California, Merced

[budman]

Et tu, merced?

San Diego CityBeat
June 6, 2006


Following a court hearing last Friday, San Diego County Superior Court Judge William Nevitt ruled that Merced County could join San Bernardino and San Diego counties in their attempt to overturn Prop. 215—also known as the Compassionate Use Act—an initiative approved by voters in 1996 that established the right of chronically ill people to use marijuana for medicinal purposes with a doctor’s recommendation.

County Counsel Ellen Pilsecker explained that if the case makes it to trial, the three counties will argue that Prop. 215 is invalid under federal law. Federal law says it’s a crime to possess marijuana regardless of whether it’s for medical use.

Medical marijuana advocates say the fact that two other counties have hopped on board the lawsuit, filed earlier this year at the behest of the county Board of Supervisors, doesn’t necessarily make the lawsuit any stronger.

“It’s very unusual for a county to sue the state challenging any particular state mandate,” explained Dale Geringer, state coordinator for California NORML (National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws).

“As the [state] attorney general’s office is arguing, there may not, in fact, be any legal authority for the county to sue the state in this position,” he said.

In a hearing on June 9, Judge Nevitt will determine whether or not the county has legal standing to continue with the suit.

“If the state wins… the case gets thrown out,” Pilsecker said. “If the state loses… the case will go forward.

“Whoever loses,” she added, “is going to appeal.”

—Kia Momtazi

© 2003-2006 Southland Publishing, All Rights Reserved

[budman]

County joins pot-fighting lawsuit

Taking a stance against medical marijuana


By Chris Collins
CCOLLINS@MERCEDSUN-STAR.COM
The Merced Sun-Star

Last Updated: August 26, 2006, 01:01:28 AM PDT


Merced County is gearing up for a smoking showdown with civil rights groups that could determine the future of state medical marijuana laws.
The county is expected to file legal papers on Friday that will join San Diego and San Bernardino counties in arguing that federal laws banning marijuana supersede any state laws allowing the use of the drug.

The Merced County Counsel's Office joined the legal battle three months ago in an effort to overturn Proposition 215, the 1996 measure that allows Californians to use marijuana for medicinal purposes.

But most members of the county Board of Supervisors say they want the marijuana laws clarified, but don't want to see the drug completely banned.

They were hard-pressed to explain why they all voted to join a lawsuit that would prohibit any marijuana use, even for medicinal purposes.

"I don't know," said Supervisor Kathleen Crookham. "I would assume we're involved because so many people raised the issue."

Supervisor Jerry O'Banion said he didn't think the county was taking a stance on the issue.

"I don't look at it as we're siding on someone's side," he said.

But Merced County's attorneys argue in a complaint filed in San Diego Superior Court that Proposition 215 "is invalid as a matter of law."

Supervisor Mike Nelson, who is the only member of the board who said he is opposed to the use of medical marijuana, said the supervisors voted to join the lawsuit after Merced resident Grant Wilson repeatedly showed up to board meetings earlier this year.

At each meeting, Wilson asked supervisors to vote on whether the county should issue identification cards for people who were prescribed medical marijuana, as ordered by the Legislature in 2003.

Merced County and most other California counties have not set up an identification system yet, saying it would cause too much confusion for health and law enforcement officials.

Nelson, who is the chairman of the board, denied Wilson's requests each time. Instead, Nelson voted to join the lawsuit.

"Mr. Wilson has continually come asking for some determination," he said. "So to help him along, we're asking for a determination."

The lawsuit would have gone on without Merced County's participation however, and the court would have eventually reached a ruling that would clarify which marijuana laws should prevail.

Asked if the county could have waited for the lawsuit to play out instead of devoting staff time to the effort, Nelson replied, "Perhaps."

Wilson could not be reached for comment Friday. In a letter he sent to Nelson in July, he said he felt "misled and deceived" by the board's decision to join the lawsuit.

Supervisor Deidre Kelsey, who said she supports the right for patients to be prescribed marijuana, said she voted for the county to join the lawsuit that would eliminate that right because the county's participation would give local officials some say in how the legal battle is resolved if the case is settled.

"It gives us an opportunity to give our input at the table if there's an opportunity for negotiations," Kelsey said.

Supervisor John Pedrozo could not be reached for comment Friday.

Deputy Counsel Walter Wall, who is assigned to argue against Proposition 215 for Merced County, provided basic details about the marijuana lawsuit, but declined to comment on why the county decided to join the legal effort.

San Diego County supervisors voted 3-2 last November to file suit against the state to overturn Proposition 215. The lawsuit also seeks to eliminate the 2003 law passed by the Legislature that requires identification cards for marijuana users.

San Bernardino County joined the legal battle in January and Merced County jumped in five months later. No other counties have joined the lawsuit.

The counties' opposition has mounted in recent weeks. A judge ruled Aug. 5 that the American Civil Liberties Union, the Drug Policy Alliance and Americans for Safe Access could join the fight against the three counties.

Another group, called Safe Access Now, rallied marijuana-rights supporters in Merced County in May after supervisors voted to join the lawsuit.

A half dozen locals and Aaron Smith, a Safe Access Now lobbyist, called on county officials to drop the legal effort because they said other courts have already backed the legality of Proposition 215.

"It would be a great misappropriation of Merced County's limited resources to entangle itself in this costly lawsuit," Smith said in a statement released at that time.

Reporter Chris Collins can be reached at 385-2431 or ccollins@mercedsun-star.com.

[palmspringsbum]

Pot trial pushes a hot button

Prosecutor says medical marijuana backers should not wear buttons in court.

By John Ellis / The Fresno Bee
10/24/06 03:48:13

In the upcoming trial of Merced marijuana activist Dustin Costa, prosecutor Karen Escobar says the federal government — just like the defendant — has the right to a fair trial.

To that end, she is asking a federal judge to prohibit Costa's supporters from wearing buttons, T-shirts or anything else that promotes legalizing medical marijuana.

Such "paraphernalia," she said, could have an "improper influence on jurors required to follow the law."

The request prompted Costa's defense attorney, Robert Rainwater, to point out that Escobar was wearing a lanyard with "DEA" on it, for the Drug Enforcement Administration — which could bias a jury in the opposite direction.

Why should she have that right, Rainwater said, when supporters of Costa and medical marijuana might not.

U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii did not rule on Escobar's request, but said it was in a gray area of First Amendment free-speech rights versus the right to a fair trial.

Monday's exchange in U.S. District Court in Fresno came as both sides hashed out motions before Costa's trial, scheduled to begin Nov. 7.

A three-count indictment charges Costa with growing more than 100 marijuana plants — equivalent to nearly 9 pounds — with the intent to distribute. Costa also faces a charge of possession of a firearm "in furtherance of drug trafficking crime."

But this is more than a simple drug-trafficking case. Costa was president of the Merced Patients Group, a private cannabis club in Merced that claimed 230 members.

In 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215, which gives ill people the right to use marijuana for medicinal purposes when cleared by a doctor.

In June 2005, however, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal government could prosecute people who use marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Costa was arrested a short time later.

Rainwater already has said Costa believed he was growing and distributing marijuana while it was still legal under state law.

Waiting in line behind Costa at Fresno's federal courthouse are at least one — and possibly two — similar cases. In some hearings, Costa's included, supporters have shown up in T-shirts with slogans such as "Marijuana — better than Ritalin."

In making her case, Escobar referenced a 1995 Superior Court trial in San Jose where a man was convicted of murdering his estranged wife's fiancé. The victim's family sat in the front row of the gallery during the trial, wearing buttons with the murdered man's picture.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the verdict and ordered a new trial, saying the buttons may have biased jurors.

Ishii acknowledged supporters of either defendants or the prosecution could be affected in the matter: "This is one of those issues that cuts both ways."

The reporter can be reached atjellis@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6320.

[palmspringsbum]

<span class=postbold>Drug War Chronicle - world’s leading drug policy newsletter</span>

Medical Marijuana: First New Federal Prosecution in Three Years Underway in California


from Drug War Chronicle, Issue #461, 11/10/06

The US Justice Department had not prosecuted a California medical marijuana patient since 2003, but that changed Wednesday as the federal trial of Merced County medical marijuana patient and provider Dustin Costa got under way in Fresno. Costa, a leading medical marijuana activist, was originally arrested on state charges, but Merced County prosecutors handed his case over to the feds when it became apparent that California's Compassionate Use Act would make it impossible to convict him under California law.

The last federal medical marijuana patient and provider trial in California was the Ed Rosenthal debacle. In that case, Rosenthal was convicted on federal marijuana manufacture charges after the jury was not allowed to hear testimony relating to medical marijuana. Rosenthal was convicted, but when jurors learned the rest of the story, many of them publicly denounced the trial and the verdict, and the federal judge trying the case sentenced him to only one day in jail.

In Costa's case, the 60-year-old retired Marine who headed the Merced Patients Group, a nonprofit cultivation collective, was originally arrested by Merced County sheriff's deputies when they raided a greenhouse he was using to cultivate marijuana for patients in March 2004. But local prosecutors turned the case over to the feds, and Costa was re-arrested on federal charges in August 2005. Since then, he has been imprisoned at the Fresno County Jail. If convicted on the charges, he faces a mandatory minimum 20-year federal prison sentence.

Costa now faces federal charges of cultivation, possession with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm. As in the Rosenthal case, Costa will not be allowed to even mention medical marijuana or its legality under state law during the trial.

"Dustin Costa is a victim of the federal government's refusal to respect medical science," said Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access, a national medical marijuana advocacy group. "He and all the others being denied a medical defense at trial are the new targets in our government's war on patients."

Costa may be the first medical marijuana patient to be tried by the feds since the Rosenthal trial, but he probably will not be the last. According to figures compiled by Americans for Safe Access, at least 91 other California patients and providers have been arrested on federal marijuana charges and are awaiting trial.

[palmspringsbum]

Medical marijuana issue snuffed from federal trial

By John Ellis / The Fresno Bee
11/15/06 03:48:16

A jury has been selected and opening arguments will begin today in the federal trial of Merced marijuana activist Dustin Costa, but it is unlikely there will be any debate on the hotly disputed issue of the drug's medicinal value.

Before his arrest, Costa was president of the Merced Patients Group, a private cannabis club that claimed 230 members.

The club helped connect people with doctors who give recommendations for marijuana and those who supply the drug.

Costa, 60, is facing a three-count indictment charging him with with growing more than 100 marijuana plants, equivalent to nearly 9 pounds, in February 2004 with the intent to distribute. Costa also faces a charge of possession of a firearm "in furtherance of drug trafficking crime."

Robert Rainwater, Costa's attorney, had hoped to use medical marijuana as part of Costa's defense strategy, but earlier, U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii ruled that evidence wouldn't be admissable unless brought up by federal prosecutors.

That isn't likely. To Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar, this trial has nothing to do with medical marijuana.

"The law is the law," she said, and Costa broke it.

Because of a prior marijuana cultivation conviction, Costa faces a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence, and the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison if he is convicted on all the charges.

Costa supporters and medical marijuana activists had looked to this trial with great anticipation in the tussle between California and the federal government over the issue of marijuana's medicinal value.

Not only is this the first trial in the nation in three years involving claims of medical marijuana, but also the first since a key U.S. Supreme Court decision on the issue last year, said Kris Hermes, legal campaign director with Americans For Safe Access, a group that advocates for medical marijuana laws.

"It's a pretty big milestone event," he said.

California voters in 1996 approved Proposition 215, which gives ill people the right to use marijuana for medicinal purposes when cleared by a doctor. Ten other states followed California's lead.

In 2002, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stopped the Bush administration from prosecuting Oakland resident Angel Raich — who used marijuana to fight chronic pain — as well as her suppliers. In June 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that decision, and the federal government then cracked down on medical marijuana dispensaries.

Hermes — who is sitting in on Costa's trial — said more than 90 people across the nation in circumstances similar to Costa's are awaiting trial. Some of those, such as Bakersfield resident Joe Fortt, are due to be tried in Fresno.

But in this case, it is unlikely medical marijuana will be an issue, and Hermes said it was "outrageous" that the drug's medicinal uses couldn't be used as a defense.

Escobar disagreed. During jury selection, she questioned a woman who supported medical marijuana, telling her "that is a California law, not a federal law."

Escobar told the woman — who eventually was seated on the jury — that a juror must follow the law whether they agree with it or not, and cultivating and selling marijuana is illegal. <hr class=postrule><center><small>The reporter can be reached at jellis@fresnobee.comor (559) 441-6320. </small></center>

[palmspringsbum]

Trial begins for pot activist

Merced County man faces a three-count case in federal court.

By John Ellis / The Fresno Bee
11/16/06 04:53:15

Testimony began Wednesday in Dustin Costa's trial, with prosecutors portraying the Merced marijuana activist as a drug dealer who violated federal law.

Costa, 60, is facing a three-count indictment charging him with growing more than 100 marijuana plants with the intent to distribute. He also faces a charge of possession of a firearm "in furtherance of drug-trafficking crime."

In opening statements in U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii's courtroom, prosecutor Karen Escobar told jurors Costa had a "relatively sophisticated marijuana operation" at his Merced County home. She said Costa was robbed 13 times, but never called police because he knew he was in violation of the law.

Never mentioned within earshot of the jury, but always on the fringes of the trial's opening day, was the medical marijuana issue.

The issue first came up when Escobar objected to a spectator wearing a small marijuana-leaf pin on his lapel. She said the pin could influence the jury.

During pretrial motions last month, Escobar asked Ishii to prohibit Costa's supporters from wearing buttons or T-shirts that promote legalizing medical marijuana because it could improperly influence jurors.

Ishii acknowledged the fair trial versus free speech issue, but issued no ruling. On Wednesday, he made no broad trial ruling but allowed the spectator to keep the pin.

"As long as you are discreet, you don't have to worry about it," Ishii told the man.

Medical marijuana was again addressed when defense attorney Robert Rainwater sought to cross-examine a witness about the drug's medicinal uses. Escobar said the U.S. Supreme Court had spoken, and such testimony "is not appropriate in a federal case."

Rainwater said it is necessary for Costa's defense. At one point, a frustrated Ishii told Rainwater that existing law prohibited him from allowing such questioning.

At the heart of the issue is California law versus federal law.

California voters in 1996 approved Proposition 215, which gives ill people the right to use marijuana for medicinal purposes when cleared by a doctor.

In 2002, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stopped the Bush administration from prosecuting Oakland resident Angel Raich — who used marijuana to fight pain — as well as her suppliers. In June 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that decision, and the federal government then cracked down on medical marijuana dispensaries.

Costa has pleaded not guilty and believes he wasn't violating the law when he was arrested.

Ishii had earlier ruled that a medical marijuana defense was not allowed, but the subject could be explored if the prosecution brought it up.

Escobar said she didn't, but Rainwater said she did when she questioned a federal agent on the amount of marijuana someone might have for personal use versus growing enough to sell.

Rainwater argued that those who use marijuana for medicinal reasons — a personal use — might need more than those who simply use it to get high.

One reason would be eating it instead of smoking it. Eating, Rainwater said, requires more marijuana than smoking it for the same therapeutic effect.

Rainwater said he has an expert witness prepared to testify that the amount of marijuana found at Costa's Winton home was consistent with personal use — if that personal use is for medicinal purposes.

But Escobar said if Rainwater can present such testimony and explore such issues, it opens the trial to medical marijuana questions, which isn't legal.

"We're going down a slippery slope here," Escobar told Ishii.
The reporter can be reached at jellis@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6320

[palmspringsbum]

Merced pot grower convicted

Jury takes just two hours to return verdict; medical marijuana defense fails.

By John Ellis / The Fresno Bee
11/23/06 04:38:20

A federal jury took only two hours Wednesday to convict Merced marijuana activist Dustin Costa of growing and dealing the drug, a conviction that could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

Costa, 60, was also convicted of possession of a firearm "in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime."

Because of a prior marijuana cultivation conviction in Stanislaus County, Costa faces a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence. The firearm charge carries an additional five-year mandatory minimum, making 15 years the least amount of time Costa will spend in prison.

The maximum term is life.

Costa, also known as the Rev. D.C. Greenhouse, originally faced state charges that stemmed from a February 2004 bust at his home.

The federal case against Costa — who was also president of the Merced Patients Group, a medical marijuana advocacy group — repackaged those marijuana cultivation charges.

The trial was closely watched by medical marijuana activists because of claims that Costa used the drug for medicinal purposes.

Activists said this was the first trial in the nation in three years involving claims of medical marijuana, and the first since a key U.S. Supreme Court decision on the issue last year opened the way for a federal government crackdown on marijuana use in California.

But the debate over medical marijuana — which is legal under California law but illegal under federal law — never materialized because U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii prevented Costa's attorney from using that defense.

"Marijuana is illegal under federal law," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Cullers, who is chief of the Criminal Division in the federal court's Fresno Division. "We approached this case like we would approach any illegal narcotics case. We prosecuted it pursuant to the law."

But defense attorney Robert Rainwater said the 908 marijuana plants that Costa had at his rural Merced County home were for personal use — to treat a medical condition after a recommendation from a doctor.

The jury didn't buy it, which pleased prosecutor Karen Escobar.

"I'm gratified that the jury followed the law," she said. "Justice was served."

Escobar portrayed Costa as a drug dealer who took steps to hide his operation but who showed signs typical of marijuana cultivation.

She presented evidence of proceeds she said were derived from drug trafficking. Also, Costa's propane bill was $600 a month, and when Pacific Gas & Electric queried him about his abnormally high electric usage, he said he had kilns.

Rainwater focused his defense on the charge that Costa was a drug trafficker. He said the government never offered compelling testimony on that charge.

"He's a man who went to his doctor and got a recommendation for marijuana," Rainwater told jurors in his closing argument.

"He tried to live in the country where he could grow his marijuana in peace, but the federal government wouldn't let him."

Chris Conrad, an author and consultant who has legal experience working with marijuana in Europe, testified on Costa's behalf, saying the number of plants at his house was consistent with personal use.

He noted that if Costa did more than smoke marijuana, such as eating it, making it usable in tea or coffee or vaporizing it, that would require more plants.

Under cross-examination, Conrad said he had last smoked marijuana the day before he testified and smoked the drug with Costa at Costa's home during an event known as "Weedstock."

Escobar said Conrad's yield estimates on Costa's crop were different from those he calculated while testifying in another case.

The reporter can be reached at jellis@fresnobee.com or(559) 441-6320

[palmspringsbum]

Posted on Thu, Nov. 23, 2006

Medical marijuana user found guilty of violating federal drug laws


The San Jose Mercury News

FRESNO, Calif. - A medical marijuana user could face more than two decades in prison after a jury convicted him of violating federal drug laws and other charges.

Dustin Costa, 60, a former Marine turned medical marijuana activist, was found guilty Wednesday in Fresno federal court of growing marijuana, possession of marijuana for distribution, and possession of a firearm.

"The conviction of another medical cannabis patient is a senseless tragedy for all involved," said Steph Sherer, executive director of the medical cannabis advocacy group Americans for Safe Access.

A previous U.S. Supreme Court decision prevented Costa from using the phrase "medical marijuana" or relying on a medical defense in court.

His sentencing date has not been scheduled. Costa said he plans to appeal the decision.

[palmspringsbum]

Posted on 12/11/06 00:30:00
MercedSunStar.com

County: Ruling on pot lacking

By Corinne Reilly
CREILLY@MERCEDSUN-STAR.COM

Merced County officials say a state judge's ruling against the county upholding California's medical marijuana law is inadequate.

County officials haven't decided whether to appeal the recent ruling, but said in a brief statement issued by the Board of Supervisors on Thursday that the decision "doesn't fully address" whether the county should comply with state or federal marijuana laws.

San Diego Superior Court Judge William R. Nevitt, Jr. ruled Wednesday against Merced and two other counties when he refused to overturn California's law permitting medicinal uses of the drug.

The counties argued that because federal law prohibits all uses of the drug, counties shouldn't be held to the state law that requires them to accommodate medical marijuana users by issuing them identification cards.

Nevitt's ruling said counties would not be breaking federal law by issuing the identification cards, but it didn't go so far as to force the counties to issue them.

County officials say the board will meet in closed session Tuesday to discuss whether they'll appeal the ruling.

Members of the Board of Supervisors and county attorneys declined to comment further.

The county joined the lawsuit, along with San Diego and San Bernadino counties, earlier this year after repeated pleas from Merced resident Grant Wilson to implement a program to issue identification cards for medical marijuana users.

Wilson, who suffers from Hepatitis C, was arrested last year after police discovered pot plants growing in his home.

Members of the board said when the county joined the lawsuit that they weren't necessarily seeking to overturn the state law. Rather, the board said it only sought guidance as to which law -- state or federal -- it should follow.

Officials with both San Diego and San Bernadino counties also say they haven't decided whether to appeal, but agreed the ruling failed to provide adequate guidance.

Nevitt's ruling confirmed a provisional decision made in the case in November.

Medical marijuana advocate Aaron Smith of Safe Access Now said the ruling is a victory for patients who rely on marijuana.

"I hope the county will do the right thing, let this ruling stand, and move into compliance with the law," Smith said.

California voters passed the law allowing medical uses of the drug in 1996.

Currently only 23 of California's 58 counties are issuing identification cards, Smith said.

<small>Reporter Corinne Reilly can be reached at 385-2477 or creilly@mercedsun-star.com. </small>

[palmspringsbum]

County out of fight over marijuana

Medicinal pot cards will likely be issued in February

By Corinne Reilly
CREILLY@MERCEDSUN-STAR.COM

The Merced Sun-Star
Last Updated: December 16, 2006, 03:31:39 AM PST


Merced County will begin issuing identification cards for medical marijuana users after a state judge recently rejected its challenge to California's medical marijuana law.

The Board of Supervisors announced the decision Tuesday, saying the county would not appeal the week-old ruling.

"After reviewing a number of options and having received the ruling from the court, we are now positioned to move forward with the implementation of (a medical marijuana identification card) program," board chairman Mike Nelson said.

John Volanti, the county's director of public health, said the county will likely begin issuing the cards by February.

To get a card, county residents will be required to submit an application and a prescription for the drug, Volanti said.

The county will verify the prescription, take a digital photo of the applicant and mail the applicant's information to the state. The state's health department will issue the card.

Volanti said the cost of the card program will be covered by those who participate. The county has yet to set its per-card fee, but Volanti said it will be similar to fees in other counties.

In San Francisco County, for example, a card costs $50.

Merced will be the 25th of California's 58 counties to begin issuing medicinal marijuana identification cards, as required by a 2003 state law that clarifies Proposition 215.

California voters became the first in the country to legalize medicinal marijuana when they passed the proposition in 1996. Since then, 10 states have followed.

Medical marijuana advocate Aaron Smith, of Safe Access Now, praised the county's decision to begin issuing cards.

"People who are sick and dying shouldn't have to worry about getting arrested simply for having the medicine a doctor has prescribed them," Smith said. "We're still not sure why the county needed to go to court to understand that this is the law."

The county joined the lawsuit, brought by San Diego County, earlier this year after repeated pleas from Merced resident Grant Wilson to begin issuing the cards.

Wilson, who suffers from Hepatitis C, was arrested last year after police discovered pot plants growing in his home.

"I just don't want to be arrested again," Wilson said Thursday. "I hope the county actually follows through with this.

"I don't want anyone else to have to go through all this just to have their medicine."

Members of the board said when the county joined the suit that they weren't necessarily seeking to overturn the state law. Rather, the board said it only sought guidance as to which law -- state or federal -- it should follow.

The counties argued that because federal law prohibits all uses of marijuana, counties shouldn't be held to state laws requiring them to accommodate medical marijuana users.

San Diego Superior Court Judge William R. Nevitt Jr. upheld the state's law, ruling that counties would not be breaking federal law by issuing the cards.

The board initially indicated it might appeal the ruling, saying it "didn't fully address" whether the county should comply with state or federal marijuana laws.

County attorney James Fincher said the county decided not to appeal the ruling after San Diego County announced it would.

If San Diego's appeal is successful, the ruling will apply to all California counties, regardless of Merced County's involvement.

But that outcome is unlikely, Fincher said.

"It's a rarity for an appellate court to overrule a lower court's ruling," he said. "... As it stands now, the law says we have to implement the (identification card) program.

"Rather than spend more money in court, we're implementing the program."

Fincher said the county spent about $1,000 on the initial lawsuit.

He added that private citizens and advocacy groups have threatened to sue the county if it didn't begin issuing the cards.

Even after the county begins issuing them, identification cards won't be mandatory for medicinal marijuana users.

Those who have a valid prescription and are complying with the state's possession limits -- eight ounces of usable marijuana and six mature plants per patient -- shouldn't have trouble with the law.

Still, county law enforcement officials say they hope local medicinal marijuana users will get a card to make it easier to determine who is using the drug legally.

"For people with a real medical need who are following the law, I hope they'll get a card," said District Attorney Larry Morse II. "That makes it easier for everyone -- both for users and for law enforcement."

But both Morse and officials with the sheriff's department say they're still looking for more clarification on medicinal marijuana laws.

All marijuana users can still be prosecuted under federal law.

Morse said local law enforcement officials are currently abiding by state law. He said when a medical-use claim comes into question, the District Attorney's Office either prosecutes the case or refers it to federal prosecutors.

In November, Merced resident Dustin Costa -- also known as Rev. D.C. Greenhouse -- became the first person in three years to be prosecuted under federal drug laws, claiming medicinal use.

Costa was convicted for growing and selling marijuana, and could face a life prison sentence.

Reporter Corinne Reilly can be reached at 385-2477 or creilly@mercedsun-star.com.

[palmspringsbum]

City to Appeal Medical Marijuana Ruling

<span class=postbigbold>Sam Matthews, a local medical marijuana patient, was awarded $1,700 by a judge in a small claims suit after police confiscated his marijuana in October of 2006.</span>

The Merced Sun-Star
Tue, 28 Aug 2007
by Leslie Albrecht

The battle of the buds hasn't yet gone up in smoke.

The city will appeal a recent ruling that awarded $1,700 to medical marijuana user Sam Matthews. The money was meant to compensate Matthews for pain and suffering and the loss of $300 in pot that police confiscated last October.

But Chief Deputy City Attorney Jeanne Schechter says giving Matthews the money would be tantamount to the city buying illegal drugs. "We believe there's no legal basis in ordering the city to pay for contraband," said Schechter.

The city will file its appeal this week in Merced Superior Court.

The legal to-and-fro hasn't dampened Matthews' fighting spirit. He now plans to hire a lawyer and sue the city again, this time for $25,000.

"If they would have paid me my small claims money I would have just disappeared -- poof!," said Matthews. "But you can sure bet your bottom dollar that I'm not giving up. Last time they got slapped, this time they'll get Tysoned" -- a reference to onetime boxing champ Mike Tyson.

The city's appeal marks yet another chapter in what Matthews calls his David-and-Goliath struggle with the city. It's also another example of how people like Matthews get caught between conflicting strands of federal and state laws regulating marijuana.

Matthews, a 25-year-old Merced College student who uses medical marijuana to ease back and knee pain, was handcuffed by police last October after he was discovered "medicating" -- smoking pot -- in his parents' garage.

Matthews showed police an Alameda County medical marijuana user card and a doctor's note, but he was cited for possession of pot. Police also confiscated Matthews' "medicine" -- 26.5 grams of pot -- and locked it in an evidence warehouse.

In May, Merced County started issuing medical marijuana cards, which are meant to prove to local law enforcement that the user is following the 1996 state law legalizing medicinal pot.

But Matthews' run-in with police happened months before Merced Police adopted a policy recognizing the cards. Officers had no choice but to follow the federal law that calls pot illegal, said Police Commander Tom Martin. "When there's ambiguity in the law, it leads to the dilemma that we're in today," said Martin.

The criminal charges against Matthews were eventually dropped, but a judge ruled two weeks ago that his pot be destroyed. Police burned the marijuana in an incinerator. Matthews said he doesn't mind that his stash went up in flames, especially because its potency had likely diminished over the past several months. "To me, it was more of a personal thing," said Matthews. "I would have liked to have gotten it back to show the police they were wrong."

Meanwhile, Matthews also sued the city in small claims court, seeking $7,500 in damages for pain and suffering he experienced when he lost his medical marijuana. A judge ruled earlier this month in Matthews' favor, ordering the city to pay $1,700.

But Schechter, with the City Attorney's office, said Judge Armando Rodriguez offered no legal basis for his decision. She also noted that if the city paid Matthews, it could leave the city open to paying out similar claims in the future.

But Matthews calls the city's appeal a waste of taxpayer money. "How much money has it cost the taxpayers?" said Matthews. "All the city had to do was say, We're sorry sir, we made a mistake, here's your money.'"

Schechter said the city has not been tracking the cost of fighting the Matthews' case.

However much the city forks out fighting him, Matthews says he'll keep fighting just as hard so that his grass is greener.

[palmspringsbum]

Posted on Fri, Dec. 21, 2007

Merced County supervisors ban medicinal marijuana dispensaries


By CORINNE REILLY
MERCED SUN-STAR
last updated: December 21, 2007 04:24:09 AM

MERCED -- Merced County officials passed an ordinance this week permanently banning medical marijuana dispensaries across the unincorporated county.

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to support the ordinance, which mirrors ordinances adopted by the cities of Modesto, Ceres, Merced, Patterson, Atwater and Los Banos. Many other cities have moratoriums on dispensaries.

Though there are no marijuana dispensaries in Merced County, officials said during the board meeting that dispensaries have been troublesome in other communities. Besides attracting crime, they can lower property values, disrupt nearby businesses and increase illegal drug use and demands on police, county planning officials said.

Law enforcement officials spoke in support of the ban. Chris Gallagher, chief of the Los Banos Police Department, said robberies and violent crimes occurred regularly at dispensaries in the city of Arcata in Humboldt County, where he previously served as chief of police. "In my experience ... these dispensaries have been extremely disruptive," he said.

Merced Police Chief Russ Thomas and Atwater Police Chief Richard Hawthorne also spoke in support of the ordinance.

Three people spoke against the ban, including two medical marijuana patients. "What little compassion you have for sick people in this community," Atwater resident Ed Gassaway said. "It's appalling."

Other critics of the ban said it will push patients to the black market to buy marijuana. They say instead of outlawing dispensaries, local governments should pass ordinances strictly regulating when, where and how they can operate. About 35 cities and counties across the state have taken that approach, according to a county report.

Fifty-seven cities and three other counties have chosen bans, including Stanislaus County.

"This is a huge mistake. It's a step in the wrong direction," said Merced resident Grant Wilson. For years, he urged county officials to issue identification cards for medical marijuana patients.

In an attempt to avoid issuing the cards, the county in 2006 joined a lawsuit brought against the state by San Diego County. The counties argued that because federal law prohibits all uses of the drug, counties shouldn't be held to state laws requiring them to accommodate medical marijuana users.

The counties lost. In May, Merced County launched a program to issue the identification cards to medical marijuana patients. Eleven have been issued.

<span class=postbigbold>ID cards meant to help police</span>

In California, people with a valid prescription for marijuana are allowed to have as many as eight usable ounces of the drug and six mature pot plants.

The ID cards are meant to help law enforcement officials determine whether a person found in possession of marijuana is using the drug in compliance with the law.

Just under half of California's 58 counties issue ID cards, as required by a 2003 state law that expanded on Proposition 215.

California voters became the first in the country to legalize medicinal marijuana when they passed the proposition in 1996. Since then, 10 states have followed suit.

All marijuana users still can be prosecuted under federal law.

Wilson, 51, suffers from hepatitis C. He was arrested in 2005 after police discovered pot plants growing in his home. Wilson said he still grows marijuana, but he doesn't have the greenest thumb. When his crop doesn't produce as he hopes, he is forced to travel to dispensaries in San Francisco and Oakland to buy the drug. "All I want is to get my medicine close to home," he said Tuesday.

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Merced County passes ban on medical marijuana dispensaries


The San Jose Mercury News
Article Launched: 12/21/2007 03:43:32 PM PST


MERCED, Calif.—A permanent ban on medical marijuana dispensaries throughout Merced County will go into effect Jan. 17.

The board of supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to pass an ordinance similar to ones already in effect in Modesto, Merced, Los Banos and other local cities.

There aren't any pot shops in Merced County, but law enforcement officials said the ban was necessary to curb crime, keep property values high and lower demands on police.

Several medical marijuana patients told supervisors the move would push them to buy marijuana on the black market.

California voters passed a proposition legalizing medicinal marijuana in 1996, but several counties including nearby Stanislaus County have banned the dispensaries.