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 Robel Phillipos, 21, was too intoxicated by marijuana the night of
April 18, 2013, when he is charged with accompanying two other men
to the accused bomber's college dorm room, to remember his actions,
his lawyers assert.
They contend that his confession to the FBI days later of going to
suspected bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's room with two other friends who
removed a backpack containing empty firework shells did not reflect
his actual memories of that evening but rather what FBI agents told
him happened.
After prosecutors rested their case in U.S. District Court in Boston
on Wednesday, defense attorneys began by questioning a college
friend and high school friend of Phillipos, a resident of Cambridge,
Massachusetts, about his marijuana use.
 Defense attorneys are also expected to call expert witnesses on how
marijuana affects the brain.
Federal prosecutors contend that Phillipos, and two other friends of
accused bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, went to the suspect's dorm room
three days after the attack that killed three people and injured
more than 260, shortly after the FBI released photos of the
suspected bombers.
One of the Kazakhs, Azamat Tazhayakov, was convicted in July of
obstruction of justice for taking the backpack. The other, Dias
Kadyrbayev, pleaded guilty to obstruction in August.
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Phillipos, who faces the less serious charge of lying to
investigators, could be sentenced to up to 16 years in prison if
convicted.
Tsarnaev, 21, is awaiting trial on charges that carry the death
penalty.
(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Eric Walsh)
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