling for your cause. Let us walk(& roll) as we beat the FAILED DRUG WAR together! Peace Out.//Timothy Tipton (Colorado Midnight Rider)