A cancer patient from the Davenport area is charged with growing marijuana. Scott County prosecutors say 47-year-old Benton Mackenzie is a drug dealer. They say he had 71 marijuana plants in his parents’ house.
But the Quad-City Times reports Mackenzie has terminal cancer and says he relies on marijuana to help him cope with his illness. A court will decide his fate next month. Mackenzie is representing himself. He is expected to argue that he needs marijuana for treatment, but Iowa isn’t one of the 20 states that permit the medical use of marijuana.
(Reporting by Phil Roberts, Davenport)