Court: Drug users can testify

COLUMBUS - The Ohio Supreme Court ruled yesterday that drug users can draw on their experience and knowledge to identify particular substances in drug cases.

The court, however, said in its 6-1 ruling that the convictions obtained in the Marion County case should be reversed. It upheld an appeals court ruling that did so.

Cassandra McKee was convicted on two counts of corrupting another with drugs after two girls, age 13 and 14 at the time, testified that McKee had shared a marijuana cigarette with them in her car.

One of the juveniles' mother found a note to a friend that said the friend could obtain marijuana from McKee and the mother gave the note to authorities. Based on the testimony of the juveniles, a jury convicted McKee.

The appeals court ruled that such testimony could be used to obtain a conviction if there is no expert witness or laboratory analysis available, as long as the witness has knowledge and experience of a particular substance.

The Supreme Court agreed.

"The experience and knowledge of a drug user lay witness can establish his or her competence to express an opinion on the identity of a controlled substance if the foundation for this testimony is first established," Justice Francis Sweeney wrote for the majority.

However, there was no indication of how much experience the juveniles had with marijuana, so their testimony could not be established as credible, Sweeney wrote.