Medicinal marijuana hearing delayed

Waterloo

A probation hearing for a Waterloo man who could go to prison for using marijuana for medicinal purposes has been delayed.
Allen Helmers, 48, had been scheduled to be in Black Hawk County District Court Monday.
        His attorney, Tom Frerichs of Waterloo, said a new date has not been set.  It is the second time the hearing has been pushed back.
        Helmers has said he believes marijuana is the safest way to relieve pain caused by


fibromyalgia syndrome, a disease that attacks the body's soft tissue.  The cause is unknown and there is no cure.
        Helmers has already been sentenced to two five-year suspended prison sentences and $1,800 in fines stemming from a police search of his home that uncovered about three ounces of marijuana.
        He was also placed on two to five years of supervised probation, including periodic urine tests.  Because he has continued using marijuana, the probation could be revoked and a prison term could be imposed.

The Waterloo / Cedar Falls Courier, Sunday, October 27, 1996, Page B9.