Tevlin: Our muddled views on medical marijuana cost this patient

Ben Hallgren was driving from his home in Colorado to the Duluth area, where his father was dying of cancer.

A county sheriff's deputy in southern Minnesota noticed Hallgren had a headlight out, and stopped the 23-year-old. The deputy saw what appeared to be drug paraphernalia, and searched the car. He found just under 2 pounds of marijuana, some of it in the form of edible chocolate bars. Hallgren was arrested and charged with felony possession, and the pot was confiscated.

Even though a prescription isn't needed to consume marijuana in Colorado, Hallgren has one. Hallgren and his doctor agree that the pot helps him considerably with irritable bowel syndrome.

But Hallgren, who has no criminal record, now faces time in jail and the threat that his arrest will haunt his job opportunities for the rest of his life, even excluding him from working in the growing medical marijuana business in Colorado.

His attorney, Allen Eskens, plans to fight the case and he challenged the state's authority to step between a patient and a doctor. A judge found in favor of the state on the issue, but Eskens said he thinks it will end up in the court of appeals.

"They offered us a plea agreement, but we're not very enthusiastic about it," said Eskens. "They are not accusing him of selling it and they admit that the amount is not in excess of what his prescription allows."

Also counting against Hallgren, Eskens said, was that the weight of the chocolate was included in the weight of the pot.

Eskens said the state had previously taken the position that there is no evidence that marijuana has medicinal value, but that changed when the Legislature passed a limited medical marijuana law in its latest session.

After the traffic stop, Hallgren was arrested and taken to jail, where he spent the next couple of days. Hallgren's relatives drove down from northern Minnesota to bail him out.

"It was not a fun episode," said Hallgren. "I've never had anything like that happen before. I've been a pretty good kid."

Hallgren had been working as a ski technician in Breckenridge when he found out his father was in serious condition. He drove back to Minnesota to spend the final days with him. Hallgren's father died Aug. 17.

"My dad died not knowing if because of this arrest I would be living the life of a criminal, or be a citizen who has been a productive member of society and caring son," Hallgren said. "And now my private health information has become part of the public record."

Capecchi said Hallgren's arrest "boggles the mind. There is a collective recognition of the value of medical marijuana."

Hallgren said he intends to go back to Colorado, where he is a resident, but he's already lost his previous job because of the arrest, and he needs to settle his case so he can return and find a job in a state he loves.

Meanwhile, Hallgren has even reached out to Gov. Mark Dayton for help. In a letter he wrote:

"I live in a state where I am not a criminal but a patient, how is it I can travel across borders in the same country and become an accused felon?" he wrote. "I'm being threatened with 30 days of work release or jail, along with fines and probation, as well as attending chemical dependency classes. Up until this summer I believed the drug laws to be outdated, now, immoral."

Hallgren notes that many people travel legally with drugs much stronger than marijuana.

"I'm stuck. This is just bizarre."

jtevlin@startribune.com • 612-673-1702