Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Federal Judge Rules in Favor of Three Men Who Provided Pot to Patients From Americans for Safe Access: Los Angeles(Monday, November 24, 2003) - Despite attempts by federal prosecutors to portray three former directors of a West Hollywood medical marijuana dispensary as common drug dealers, a federal judge showed leniency today and sentenced them to one year of probation, and between 100 and 250 hours of community service. Ruling that the case of the three men fell "outside the heartland" of normal narcotics cases, U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz departed downward from sentencing guidelines that called for up to 30 months in federal prison for Scott Imler, Jeff Yablan and Jeffrey Farrington. Each had pled guilty to charges of "maintaining a place" where marijuana was "manufactured" and distributed. Attorneys for the three men had argued that standard sentencing should not apply, because their work caring for patients was strictly controlled, exclusively humanitarian and done with the full knowledge and cooperation of local law enforcement and elected officials. West Hollywood's mayor and city council were among those who asked the federal judge for leniency. The LACRC worked so closely with local officials that a West Hollywood city councilman served as their attorney, and the city had helped buy the building in which the center operated. The center had even applied for a federal license to "manufacture marijuana for medical research" and taken investigators on a tour of the facility. That application was cited by the DEA as the basis for its raid on October 25, 2001, which closed the LACRC. First, despite the lenient sentence, these people should never have been arrested, tried, or sentenced even to community service. They were performing a community service until the DEA stepped in and stopped them. Second, how long do you think it'll be until John Ashcroft investigates Judge Matz for not giving the maximum sentence possible? 2:19:34 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

Hempfest M.A.S.H. (Mobilizing Activists and Students for Hemp) is a student group I work with, and they are holding a Hempfest next week. Thursday, December 4 3:00-8:00 pm Bowling and Billiards Center Activity Room Illinois State University (Normal, IL) Bands: Full Size Jimmy, Stefan Robinson from Free Space Music, Jaik Willis, Mike Williams, White Horse, Dan Shoenberg Speakers: Pete Guither, Phil Huckleberry, Gregg Brown, John Firefly Activities: Make your own hemp necklace, Raffle, door prizes, etc. I'll be speaking around 6 pm. If you're in the area, stop by. Email me if you need directions. Flyers banned One interesting thing related to Hempfest. M.A.S.H. is an educational and activist organization that focuses on issues related to uses of the hemp plant and advocating changes in the law, particularly regarding medical marijuana and industrial hemp. For Hempfest, the organizers put together a flyer with a drawing of a hemp leaf on it (similar to the one at right). The group is not allowed to put flyers in any of the residence halls on campus because of that leaf. They met all the other requirements (they're a registered student organization, printed on recycled paper, all the required statements on the flyer, etc.), but the leaf means they can't post the flyers. The university residence halls are administered separately from the university, and have their own posting policies. Here's the one that was quoted: Materials may not display profanity or alcohol/substance abuse products or advertisement. So this leaf automatically qualifies as advertising a substance abuse product? Regardless of context? What other image would this group use? I find this approach particularly offensive connected with a public educational institution (although I must point out that the flyers may be posted elsewhere on campus, just not in the residence halls). I've written a letter supporting M.A.S.H.'s appeal of the decision. I'll let you know how it turns out. 12:28:19 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []