Attorneys for George Zimmerman are asking a judge to allow them to introduce evidence, or at least cross-examine state witnesses, regarding the fact that Trayvon Martin may have been high on marijuana the night of the fatal shooting.
Zimmerman, who is charged with second-degree murder, will be going to trial next month.
Zimmerman will be asserting self-defense at trial, which means that he has the burden of demonstrating that he reasonably believed that lethal force was necessary to save his life against an attack by Trayvon Martin.
The state obviously is seeking to prevent the defense from getting into Martin's alleged drug use. The state believes that such evidence is irrelevant, prejudicial, and seeks only to disparage the victim.
The defense believes that Martin's possibly impaired state of mind, as well as Zimmerman's perception of Martin in a possible impaired state, are crucial to their self-defense claim.
Remember - in Florida, self-defense is about the appearance of harm, not necessarily actual harm.
The judge has not yet ruled on this issue.