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Dr. Balis:
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Hello. May I help you?
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Mr. Young:
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Hello, Doctor Balis, I'm Rob. I'm Sharon's...uh, we've spoken before on the phone, haven't we? I'm not interrupting a session, am I?
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Dr. Balis:
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No, it's fine. What can I do for you?
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Mr. Young:
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Sharon was arrested for possession, possibly with intent. I'm coming back from a criminal attorney's office. Since I was downtown, I thought maybe I could talk to you.
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Dr. Balis:
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I see. Would you like to sit down?
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Mr. Young:
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No, thanks, I'll just be a minute. Evidently, Sharon took some sort of hallucinogenic made from rye mold. I think she was trying to cultivate psilocybin using the rye as a host.
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Dr. Balis:
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Oh.
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Mr. Young:
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She must have taken too much--she had a bad reaction. She panicked and called 911. The police came...I wasn't home. I had a staff meeting that ran late that day. They searched the house and found about twenty jars full of this stuff in Sharon's closet.
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Dr. Balis:
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Where is Sharon now?
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Mr. Young:
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She's still in the hospital. After they let her out, she's going to jail. Then she'll be arraigned and they'll set bail. I'll bail her out if I can. The attorney thinks that the arraignment will probably be on Friday.
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Dr. Balis:
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This must be an ordeal for you.
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Mr. Young:
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You're not kidding. The police took the rye mold to a lab, and they are still analyzing it. A colleague of mine gave me the number of a criminal attorney who's had experience with drug offenders. I spoke to her for about two hours today. The attorney said that this substance that Sharon was cultivating might not be classified as an illegal drug. The lab has to determine what it is before Sharon can be charged.
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Dr. Balis:
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I see.
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Mr. Young:
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So there's a chance that she won't be charged with anything serious. However, if the lab results determine that she was manufacturing an illegal drug, there's certainly enough of it to warrant a charge of possession with an intent to sell. That's a stiff felony. Sharon could go to prison for the next twenty or thirty years.
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Dr. Balis:
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How's Sharon doing?
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Mr. Young:
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She seemed dazed last night. I'm not sure she understood what was going on. I don't think she's coming for her session on Friday, even if we can get her out of prison by then.
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Dr. Balis:
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I understand. But please keep me informed.
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Mr. Young:
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I came to see you because...well, I was worried about the legal implications and I was in the area anyway. I think your input would be very valuable now.
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Dr. Balis:
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I'm glad you came; you did the right thing.
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Mr. Young:
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I need to ask you if I can give your number to Sharon's attorney. Since you've been treating Sharon for several months, and she has had some...well, she's rather troubled. Maybe her psychological state could be a mitigating factor if she is charged with a crime. If you could possibly write a case history or...I don't know what the attorney wants exactly. She did say she'd like to talk to you.
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Dr. Balis:
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I'll be glad to talk to Sharon's attorney...
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Mr. Young:
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I know about the doctor-patient privilege and all that.
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Dr. Balis:
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Sharon can waive that, if it's necessary to her defense, although that can have a downside, too. Her attorney can advise her about that and I'll be happy to talk to Sharon about it, too. You look tired, Rob. Are you sure you don't want to sit down for a moment?
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Mr. Young:
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I wouldn't mind sitting down to the first cigar of the day. I don't suppose you could bend the rules a bit?
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Dr. Balis:
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I'm sorry, I can't do that. The city regulations...
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Mr. Young:
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Oh well, it was worth a try. Can't smoke anywhere in this city. Would you like one? They're Cubans.
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Dr. Balis:
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No, thank you. I don't smoke. Thank you for keeping me informed, Rob.
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Mr. Young:
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You're welcome. Have a good day, Doctor.
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Dr. Balis:
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You too, Rob. Actually, there are a couple of places you can smoke cigars, I think. There's Shanghai 1938 downtown and I think the Park Hyatt has a cigar smoking room, if I'm not mistaken. That's just about 6 blocks from here.
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Mr. Young:
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As tempting as that sounds, I think I'll just go home now. Goodbye.
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Dr. Balis:
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Goodbye. Give me a call if anything changes, okay?
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Mr. Young:
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Sure, Doctor.
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###
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Doctor Balis' Notes on this Conversation
Transcripts of Sharon Lough's Communications
