Dope defendant's defense: Marijuana a 'natural plant' made by God

Defense attorney says Huron County man doesn't sell marijuana but prefers to buy the drug in bulk so his supply lasts a long time.
Cary Ashby
Dec 13, 2013

"I believe in God. I believe it's (marijuana) a natural plant he made and I have the right to possess it."

That's what Dwain C. Perry, 38, of 2425 Alpha Road, Greenwich, said during his sentencing hearing Thursday in Huron County Common Pleas Court.

Perry also told Judge Jim Conway that when an officer found a marijuana roach during a traffic stop, the officer told him not to drive and smoke dope but didn't cite him. The defendant said that advice is something he has taken seriously since that incident, but admitted he enjoys using marijuana.

On Oct. 22, Perry pleaded guilty to attempted possession of marijuana, a first-degree misdemeanor. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to dismiss one felony count of trafficking in marijuana.

The defendant's conviction is for a Jan. 29 traffic stop. Huron County Assistant Prosecutor Daivia Kasper said police found 370 grams of marijuana in six bags.

Huron County Public Defender David Longo said he doesn't think Perry is involved in selling drugs, but he prefers to buy his marijuana in bulk so his supply would last a long time. Longo said it's riskier behavior than defendants who purchase one or two bags every couple of weeks.

Perry doesn't have any felony convictions. Longo said his client has never committed "a crime of dishonesty" or "any serious crime in his life."

The defendant's lengthy criminal history as an adult includes multiple drug-related misdemeanors, which only resulted in a "moderate amount of jail time," Kasper said. The prosecutor, who requested a 30-day jail sentence, said Perry needs to be punished for his behavior.

Huron County Common Pleas Judge Jim Conway said aside from Perry's acknowledged use of marijuana, it's unlikely the defendant will commit another crime. He sentenced the man to 30 days in the Huron County Jail and fined him $1,000. Perry's driver's license also was suspended for six months as part of his two years of probation.

A probation violation would result in a 150-day jail term.



How can you give a guy with some weed 30 days but you give a guy that is a thief and heroin addict and has 62 different counts with prison time and felonies the same time for selling heroin for his 3rd or 4th time? These judges/laws are crazy.


I agree! these laws are crazy! Ever heard of a house getting robbed to support a weed habit? Ever read a news story on this great site about a guy smokin a little weed and wandering into a random house in the middle of the nite? me neither!


If he was turned loose tomorow would the general public be in danger?


The judge don't get kick back from pot dealers. There is no money in that. This guy has to be taking bribes from dope (herion) dealers to keep there customers free! they dropped a charge for some lady that sold viccodon and she was caught twice in the same week! God I'm glad I'm not in this county! Take notice potheads, vote him out!


"marijuana in six bags" was the problem,if it was all in one bag personal use would have been more beliveable.i dont smoke weed ,but i think we have bigger problems in this town than grass.i think beer is worse then pot and so are all these pills the doctors push on people!


Agree on the bag issue, actually I agree with you completely


Not that I agree with the mentality of using pot is harmless, but pot comes in different strains... different types have different effects such as THC levels and even tastes... dude just might not have wanted things mixed up... just because fruit loops and cheerios are shapped the same that doesn't mean you eat 'em both at the same time.

Granted I feel that illegal is illegal and there should be stiffer punishments for drug offenders like corporal punishment to dissuade people more than the concept of an all expenses paid and food and shelter provided time out does... bring back flogging and public humiliation.


That also makes since! Forgot that all marijuana isn't crap. I've only seen crap dope from Buddys of mine back in the day.

Ellis dee

ur missin out


The article clearly states he purchases in bulk, so six bags would be logical to have if he had just bought them, and was transporting them home..

chetbobalowski's picture

Dang! That's a lot of cheeba. I need to hang out with this guy.

Free Perry 2013


You made this guy's life harder for using a "drug" safer than beer? If there is no victim then there shouldn't be a crime! Where in the constitution that grants the government the authority it has does it say to be people's mommy? If we are a free people we are free to make good and bad choices for ourselves as long as we do not harm another person or property.


First i HATE all drugs anyways, BUT
I believe Herion usage and punishments are less severe because our own government is behind the scenes controlling the flow into the country? Look where it comes from? Look where we have had major involvement recents years? Thru them same years it has gone wildly. Requiring more Law Enforcement. More law enforcement, need for more tax dollars which result in more government eyes on it's citizens. All in the name of GOOD.
read all the facts coming out of the drug trade and who controlled the flow 45 yrs ago? Vietnam ring a bell.
Pot (while no good either) can't/hasn't been able to be controlled. Even when some states has experimented with the legalization, very HARD to TAX!
Can be grown and supplied by anyone/anywhere.
While pot smokin' is not good for ya. Most still have rational thoughts and views on government/politics/rights.
Herion addicts NO thought! No rational? Just out of it. More population unaware, more population wacked out.
THINK...much easier to "control" a drug addict. Then a "citizen" who can rationalize?? All the while have the "clean" population screaming for government officials to do more..
More means.. more laws, more officials, more eyes.
Public starts to react. defend. many Call for more control. whether for guns or public safety which brings back to....
more control and how do you get control???
By taking away more freedom, till ALL are in this bubble and with the help of bleeding hearts who keep saying, "we must help" "we must do all we can do". The government swoops in, Save the day?
more control in place.
Sorry but i firmly believe EVERYTHING happens for a reason, and AMERICANS have been so spoiled(welfare), stoned(hard drugs), or busy trying to work hard(the few left who still believe in the American value) we have forgotten there ARE PEOPLE WHO STILL SEEK ABSOLUTE POWER!
History....... it was villages, territories, then countries, now GLOBAL dominance.
All in the name of.....wait for it...
Your own good.


^^^blah, blah, blah.^^^
Take another hit truckin.


Belladonna is "natural" too, are you going to smoke that?

The THC in today's marijuana is so much more potent than it was forty years ago. And probably not in a good way.


Well heroin comes from that is a natural plant from GOD too. Does that make it better? Mushrooms are a natural plant. Where does his awesome intelligence end? What a dumba$$....most all drugs started as some kind of "NATURAL PLANT". Heck cocaine did too. COCA plant. Originally many moons ago, you would chew the leaves of the plant. There was too little of the chemical in it to become completely stoned or addicted. Then come alone scientist to added other things and other chemicals and turned it into modern day cocaine. Everything can go back to a natural plant.


Heroin and cocaine are manufactured from natural substances. Marijuana grows naturally from the ground and can be harvested and consumed without any process to "make it." I think that's where he's coming from. Glad to see the majority of people commenting realize that marijuana is less harmful to society than a lot of "legal" addictive substances. The only reason that the government doesn't legalize all drugs is because, then they wouldn't be able to control them. They're doing a fine job controlling the illegal drugs. Drugs make money in a lot of directions. Production, transport, sale, fines, rehab, task force, courts, jails, newspapers, movies, music. Of course if you wanna get off drugs you'll prolly have to use some of their "legal" drugs to get you all better.




(Gn 1:11-12)

The man has a point, however I don't believe that the Bible says anything about driving while stoned.

Ben Crazy

Nothing in life is good for you , Who are you poeple to decide ? Thats whats wrong with society today,poeple worry about what everyone else is doing!!!


Poison Ivy is a plant as well , Suppose you are going to try and smoke it too cause its made by God . I am so sick of People using this for an end run around the law . And its not pot persay , as it is what is used to grow it . Has anyone ever seen what the growers use to grow pot? Some of the things they use are deadly if taken by themselves . And yes I agree that pot is not really addictive , but when most use it a lot , they lose the high that you would get when you smoke it , and then it only leads to other such drugs to get the same high as you got from smoking pot . I have seen it first hand so no one can tell me differently . Its just like drink booze , you start out drinking one or two and then it leads to drink on a daily bases .

Ellis dee



Good response gene44870. If people who wish to use the Bible for their own twisted ends would just continue reading they would find that God cursed the ground and everything which comes from it. As far as Ben Crazy- total and absolute freedom without any laws to regulate behavior within a society is called- anarchy. Truckin needs to stay out of the conspiracy websites- bigtime! Libertarian, much like Ben Crazy, needs to come back from his little dreamworld for a moment to see that every persons actions directly effect everyone around them- there's no such thing as a "victimless" anything. If this guy's pot happened to come from south of the border (or even the seeds from which it grew)- what about the countless people who have been killed there by the drug cartels just so he can have his nice little habit? People may see that as a great stretch but the fact remains- people are being killed every day to supply others' drug habits in this country. That in my mind puts blood upon their hands. I'm sure I'll hear all kinds of comments on that statement but I don't see anybody having been killed to supply my Christmas tree this year. Food for thought I guess.

Kottage Kat

BRAVO, spot on and well said.
Thank you


Thanks Kottage Kat- I'm not finding too many friends here...

Kottage Kat

Not my goal in life to make friends with these folks. Simply give MHO and move on.
Call em like I see em. Try to be kind, not always easy.
Stay safe and warm


Reasons Why Smoking Weed Will Lead You To Success.

Most Successful Marijuana Smokers in America

Besides the obvious suspects Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa, below is a list of weed smokers who have gone against the stereotypes and become, and remain, some of the most successful people in their respective fields. Take a look...

Sir Richard Branson

He is the 236th richest person in the world, founder of the Virgin empire, which encompasses everything from airlines to record stores to cell phones, and made his entire multi-billion dollar fortune from absolutely nothing. Not only does this man smoke weed, he gets high with his 21-year-old son and says there is nothing wrong with it.

Michael Phelps

We saw the most successful Olympian of all time getting it in while in the swimming pool. Then we saw him get it in with a bong at a college party and got ratted out by one of his “friends.” Since the story erupted, Phelps has given a few interviews decrying his “bad judgment,” promising it was a dumb mistake that never happened before and won’t happen again. But we know that Phelps is probably getting high as you read this.

Michael Bloomberg

One former pothead supports another. Bloomberg added to the Obama momentum for reelection when he openly supported the incumbent president.

Actually this one surprised me. The conservatively-comported Bloomberg defies the stereotype of a weed smoker. And he was getting it in as a youngster. In his own words “You bet I did. And I enjoyed it!”

Ted Turner

This billionaire visionary tycoon can come off as completely absent minded, incapable of even putting on his own pants and now we know why. We all know that Turner single-handedly invented the 24-hour news cycle with CNN, was named Time’s Man of the Year in 1991, is the largest private land owner in America, and also owns a few other TV stations, and the Atlanta Braves. So… owning lots of stuff? Not what you’d expect from a guy who grew pot in his college dorm room.

Montel Williams

Williams stumbled upon the green plant later in life, but for very good reasons. After his 1999 diagnosis for Multiple Sclerosis, and he was unsuccessful in finding anything to suppress his symptoms. He tried all sorts of pain killers; none worked, and all had horrible side effects. So he decided to try medical marijuana and found out that it works.

Stephen King

He’s authored upwards of 50 novels and short stories which have sold a collective 500 million copies worldwide. He’s also been one of the most vocal proponents for the legalization of marijuana, calling laws against the drug “ridiculous,” and stating that “I think that marijuana should not only be legal, I think it should be a cottage industry.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Governator is the only man on this list who is actually on video smoking weed. In the classic documentary Pumping Iron, he is seen smoking, and loving, a joint. But hey man, that was the’70s, right?

Rick Steves

author of 27 top selling European travel guides, host of his own TV show(PBS) and radio show, and a very outspoken pothead. He’s a member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and credits pot for turning him into a better travel writer by opening his mind to new things.

Bill Clinton

"I experimented with marijuana a time or two."

Jon Stewart

“Do you know how many movies I wrote when I was high?”

Lady Gaga

"I smoke a lot of pot when I write music."

Jennifer Aniston


Morgan Freeman

"Never give up the ganja."

Martha Stewart

"Of course I know how to roll a joint."

Johnny Depp

"I'm not a great pothead or anything like that… but weed is much, much less dangerous than alcohol."

Snoop Dogg


pot smokers have gone on to become some of the most successful people in our society.
Think before you drink.


please grow up, you don't need pot, your 38 yrs. old. Find a productive hobby. Your not a teen or in college, act your age. An old pot head is not cute, only smelly, yellow teeth and not what you want when your 45.



Ben Crazy

Thats why they call u kingsin, Dip----!