Zimmerman attorneys want jurors to hear about Trayvon Martin’s pot use

May 21, 2013 at 8:57p.m.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Trayvon Martin brought marijuana with him to Sanford from South Florida, according to new paperwork filed today by George Zimmerman’s attorney, and used it at least once before he was killed.

Two weeks ago, prosecutors filed paperwork asking Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson to ban defense attorneys and witnesses from telling jurors that autopsy blood samples taken from Martin tested positive for marijuana use.

Defense attorney Don West filed his written response Tuesday: That information is relevant, so jurors should know about it.

Nelson will likely rule on it during a daylong hearing May 28 in Sanford.

According to West’s three-page response, a state toxicologist, Dr. Bruce Goldberger, determined that the amount of marijuana in Martin’s system was enough to cause some impairment, although not enough to get him arrested for driving under the influence, had he been behind the wheel of a car.

Martin may have used marijuana a couple of hours before his death or longer if he were an occasional or regular user, West quoted Goldberger as saying.

In addition, West wrote that attorneys have learned that Martin brought marijuana with him from South Florida to Sanford a few days before his shooting and used it at least once during his stay there.

All of that is relevant, West wrote, because Zimmerman told a police dispatcher shortly before shooting Martin that he believed the Miami Gardens teenager was suspicious and may have been on drugs.

West also wrote that in a 7-Eleven security video taken about an hour before the fatal confrontation, Martin appears to sway while standing at the checkout counter.

At the time, Martin was serving a 10-day suspension because school officials had found an empty marijuana baggie in his backpack.

Zimmerman, 29, is the former Neighborhood Watch volunteer charged with second-degree murder in Martin’s shooting death on Feb. 26, 2012.