A celebration of the tenth anniversary of Prop 215 took place last night at the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center. The honored speaker of the evening was Dennis Peron, founder of the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club and the catalyst behind Prop. 215.

Peron's look back at the history of the medical cannabis movement is worth reading and I have transcribed it below from my notes. But this being election season, the politicians spoke first. First up was San Francisco City Supervisor Tom Ammiano. San Francisco City Supervisor Chris Daly then spoke followed by California State Assemblymember Mark Leno. Leno presented Peron with a proclamation from the California State Assembly thanking Peron and the medical cannabis movement. After an interlude of lively cabaret entertainment, Peron walked on stage and talked about Prop. 215.

Dennis Peron: It's great to see you, but I can't help thinking of people who are not here. I recently reviewed an old tape from the first club on Church Street and Beth Moore, Hazel Rodgers and Brownie Mary, all the people in the beginning are all dead. Pinky also died recently. It is with a heavy heart that I come here. I still miss these people and I think every day about people who are not here. Jonathan West who inspired me to start the Cannabis Buyers Club - my best friend and lover and brother. It is in their name. I did it for them. And I did it for the living. People had to die so that other people can live. Today we are going down memory lane for ten years.

But I had a hit of acid and I found myself. I was part of the trees and grass and every single person who touched me. I found myself. And I went off to Vietnam. War is hell. I was a post clerk and they tried to give me a gun during the Tet Offensive. I said I would not take a gun and they said you have to take a gun. I said no, I can't take a gun. If I take a gun I'm going to shoot you. They relieved me. I did not want to shoot people.

For thirty days I worked in the morgue. Twenty-thousand kids coming back in caskets. The smell of that morgue scarred me for the rest of my life. I came back home and threw away my medals and uniforms. And in twenty months I got into jail for marijuana. I was tripping on acid, I looked at the mug shots…That was the start of a series of arrests. Twenty-two arrests.

In court they asked, how many times have you been busted for narcotics? I said I forget, I don't know. And they pull up this big rap sheet, twenty-two, twenty-three times. If you count all the times they just took the pot and left, it was twenty-five. But twenty-two times and every time they busted me I became stronger. The first time they busted me I got a felony for one joint. That started a series of arrests. I have been shot, jailed, beaten and thrown in the hole just after I got back from Vietnam. I was laughing in line. You don't laugh in jail, but I was on acid.

They did everything they could to destroy me. But every time they did something, they made me stronger. It gives me strength. The last time they busted me was with Jonathan who was 90 pounds and was weak and frail and covered with Kaposi's Sarcoma lesions. He was the love of my life and I had to watch him from the top floor being beaten, with a gun to his head. And I decided they would never do this again.

So it's a kind of revenge, but it is revenge with love. We need to show them that we can love one another and not brutalize one another. And that they can't come into people's houses at midnight and brutalize people with guns and beat down sick people. I started this club in their face. All around me I saw people drowning. There were thousands of people drowning in San Francisco in the 1980s and 90s during the AIDS epidemic. People being thrown out of their houses and being disowned by the their parents and children.

It was about pot, but it was also about being alone in America and finding our tribe. So many people in San Francisco came here to find ourselves and our tribe. And we brought them into a tribe, a tribe to change the world. These people who had no voice, who were sick and dying. Nobody wanted them. You are sick. You are alone. Those are the people I wanted. And I brought them together. I made those people the most powerful people in America. And their story resonates to this day.

It's depressing what is going on in the national scene. But we can beat these feds. This guy, he stole an election and ruined our country and soiled the name of America. It is about freedom and justice and love and we will be the victors. Our vision of America is a loving and kind and gentle country and we will prevail.

I'll tell you who I'm voting for this year, the guy who smokes pot and likes group sex, the guvernator. Arnold gives me hope. I ran as a Republican to fuck up Dan Lungren. But I'm an anarchist and so is the governor and he smokes pot. I figure if you smoke pot you think about yourself. And it makes you think about what you are doing and who you are. It is about introspection.

When I read my BNE (Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement) file, they were following me and realized what a boring life I had. "Walks dog to pizza parlor." When they followed Tod, they found out he goes home at night. You think about the power of the state and how they waste our money and did this to us. It gives me power to know that they wasted so much money on us.

Ten years ago I was in jail. They busted me two weeks before the election. They used every dirty trick they could, but everything backfired on them and gave us two or three points. I'm glad they showed who they were, because it showed who we are, loving, gentle people.

I liked it better when it was illegal. Now it's quasi-legal. Then it was admitting to felonies every day when it was illegal. We had it all. We had a nightclub. It had everything. It was a great moment in time and there will be more moments in time. I'm glad I was the person who led us through the moments. Those dreams are going to happen. I may not be here. I hope to be here to see the end of the war on hunger and the end of homelessness. The world is fucked up until marijuana is legal. It has to be legal.

Ten years ago was a great moment in this town. I am proud to be your man. And I'll always be your leader. Thanks a lot guys.

(applause)

Sister Dana then took the stage, invoked the spirit of Brownie Mary, and blessed the brownies.

Sister Dana: The brownie is the flesh of the work and it does away with wasting syndrome and nausea and other nasty stuff that happens to those afflicted with HIV. Those who feed upon the brownies, feed upon it like manna from heaven. Those who feed on this manna shall be granted divine munchies and shall live and eat and live forever.

After the show, Dennis Peron had a few more thoughts.

Peron: I had a dream that there would be an uprising. Maybe the one uprising to change the world. The last one.

Q: Did you expect cannabis to be legal by now?

Peron: I thought it would be a lot further along. There are a lot of loopholes in 215. It was loosely written. It's a jobs program for a lot of people. I thought it would be legal. You grow your own pot. Dispensaries are a nice in between, but the answer is to grow your own pot. And that is what we did in Prop. 215. You can grow it.

The feds are paper tigers. They don't have the resources to take us all on. They can do it one at a time. Like on the Discovery Channel with the wildebeest and the lion. The lion will attack. But the wildebeests keep going and turn on him and stampede the lion. The uprising will happen in my lifetime. I am waiting for it. I am waiting for the world to change.

By Ann Harrison

The San Francisco District Attorney's office said this week that it will retry marijuana possession and distribution charges against Tom "The Nurse" Juzbasic who runs a medical cannabis bicycle delivery service in the city. The new trial is set to begin April 7.

Juzbasic was arrested in June 2003 after he sold a quarter ounce of marijuana to undercover San Francisco police Inspector John Keane for $100. If convicted, Juzbasic could face up to three years in state prison.

A long-time medical cannabis activist, Juzbasic says he's been arrested seven times on charges of marijuana possession, possession for sale and cultivation, and had ten prior cases dismissed in state court. He asserts that San Francisco police regularly disregard the city's tradition of tolerance for medical cannabis and intends to set a legal precedent. On this latest charge, Jusbasic refused to plea bargain and instead appeared in court over sixty times making his one of the longest running marijuana cases in recent San Francisco history.

Juzbasic's first four-day jury trial in this case ended with a mistrial February 28th after a member of the jury refused to deliberate. But reactions to the evidence presented at the trail offers a rare view into what San Francisco juries consider acceptable boundaries for medical cannabis providers under Prop 215, California's 1996 Compassionate Use Act.

Although Juzbasic's jury had not yet taken a formal vote on whether to convict him, a show of hands requested by Judge Thomas J. Mellon Jr. indicated that all but one of the jurors would have voted to convict Juzbasic on a marijuana sales charge. All but two jurors indicated that they would have found him guilty on a second charge of possessing marijuana for sale.

The lack of unanimous agreement on the jury illustrates how difficult it is for prosecutors to get convictions for marijuana charges in San Francisco where voters overwhelmingly support medical cannabis. But conversations with jurors after the verdict also revealed a deep uneasiness with the amount of money Juzbasic was alleged to have made while selling cannabis and skepticism about his methods for verifying patients and whether he met the legal criteria as a medical marijuana caregiver.

"As the case went on I got really frustrated with him because I felt like here is an activist doing such great work but it seemed like a betrayal of the community that he was advocating for," said juror number nine who, like the other jurors, refused to give her name. "He used [medical cannabis] as a defense for what had become really a profit making business."

Juzbasic said the money he made selling medical cannabis covered his expenses as permitted under Prop. 215. He denied that he was profiteering and said if he had indeed raked in so much cash, why was he represented in the case by the San Francisco Public Defender's office? "It was a fair jury but the issue was very complicated and the law is very complicated," said Juzbasic. "Based on my interpretation of the law I was within normal limits."

Prosecutor Richard B. Hechler from the San Francisco District Attorneys office didn't see it that way. Hechler spent four days hammering away at Juzbasic's earnings assisted by the defendant's detailed financial records and personal diaries that were seized by police.

"There are not a number of prosecutions from our office of cases involving sales of marijuana let alone cases involving the sales of marijuana with a medical aspect to it," said Hechler told jurors after the trial. "In my opinion this was an egregious case."

So what's the evidence of medical cannabis profiteering that convinced ten to eleven jurors that Juzbasic broke the law?

Did Juzbasic Sell To Non-Patients?

Hechler argued that the Juzbasic case was not about the right of patients to use medical cannabis. He said it was about a marijuana seller who got greedy and expanded his customer base so quickly he didn't know who he was selling to.

According to Hechler, Juzbasic set out to attract large numbers of buyers who were not required to produce written proof that they were patients. He noted that Juzbasic set up a web site for his delivery service and advertised on Craig's List. Once a buyer acquired Juzbasic's business card or pager number, as Inspector Keane did, Hechler argued that anyone could simply call Juzbasic for a marijuana delivery.

To support his argument, Hechler read an entry from Juzbasic's diary in which he refers to cannabis sales as "tags." "This is the first real tag where I don't know who the person is or where I met them. That means my e-biz is going where I want it to," read Hechler.

Juzbasic testified that when patients contact him they provided the phone number of the physician who recommended medical cannabis. Juzbasic pointed out that as a licensed vocational nurse, he is permitted to verify a patient's status by phone.

Once he calls their doctor to verify a bona fid medical cannabis patient, Juzbasic said he gives them his business card with a pager number that they can use to arrange deliveries. When arrested, Jusbasic had about 200 grams of cannabis in his backpack that he said was within the legal limit of eight ounces per patient.

Hechler argued that Juzbasic used the oral verification loophole to sell marijuana to people without asking to see a medical cannabis patient ID card or their physician's recommendation - as required by medical cannabis dispensaries. "He was taking advantage of the system because he was a nurse," said Hechler

All three of Juzbasic's patients, who testified in court for the defense, said that Juzbasic never asked them to show a medical cannabis ID card or a doctor's recommendation. But Juzbasic argued that patients were not required under the law to show their ID cards or their recommendation to purchase cannabis. He said he verified every patient that he provided medical cannabis to and kept these patient records on the hard drive of his computer.

"I'm not on trial for my business practices," says Juzbasic. "Maybe I made a mistake in the verification process but that's not the crime here. The crime is did I knowingly sell marijuana to John Keane."

Mel Santos, Juzbasic's public defender, said Juzbasic's sale to Keane was a mistake and suggested that Juzbasic was entrapped.
"The crime is that Tom made a mistake thinking Inspector Keane is a patient," said Santos.

"Would a fairly reasonable person sell marijuana to an undercover agent?" asked Juzbasic after the trail. "A fairly reasonable person wouldn't do that unless they were tricked or coerced."

There was some question during the trial as to whether Keane displayed Juzbasic's business card when he purchased cannabis from him as Juzbasic said he did. Keane testified that he had Juzbasic's business card on him when he made the buy, but did not show it.

In the end, jurors said it didn't make any difference whether Keane displayed Juzbasic's business card or not. "To me it was a red herring in the case," said one juror.

Other jurors said Juzbasic's card system was "negligent" and that he acted with "reckless disregard." But they said they were not sure whether his patient verification protocol meant he was guilty. They said they made that decision based on his earnings.

Did Juzbasic Make Too Much Money?

During the trial, Hechler presented to the jury excerpts from Juzbasic's monthly planner and his diaries to prove that Juzbasic was a profiteer.

"This case is about that man's greed and his desire to make a profit," said Hechler. The prosecutor produced Juzbasic's detailed financial records indicating that Juzbasic made $37,500 in net profits between January and May of 2003. "What the defendant is trying to hide behind is the medical marijuana program," Hechler told the jury.

Santos argued that the District Attorney's office was attempting to smear Juzbasic as a greedy person but that there was no evidence that he had sold to minors or to college students. "This prosecutor is misrepresenting Tom who acted with good intent trying to provide medical marijuana to qualified patients," said Santos.

According to Juzbasic's records, his medical cannabis delivery business grew quickly. Hechler read off entries from Juzbasic's monthly planner for 2003 indicating that Juzbasic accrued $7,900 in net profits in January 2003, $5,780 in February, $7,435 in March, $8,705 in April, and $9,205 in May. Hechler emphasized that during that time, Juzbasic also recorded the purchases of a new laptop, a 36" flat screen TV and a dental payment of $2,000.

According to his ledger, Juzbasic made up to $600 a day in cannabis sales which he referred to as "tags." Hechler read off Juzbasic's diary entry for March 5 2003 in which he wrote, "poor tag day but made Q." Juzbasic testified that "Q" meant that he purchased a quarter pound of cannabis.

But one juror said Hechler missed a notation on the ledger that he and other jurors plainly saw when displayed. It read "Q=$150.""Once we saw that we knew that meant quota and we instantly knew he was lying on the stand," said the juror.

Juzbasic testified that charged 20 percent markup on the cannabis he delivered. But he said caregivers are permitted by law to recoup their costs and compensate themselves. He added that he pays $1,400 a month in rent to live in Oakland which he says is a typical expense in the Bay area.

"They alleged that I made $37,000 in a five month period working eight hours a day, seven days a week minus the week I went to Hawaii," said Juzbasic. "That's sixty-four hours a week at thirty dollars an hour. In 2003 I made twenty-five or twenty-six dollars an hour as a nurse. So in this job I was making just four more dollars an hour."

Santos noted that the law is vague has to how much a medical cannabis provider can make to reimburse themselves for their costs. "He can pay himself for his services," said Santos. "Is he extravagant in making money hand over fist, I think not."

The jurors did not agree. They said Juzbasic's ledger indicated that he was making substantial profits off his cannabis sales.

"That was absolutely compelling," said one juror. "All of us were just stunned by the money except for Larry who said it was just enough to cover his operational expenses. It was just a very difficult point to dispute."

Hechler also emphasized phrases that Juzbasic had written in his planner including, "my next customer is my best customer" and "there are only three things that make money on the Internet, sex, drugs and rock and roll and rock and roll didn't work."

Jurors said that the language Juzbasic used in his diaries and his planner suggested that he dehumanized his patients. "There was never any compassion or compassionary words used to describe people," said juror number one. "They were referred to as tags or customers."

During closing arguments, Hechler charged that Juzbasic's delivery service operated outside medical cannabis regulations and he urged the jury not to be swayed by their potential support for medical cannabis. "The trouble with you is the trouble with me, have two good eyes but I still don't see," Hechler told the jury quoting a well-known Grateful Dead lyric. "Follow the law!"

After they were discharged, jurors said they supported medical cannabis and felt uneasy being selected to sit on a jury where they might have to convict a medical cannabis provider. "I really wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt," said juror number one. "My whole sense of the trial that I really walked away with is that he probably started out with fabulous intentions. Those three patients who came in, I'm sure he has a great relationship with them, but he got too big."

Defining A Primary Caregiver

Juzbasic's patients who testified on his behalf praised Juzbasic. Dylan Taylor, who said he met Juzbasic on Craig's List in 2002, said Juzbasic provided him cannabis to ease the side effects of his chemotherapy and stomach upset from his HIV medications. Another patient named Fareedah Shabazz said she had wasted to just fifty pounds with a stomach ailment before she started getting cannabis from Juzbasic and San Francisco dispensaries.

"The medicine they were giving me was not helping and he made the situation better,"said Shabazz who now weighs 98 pounds. "It not only gives me an appetite, it takes the pain away."

Clark Sullivan, another Juzbasic patient, testified that he received cannabis brownies from Juzbasic to treat his depression. "He is someone who looks after my physical needs, eating, medicine, he monitors my blood pressure and pulse, I trust him," said Sullivan.

While jurors said they were sympathetic to the patients and did not doubt that cannabis provided relief, they had difficulty understanding how Juzbasic acted as their primary caregiver.

"Where are the doctors that he contacted for confirmation?," asked juror number nine. "There were no patients who came forward who really emphasized that primary caregiver role."

Hechler argued that Juzbasic did not have a medical cannabis caregiver card issued by the San Francisco Department of Public Health and had not consistently assumed responsibility for the housing, health or safety of his patients as required under Prop. 215.

"If you don't play by those rules, then the medical marijuana program is not working," said Hechler. "He's just doing it on the fly, and not trying to comply with regulations, he's just selling dope and making coin."

Juzbasic asserted that he did regularly provide food for his patients and tended to their health and safety. "For someone to accuse a 19-year vocational nurse who has a license and have the state say they are not a caregiver, I will equate that with Schwarzenegger saying that nurses are nothing but a special interest group," said Juzbasic. "I'm not a special interest group, I want to see the medical marijuana laws followed in this state."

Jurors said they had an unfinished discussion about what constituted a primary caregiver and complained that the protocol for determining whether Juzbasic met that criteria was too vague.
But they pointed out that Juzbasic recorded in his diary that he took over the tags or customers of another delivery service. Jurors said they couldn't understand how Juzbasic could be a primary caregiver to somebody else's patients.

"I think it’s a stretch to say that he was a primary caregiver for many of his clients," said juror number nine who said the definition of caregiver should be closer to that of a primary care physician.

"We talked about the word "consistently" quite often and we just couldn’t come to the conclusion that he consistently cared for everyone in his roster," said another juror.

Hechler asked jurors what kind of proof they wanted to see that a cannabis provider met the definition of "primary caregiver" under the law. "The definition is quite difficult because each one of us probably understands that definition differently," said juror number one.

While jurors said they had not yet agreed on what constituted a primary caregiver, they did agree that Juzbasic's courtroom demeanor hurt his case. Juzbasic was clearly angered by some of the testimony by police and by Hechler's questioning in court. "I'm so sick of being arrested and having all my medicine taken away from me," said Juzbasic on the witness stand.

While Juzbasic is determined to oppose the police and prosecutors his tactics don't always work. Inspector Keane testified that just before Juzbasic was arrested for selling him marijuana, Keane complimented him on the SFPD t-shirt he was wearing and Juzbasic replied. "I wear it so the cops don't fuck with me."

Jurors said Juzbasic's testimony and histrionics in the courtroom damaged his credibility and suggested that he was badly prepared by his attorney. "He was the worst witness for the defense," said one juror. "He was much more likable towards the end than in the beginning, but he was uncooperative and evasive and snarky."

"He hurt himself more than anyone hurt him," said another juror.

"I don’t' want to be a whipping boy out of all of this," countered Juzbasic. "I'm not the Al Capone of marijuana as they're making me out to be."

The Case Continues

While Juzbasic argues that he never made as much money as Al Capone, he acknowledged that prosecutors will likely pursue him on tax evasion charges as they did against the famous gangster. "If the city can't win a criminal trial here, they will pass it over for a federal tax evasion investigation," said Juzbasic.

In the meantime, prosecutors have to pick another jury. Jurors in Juzbasic's trial criticized Hechler for allowing Duncan to serve on the jury because they said Duncan stated clearly during jury selection that he would never convict Juzbasic.

"In the voir dire questions you could have seen this," said juror number one to Hechler. "He never said that he could set aside his prejudice and convict someone. He said Tom had to be 100 percent guilty, that reasonable doubt was not good enough for him."

Jurors also criticized Santos, the defense attorney, for failing to introduce more records about Juzbasic's patients. Many medical cannabis providers are hesitant to keep patient records because they fear the information will be used against them by federal prosecutors or will violate their patient's medical privacy.

But jurors said that the physical evidence was limited to incriminating financial records and patients records would have helped establish Juzbasic's role as primary caregiver. One juror noted that if they had documentation of Juzbasic's expenses it would have been easier to determine whether he was indeed making a profit.

"If he had records on the hard drive of his computer where are those records?" asked juror number nine. "If those things were pertinent to the defense than why weren't they brought?"

Some jurors said witnesses called by the prosecution and the defense actually benefited the other side. Jurors said the testimony offered by medical cannabis expert Chris Conrad helped them understand how medical cannabis was provided to patients. They said Conrad's assertion that dispensaries charged $85 to $100 for a quarter of an ounce of cannabis in 2003 and $100 to $115 for high quality cannabis was especially interesting. But one juror said that this information made him doubt Juzbasic's assertion that his price of $100 for a quarter of an ounce was a discounted rate that he could offer because he had little overhead.

Some jurors also had mixed feeling about the testimony offered by four San Francisco police officers involved in Juzbasic's arrest. During their testimony, the officers voiced deep skepticism about the validity of medical cannabis - which members of the SFPD narcotics unit have expressed for years.

"In my opinion, people use it as an excuse to sell marijuana," said Officer Ricardo Valdez, who served as a backup officer during Inspector Keane's undercover buy.

"I think there is a terrific amount of marijuana sales in the guise of medical marijuana that is for pure profit," said Officer David Martinovich who said he and his fellow officers had arrested many people with medical cannabis patient ID cards for reselling marijuana on the street.

Several of the jurors scoffed at the idea that the medical cannabis program was simply an excuse to legally sell marijuana. "But a case like this is reinforcing that kind of thing and is a disservice," said juror number nine. "I think pot should be legalized but this is a disservice to that particular law as it stands. I think [Juzbasic] worked really hard on behalf of the community but he went the wrong way."

While the prosecution held up dispensaries as a model for requiring written verification from patients, some jurors said they were unsure whether dispensaries themselves were following the law. "If we came to the dispensaries for guidance we are assuming that dispensaries are operating under the law," said one juror. "How do they compensate people? Do the dispensaries take care of the health of the people who go there or is it just a depot where you can get pot?"

Juzbasic says the legislation intended to legitimize medical cannabis patients and caregivers is not adequately protecting them. "The laws are not working, we need to try something different," said Juzbasic. "I don't feel as though our government is moving on the fast track to legitimize medical marijuana or any other marijuana. It's just pot. He's just a pot dealer and he got busted."

Juzbasic says he intends to keep fighting in court and pursue assertive political tactics. While the jury was eating lunch one day during deliberations, Juzbasic was cited for smoking in public after he lit a joint in front of the courthouse. "I'm speaking up for every person who ever got busted for a joint like me, who got put in jail," said Juzbasic. "What we've been doing for the last 20 years doesn't work. We need to get in their face and smoke a joint and utilize the law to the maximal extent we can by any means necessary."

But the jurors who voted to convict Juzbasic, said he is the wrong defendant to set a precedent in a high profile medical cannabis case. "The rest of the evidence is too compelling," said juror number one. "He got too big and he got sloppy and what happened is unfortunate for the medical marijuana program. What I came away with from the whole experience is that I'm sorry he didn't do a better job."

It's still to be seen whether a new panel of jurors will interpret the evidence in the same way and whether that jury will contain one person who refuses to deliberate - or vote for a guilty verdict. But the case has clearly emboldened the DA's office to take another try at convicting Juzbasic. Hechler did not reply to requests for comment on the newtrail. Santos says he will be representing Juzbasic again, but declined to comment on the pending case.

Attorneys for eighteen people arrested during the DEA's raid on three San Francisco medical cannabis dispensaries last June argued in U.S. District Court today that their clients were targeted for prosecution because they were Asian.

Laurence Lichter, who represented defendant David Lee, filed a motion to dismiss the case based on selective prosecution and requested a hearing to examine discovery in the case that could support charges of racism.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Scoble, who is prosecuting the case
known as Operation Urban Harvest, told Judge Susan Illston that investigators are still sorting through 175,000 pages of information seized from the defendant's computers that will be admitted as evidence.

Lichter argued that the DEA, with the assistance of state and local law enforcement, had already conducted an extensive investigation of San Francisco's 40 or so medical cannabis dispensaries prior to the raid. But the DEA only arrested people associated with the three Asian-owned dispensaries and alleged during a subsequent press conference that they were members of an Asian organized crime ring.

"I think we will look back someday at this case and see that it is racism that explains these charges," said Lichter after the hearing.

"I am outraged," said attorney Anna Ling when she got her chance to address Judge Illston. "Look at the defendants here in this court they are Asian and few Latino people!" Ling noted that the raid was carried out just two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled in the Raich decision that federal authorities could prosecute those using or providing medical cannabis under California law.

"It is a medical marijuana case but they don't want to say that so they say it's an Asian crime ring," said Ling who is representing defendant Edward Park.

Attorney Nedra Ruiz reminded Judge Illston that fellow federal judge Marilyn Patel had characterized a similar case as part of the federal battle against medical marijuana.

Scoble, the government's attorney, argued that the last big federal trial involving medical cannabis grower Ed Rosenthal did not involve any Asian defendants.

But Ruiz noted that providing discrimination in cases such as Operation Urban Harvest is difficult without full access to evidence. She also called on Judge Illston to grant an evidentiary hearing and sort through the information the government presented to the grand jury to secure wiretaps and indictments.

Attorney David Nick, who is representing defendant Enrique Chan, agreed that it was important to prove discriminatory intent in the case. Nick charged that federal authorities added the money laundering and MDMA charges because they understood it would be difficult to get public support for a medical marijuana case in San Francisco.

Nick pointed out that defendants in the case were accused of money laundering simply because they deposited proceeds from their dispensaries into the bank and wrote checks on the account to pay their rent.

Nick said press reports in the San Francisco Chronicle and other newspapers that characterized the defendants as members of an Asian mafia has already destroyed the business of one defendant.

"This is a woman who came here to this country and rose from rags to riches due to her hard work and saw her business flushed down the toilet due to a newspaper story," said Nick.

When Tony Serra got his turn in front of Illston, he argued that the case should rest on the premise that the federal government has spent 40 years suppressing evidence that cannabis can be medically beneficial.

Serra submitted an eight-inch high stack of exhibits documenting the medical uses of cannabis that he said should become part of the record in the case. He told that Judge Illston that she had the jurisdiction to take a new look at the medical arguments for cannabis and suggested that medical experts be permitted to testify.

Federal Judge Marilyn Patel accepted similar exhibits while considering the case of medical cannabis grower Eddy Lepp which has been continued, said Serra.

"It is a dark age for medical marijuana which has been used medically for 2,000 years by civilizations far more sophisticated than our own," Serra told the judge adding that the DEA's own administrative law judge had recommended that marijuana be rescheduled to include medical use.

After listening to the arguments, Judge Illston said she would issue a ruling on the motions. But Illston appeared eager to move the case to trail and set another hearing date of Friday, May 26th at 11 am to hear additional motions and discuss questions about wiretaps and discovery.

Other motions considered in today's hearing involved the severing of Phat Van Vuong's case from the other defendants. Vuong's attorney, Steve Teich argued that his client was allegedly involved only in a 2003 cannabis grow in an Oakland warehouse and had no connection to the San Francisco case.

Teich noted that there has been a continuing grand jury investigation in the Operation Urban Harvest case since October 2005 which has involved subpoenas and financial investigations that may lead to further indictments.

Most of those arrested were Asian and the DEA claimed that the defendants were part of an "Asian Mafia." Lawyers representing the defendants have filed motions to dismiss the charges based on selective prosecution. On Friday, February 16, the accused will have a hearing at 11 am in front of Judge Susan Illston in U.S. District Court, 450 Golden Gate, San Francisco. I will be blogging an account of the proceedings here.

Cannabisworld.com and Overgrow.com Seized By Police
by Marc Emery (03 Feb, 2006)
Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Company, and Eurohemp.com Shut Down and Servers Seized by Canadian Police

When the world's largest websites for cannabis growers and enthusiasts disappeared from the web on Monday, January 30, it was thought to be a server problem. As the week dragged on, tens of thousands of members, seed company sponsors, growers and fans worried there might be more than mere 'server' problems as Richard Calrisian (a pseudonym) had not made any statements in any web based media about any 'technical' problems.

All the information held on those servers is now in the hands of police. It
is not known what charges have been laid nor against whom. That police have
not boasted about this seizure means the investigation is continuing, before
any affected parties can react.

Cannabis Culture began receiving emails on Wednesday saying Richard
Calrisian and his wife had been arrested along with four employees, but this
could not be corroborated.

Overgrow.com unavailable
On the website www.icmag.com, seed merchant Gypsy Nirvana, operating from
England where cannabis seeds are legal, posted this news late Friday:

"It is with great sadness that I bring you the news that RC and HS, OG and
CW have been taken down by the authorities in Canada.....

...I have it from a bonofide source that it happened on monday and RC's
computers/servers have most probably been siezed, they spent 2 days going
thru his house and removed alot of stuff ...

His wife and some members of his family were also taken into custody and
it's possible that she may be released tommorrow on bail... There has not
been a peep in the media about this so there could be a reason why it was
not advertised by LEO......BE WARNED! not to try and log on to Overgrow or
Cannaworld for now since most certainly the security of that site has been
compromised and if it comes back up without me first hearing from RC then it
is NOT being run by him.....think about it!

...This could bring up some real security issues with many
Overgrow/Cannabisworld members.........be warned guys and do what you need
to do to make it safer for all of you.......duck and cover if needs be....

....Yours Faithfully...

Gypsy Nirvana"

As soon as we find out more information about what's happened, we will
provide updates here or in the Cannabis Culture forums. Overgrow.com website
members are welcome to converge here to find out more and reconnect.

Marc Emery and Jodie Giesz-Ramsay, Friday February 3rd 2006, 6:10pm

Vanessa Nelson
National Secretary, The Compassionate Coalition

02/06/2006

Steve Kubby made a brief appearance in Placer County Court Friday,
stunning courtroom spectators with the decision to table the motion to
allow him to use medicinal cannabis while in jail.

Though surprising and consequential indeed, this revelation was just one
in a series of eyebrow-raising events that took place at the Auburn
courthouse on February 3rd.

The mood was set shortly after dawn, when courthouse workers were caught
off guard by the arrival of a van of nuns who unfurled quilted banners
decorated with pot leaves and memorials for deceased medical marijuana
patients. These women, proudly wearing buttons that identified them as
"pot-smoking nuns," quickly formed a prayer circle along with the
earlybird activists who were awaiting Steve's hearing.

Whispers of astonishment amongst the staff continued as the prayer group
moved inside the courthouse, overwhelming the meager security facilities
and quickly filling the courtroom to capacity. Guards then led in a
grinning Steve Kubby, his orange jumpsuit hanging loosely on his shrinking
frame. Steve was seated at the defense table, where he smiled lovingly at
his family for the remarkably short duration of the court proceedings.

From his high desk on the righthand side of the courtroom, Judge Robert
McElhany cheerfully informed the court that he was prepared to hear
argument on the matter of appropriate medical treatment for Steve Kubby
while in jail. Attorney Bill McPike then made a short speech, stating that
he had spoken to the jail doctor and medical staff, and from these
conversations he had concluded that Mr. Kubby's health had stabilized. As
a result, McPike asked the judge to take the motion "off the calendar" for
the day. Judge McElhany then confirmed the date and time for the
proceedings addressing Steve Kubby's alleged probation violation,
scheduling a pre-trial conference for February 15th at 1pm.

A pause in courtroom activity was then given for the purpose of evacuating
all Kubby supporters. The exodus virtually emptied the courthouse, as
dozens exited to find a flock of newscameras waiting outside the doors.
What followed was an impromptu press conference in which Steve's wife,
Michele Kubby, took center stage.

Having arrived recently from Canada, Michele stood on the courthouse steps
and hugged the supporters who greeted her, then turned her attention to
the seemingly endless line of questioning that reporters had prepared for
her. She spoke with conviction, at first addressing her apparent confusion
and initial disapproval of the tabling of the motion to allow Steve to use
cannabis while in jail. Though she stated her appreciation for the role of
Marinol in stabilizing her husband's health, Michele also strongly
emphasized that medicinal cannabis is the medicine that works best for
him, as well as the therapy that has kept him alive far beyond doctor's
expectations during his battle with adrenal cancer.

With her young daughter standing at her side, Michele spoke emphatically
of the high risk of death for her husband, and accused Placer County of
cruel and unusual punishment by taking a father away from his family for
the last days of his life. Describing drug-related arrests that take men
away from their families in order to serve jail sentences, Michele went on
to declare with outrage, "It's women and children who are the real victims
of the drug war."

As the newscameras focused on Michele's impassioned speech, the man
prosecuting Steve Kubby's case, Deputy District Attorney Chris Cattran,
exited the courthouse and began walking off behind the crowd. A television
reporter intercepted Cattran and initiated an interview, which was
conducted simultaneously with Michele's press conference...that is, until
the critical moment that Michele spotted Cattran. At this point, she
walked with purposeful briskness over to the man who is prosecuting her
husband and interrupted his doubletalk in mid-sentence with rapid-fire
questioning. "Do you remember me?" Michele said with an angry smile, eyes
blazing at Cattran as he attempted to ignore her presence. "Hey! Do you
remember me? I'm the one whose family you tore apart!" The crowd watched,
wide-eyed at the volatility in Michele's voice and the emotion in her
words, as she launched into accusations that the prosecution has caused
great suffering in her family. Cattran eventually slinked away from the
scene as cameras turned to focus once again on Michele, who took the
opportunity to state that she and her husband are lawmakers rather than
criminals. "We always consulted lawyers to make sure that everything we
were doing was fully in line with the law," she insisted.

Michele continued fielding questions until McPike made his appearance
outside the courthouse, at which time she left the crowd to sit on a
folding chair that had been brought by activists. "We don't have guns,"
Michele said as she explained the confrontation to her supporters, some of
whom knelt beside her in solidarity. "We don't fight with guns. We pick up
a pen or we go to the internet, and that's how we fight. We fight with our
words. We fight with our voice. We fight with the truth."

With attention now focused on the defense attorney, reporters were eager
to extract from him the reason he took the proposed motion off of the
calendar. Without answering the questions directly, McPike simply told the
press that the matter could easily be brought back up again if necessary,
but that his client's health was currently stable enough to allow for the
tabling of the motion. Without much insight into the less visible reasons
for taking the motion off of the calendar, many journalists proceeded to
frame the story as one that showcased the effectiveness of Marinol as a
substitute for medicinal cannabis.

A day following the hearing, however, a release on the Kubbys' official
website gives greater depth to the story. It reads, "Steve is not going
after the use of the whole plant instead of Marinol. The reason for this
is because in order to actually receive the whole plant, he would have to
say that the Marinol was not working at all. Since the Marinol is
controlling his Blood Pressure, Steve would have to purger himself in
order to get the whole plant."

A statement given by McPike over the weekend, in addition, adds another
level of explanation to an already richly-nuanced scenario. According to
the defense attorney, simply filing the motion has led to a positive
outcome, which he believes will bear fruit whether or not the motion
itself remains tabled. "I believe that the filing helped get the
settlement offer which we now have," McPike wrote to supporters Saturday.

McPike, however, would not speak further about the details of this
settlement. The defense is asking for Steve to be allowed to serve out his
120-day sentence under house arrest in Marin County. Cattran, however, has
told reporters that he may press for a longer sentence when the court
addresses the matter of Steve's alleged probation violation.

Meanwhile, Steve continues to sit in jail. His next day in court will not
be until February 15th, and he has only enough Marinol to last him for
four more days. According to Michele, the jail medical staff will allow
the pricey drug, but will not provide it. Anyone who can assist with
coordinating proper medicine and treatment for Steve is urged to contact
jeremy@freecanadianparty.org as soon as possible.

I filed the following item for the Bay Guardian before going to the Placer County Court yesterday. Kubby says he did not flee to Canada but merely stayed there after being given permission to visit by the court.
Guardian editors inserted the line about Kubby fleeing anyway, cut the story in half and added a bad headline.

One Toke Over the Line
San Francisco Bay Guardian 2/1/06

A medical cannabis patient with a rare form of adrenal cancer who was arrested by San Francisco police officers and federal agents after landing at San Francisco International Airport Jan. 26 says he's gravely ill and being denied medical treatment in a Placer County jail.

"They need to keep a record of his blood pressure, but this is not being vigorously followed," said Dr. Todd Mikuriya, Kubby's local physician. "He could suffer a stroke or a heat attack that could lead to his being dead or gravely disabled."

Kubby, who is scheduled to appear in court in Placer County this week, is being permitted to use Marinol, a synthetic form of cannabis. But supporters say Kubby has told them he's gravely ill and not being well cared for in jail. Sheriff Edward Bonner, who runs the Placer County Jail, did not return calls for comment.

SF supervisor Ross Mirkarimi told Kubby's supporters via e-mail that he is investigating why SFPD officers assisted in arresting Kubby, who had an agreement to turn himself in to Placer County officials this week and face the outstanding charges against him. (Ann Harrison)

According to Gieringer, a friend of Steve Kubby's, Fred Colburn, received a call from Kubby early this morning. Kubby told Colburn that he is in excruciating pain, vomiting, weak from inability to eat for the last several days, with blood in his urine, and without a blanket or even Tylenol. Kubby has been held at the Placer County Jail for four days.

Kubby's supporters will be holding an 8:30 am press conference and then a rally at noon at the Placer County Courthouse in Auburn, California. Kubby has a hearing set for 1 pm.

Below are two long telephone interviews with Kubby conducted by journalist Pat McCartney over the weekend. Kubby claims that jail officials are denying him needed medical care and forced him to sign a document absolving them of responsibility for his health.

Around 5 p.m.

SK: Please take notes of everything I'm going to
tell you, and at seven you can get back to me.
[PM: Okay.] I am getting zero medical care. I'm
unable to even get Tylenol for pain and headaches.

PM: And you've requested it?

SK: I have requested it repeatedly. I'm told I
don't have a prescription for it.

PM: Have you requested anything other than Tylenol?

SK: Anything for pain, but most pain medications
are a problem for me, and Tylenol is all I need.

PM: Did you get the second shipment of the Marinol?

SK: I don't know. They keep that. They are
completely ignoring the bloody urine. I was told
on Friday at noon when I came in, that they would
test me for that, and they're not testing me. And
I'm really concerned that they don't want to test
me, that they don't want to document that I've
got blood in my urine as the resul! t of medical
incompetence and torture that I'm getting here.

PM: I hear you.

SK: The first follow-up since admission Friday
was today, about two hours ago they checked my
b-p. [Blood pressure.] No other care or exam. By
b-p on examination was one-sixty-six over
one-oh-eight, which is way high for me. Now, I
believe that the medical director thinks that I'm
a fraud, or ignorant, or something, because when
I told him that I cannot take Š Well, I don't
know if he even got the message. They said, you
got to Š They said, um Š I told them I can't take
regular meds, so they said, well then, you're
refusing treatment. And I said I'm refusing
conventional treatment, yes. So, you know I went
through that whole thing with the deputy
yesterday. After the confrontation with the
hostile deputy Š [PM: So you went through a
similar thing today?] No, but after this
confrontation with the hostile deputy, I'm afr! aid
to push this issue and I need help from friends
calling. And by the way, I'm getting the message
that they're getting a lot of calls. I'm under
the impression that I cannot expect any help from
the medical director due to my refusal to take
conventional medicines.

PM: Now, is this what Michele put in her note?
Beta blocker and alpha blocker, or something?

SK: These things are deadly for me. My Doctor
Conners in Canada understands, but people need to
understand that I do not have [high] blood
pressure, I have episodes of [high] blood
pressure. So, if you treat me when I'm running
one-sixty-six, if you treat that right now, as
soon as my tumor lets up, I'm going to bottom out
and turn into a vegetable. [PM: I see.] I can't
move. I have trouble speaking. I have, like, no
blood pressure. On the other hand, if I have an
attack and I'm only medicated for one hundred,
sixty-six over one-oh-eight,! and it goes to
two-fifty over two-twenty, which it does and
which I believe it went last Friday, if it gets
that high, it blows completely through the
protection of the blood-pressure medication, and
it fools my body into thinking that I'm protected
until that moment, and that's what's deadly.
That's where I get killed. That's where I get
hammered with terrible, terrible attacks, because
I've been through this for fucking years [anger
rising in voice], and this Š These people here
gave me an informational sheet on hypertension. I
know I know more than the top medical authorities
in California, and they're giving me an
information sheet. I'm really, really disturbed
by what is going on.

PM: So you're not in the infirmary? You're in a solitary cell?

SK: Yes. No, I'm not in any sort of an infirmary. I don't see anyone. [Sighs.]

PM: Have you received any more comments from staff that is memorable.

! SK: I've got a lot more to report. But there's
one sergeant here, Minden Sanders, who's
attempting to straighten things out. He told me a
lot of folks are calling and complaining. He got
me a pillow. He got me an extra pillow. [PM:
Good!] I sent him a written statement that I am
not Š This blood thing, they could fucking settle
it with one fucking test! They could have done it
Friday in two minutes. [PM: What kind of test are
you talking about?] Blood in urine; it's a simple
process. I don't know. I've never had blood in my
urine before. They told me they can test for this.

PM: Steve, I'm transcribing our first
conversation for Eric Bailey, Martin, and maybe
Fred Gardner, or Ann Harrison. I'll put something
together for like DPFCA based on all our
conversations.

SK: I told you yesterday that the Marinol
appeared to be helping. I honestly thought I
could make it. But everyone needs to know that I
was mistaken. Dr. Conners said it would not
control my blood pressure. He was correct. It
does provide partial effective relief for my
symptoms, but it is not very effective on the
adrenaline production.

PM: Is that because CBD is better for that?

SK: There's something in the whole plant that
keeps me at one-twenty over eighty, or better,
and it is outrageous that I'm being kept to the
point that I'm worried my kidneys are being
damaged. Now, the vomiting and nausea are gone,
and I ate my first meal today, but it just went
right through me as diarrhea. So I'm losing
weight, and I'm weak.

PM: I'll also copy it to Dick Cowan, the
transcript. I'm sorry to hear this, Steve. You
know, I've received a couple requests to say
hello to you. Certainly, Eva, Dale Schafer, and
Debbie Debord, and practically everybody I see.

SK: Let me get back to my report, OK? I urgently
need for Dr. Conners in Can! ada to contact the
medical director, and separately contact the head
of the jail here, and explain to them why no
conventional therapy is going to be able to keep
me alive. They need understand that they're going
to fucking kill me. I'm sorry, but you know,
three days and they can't even test or verify
that I have blood in my urine? What kind of
fucking care is that? I need Fred [Colburn] to
find a male barber. He knows Š His daughter is a
female barber. I need a haircut, man. I don't
want to go to the hearing without a haircut, if I
can get one. They say you can bring a male barber
in at any time and get a haircut. Will you look
into that?

PM: Yes. I can ask my barber here in town. Can it be anybody?

SK: Anybody at all. But not your barber; your
hair looks funny. Nah, I'm just kidding.

PM: [Laughs.] Well, Steve. Anything else you want
to tell me before I come tonight. Do you know if
I can hav! e a tape recorder with me, or a camera?

SK: I don't know.

PM: Well, I'll find out. Eva's going to try to
see you, too, but I'm not sure if you're allowed
two individuals per week, or just two visiting
periods per week.

SK: I don't know, either.

PM: I'll find out. [SK: Pat Š] Well look, hang in there, buddy.

SK: This is really getting serious. I really
thought yesterday that we had found an answer.
And please, don't misunderstand me, but Marinol
is tremendously helpful. It helps me with the
nausea. I'm not getting any more of the Š I was
vomiting so bad that my cellmate was getting
pissed at me. I requested a private cell, because
I don't want to keep these guys up puking all the
time. When I started the Marinol, the puking went
away, but now I got diarrhea, so it just goes
through me, boom. I'm weak, I'm shaky, and the
worst thing of all is I honestly think that
there's an effort here to n! ot document what is
happening, to not document that I am passing
blood, to not document my blood-pressure attacks.
Now, the big attacks, the worst one I had was
Friday, it knocked me down, I got disoriented,
but I have not had a super-high blood-pressure
attack since then. But one-sixty-six over
one-oh-eight is enough to make me feel pretty
darn sick all fucking day.

Oh, and the officer got me a copy of the Auburn
Journal story. I'll tell you, my blood really
boiled when I saw that yet another police officer
has decided to practice [medicine], and told the
Auburn Journal that I looked "fine." Well, I want
everyone to contact the Auburn Journal and tell
them I'm not fine, and doctors, police who make
those kind of Š Not just the police, but for the
Auburn Journal to put that in is fucking
bullshit, as sick as I am, to say that he looks
fine.

PM: They've got to talk to everybody on all
side! s of it, Steve. That's just part of the news.
But I want to know where they got that yahoo
medical expert. That was an embarrassment. [SK:
Who? The cop?] No, the UC Davis person who
pooh-poohed the Š [SK: Yes.] That was the worst
thing the Auburn Journal has done.

SK: They're going to kill me with that kind of
stuff. [PM: I hear you.] They're going to
convince people that it's not a big deal. It is a
big deal.

PM: You've got to take care of yourself to at
least Tuesday. How often do you take the Marinol?

SK: Three times a day.

PM: I see. Is that sufficient, do you think?

SK: It's all I'm going to get from that. There's
only one medicine that has ever worked for me. I
have thirty fucking years of documentation,
goddammit! [PM: Yeah.] Now, Dr. Conners is a very
high-ranking doctor. I'm hopeful that he can
persuade Š You know, he's not American, so they
might just blow him off. People need to
understand what is on the line. So, I'm going to
get off the phone, and let you contact people.
I'd like you to contact my wife and find out what
is going on. I don't want you to scare her, but I
want you to tell her to tell Ed [Pearson] that
I'm passing blood.

PM: So, let me get this straight again. They
have not tested for blood in the urine yet?

SK: No, they have not. [PM: I see, Steve.] The
only follow-up I've had in three days was a
blood-pressure check today.

PM: I got you. Well look, I will see you in a
couple hours and I'll make a few calls before
then.

SK: Just let everyone know that the calls work.
They're rattled here. They're just ignorant.
They're ignorant! They think it's a fraud or a
joke or something. They've got to understand that
they're going to fucking kill me! I've never had
blood in my kidneys before. I don't deserve to
have damaged kidneys now. I don't dese! rve that. I
want people to help me any way they can, because
at this point, I am really, really concerned. So,
I'm going to say good-bye.

PM: Take care. Try and stay calm, Steve. You can't let the stress get to you.

SK: When you see blood come out in your urine, it's hard to remain calm.

PM: I hear you. I hear you, Steve. [SK: All
right, thank you.] Hang in there, buddy. [SK:
I'll see you at seven.] Take care.

Steve Kubby
Phone call from Placer County Jail
January 28, 2006

A little after 1 p.m.

SK: I want to give you a statement [PM: Sure.],
and I want you to take notes. [PM: OK] [Reads
from prepared remarks.] OK. I entered the Placer
County Jail around noon yesterday. At that time
my blood pressure was one-seventy over
one-twenty, and I reported that I had passed
blood in my urine. I also reported that I had one
of the most severe blood-pressure attacks of my
life, with chest pains fo! r the first time ever
for me, and I became so disoriented that I
collapsed and I injured my back and head.

I was told by the nurse that the medical director
wants me on convention b-p [blood-pressure]
medications. I replied that I am under doctor's
orders to not use conventional b-p medication,
since I don't have a conventional b-p problem.
These meds would be worse for me and put me at
high risk, according to my doctors. So, they also
have denied repeated requests from me to talk to
my attorneys; this is the first time I've had
access to a phone, except yesterday. I had one
call, so I used that to call Michele in Canada.

PM: Steve, did you receive the Marinol?

SK: Yes, that has been a godsend for me. The
blood has stopped passing through my urine. My
kidneys, which were just throbbing with pain, are
starting to calm down, and it's not doing what
cannabis does for me, but it's keeping me alive. I am so grateful for that.

[Resumes reading remarks.] I am being held in
24-hour solitary lock-up until now; they let me
out for one hour, I get one hour out of every 24
hours.

PM: I tried to visit you. [SK: Yes? What did
they tell you?] They told me you're only allowed
two visitors a week, and for you, it's Sunday
night and Thursday night. I called Michele to let
her know that, because I will try to visit you
tomorrow night unless you want to reserve the
visit for somebody else.

SK: Yes, I'd like to arrange for me Š Well, I
get to see my attorney anytime, right?

PM: Right. They wouldn't let me in as a professional visitor.

SK: Yes, I'd like to see you tomorrow. Let me
continue giving my report. I assume you'll
disperse it to the media?

PM: Yeah. In fact, Eric Bailey asked me to give
him a call. But if you like, I'll put it up in
notes and pass it along to Michele and DPFCA.

! SK: Well, I'd like you to get to Eric first.
[PM: OK.] OK, so let me continue with my report.
Here's the spooky part, Pat. The medical director
has refused any further medical care for me, and
has forced me to sign a paper that if I die, it's
my fault for not taking conventional b-p
medication. When I protested that the statement
did not include the statement that I was under
doctors' orders from my doctors not to take these
medications, I was confronted by a deputy, who
told me, I want to get the quote right, told me,
"Sign the paper, and sign it as is." And, you
know, just got in my face and made it clear that
I was under physical duress to do it, that I was
forced to sign that paper.

No further b-p checks, or any physical
examination, has been since I reported chest
pains and blood in my urine.

PM: And when did you report that?

SK: Upon entering Placer County yesterday at noon.

PM: And no f! urther Š I mean didn't one-twenty, one-ten catch their attention?

SK: One seventy!

PM: Yeah. One-seventy over one-twenty. That didn't get their attention?

SK: They basically told me if I'm not going to
do it their way, they're not going to deal with
it. I've also been exposed to continual episodes
of cold, where officers will put me in a
situation, take my blanket from me. When I tell
them that I'm cold and I need the blanket, I mean
they're sitting there with a hat on, they got the
heavy uniform and everything, they just give us a
T-shirt! I'm a cancer patient! I haven't been
able to hold any food down since I got here,
since I was arrested. I'm being exposed to
episodes where I get so chilled that my teeth are
chattering and I'm shivering and it takes a
half-hour to warm up. I'm afraid I'm going to get
pneumonia or something if I continue to receive
abuse like that.

PM: Steve, I was actually at! the airport
Thursday night and spoke to Bill McPike briefly.
Did I hear him right that there were police cars
on the runway?

SK: Here's what happened. We landed, we pulled
into the tarmac, and they announced that Steve
Kubby, please come to the front. So I go to the
front and I get outside of the plane, and there
are federal agents everywhere. I don't know,
maybe six or eight federal agents. And they put
me up against the wall, and they do the handcuff
thing, and they were kind of rough with me, and
then they start telling me I've got all these
multiple warrants.

And I'm thinking, oh man, is this the federal
government getting bad-ass with me? Are they
going to come after me? Then, no sooner than they
- and they went over everything I have with a
fine-tooth comb trying to look for a flake of pot
or something - then they take me down to this cop
car and put me in there, and the guy just cranks !
the, the Asian guy with Border Patrol, just
cranks it down on my wrists until they're just,
I'm screaming with pain. I tell the guy, this is
really hurting me. And he basically just says
tough. So, get this, the officer that's
transporting me said, why don't you go ahead and
loosen the cuffs. He says, he'll be a security
risk, and he says, I'll take that chance.

So, they loosen up the cuffs, we take off, and
the guy says, so are you a senator or something?
I said why. He says, because of all the people
and press that were there. I said, no. I said I
was one of those people who helped passed a law
that police and prosecutors and judges don't
like. So, he tells me, well, it wasn't supposed
to go down this way. Quote - Someone has a big
hard-on to get you. Otherwise we would have let
you go to voluntarily surrender in Placer County.
- Unquote. [PM: Hmm.] Let's see what other
information I have for you Š

PM: What was the rest of that? Someone has a
hard-on to arrest you? It wasn't supposed to go
down? What did you say?

SK: "Otherwise, we would have let you go and
voluntarily surrender in Placer County."

PM: And who told you that? The guy transporting you?

SK: Yeah, and he said he would never admit to it if I told.

PM: OK

SK: So, what else do I have to report Š [Apparently scanning a list.]

PM: So, was there [sic] police cars on the
runway or not? Did I misunderstand? [SK: Yes.]
Yes? [SK: Yes.] They pulled up to the Š [SK: the
plane Š] yeah, but at the gate before they
disembark?

SK: They got on and off out of everyone's view.

PM: So, did you exit through the normal gate, or did they, oh OK.

SK: I exited through the plane, and right
outside the plane were these guys, between the
plane and the gate.

PM: In the maneuverable hallway, or whatever.

SK: Yes.
PM: How was your treatment at the border, getting on the plane?

SK: Superb.

PM: So, Canadian officials were Š

SK: Very polite. They went overboard to be
polite and understanding and helpful.

PM: But you're saying you have not received that
kind of treatment on the U.S. side of the border?

SK: I thought they were pretty rough with me.
They were treating me like I was some kind of Š

PM: You said they read all these charges, but
you're not under arrest for those charges, are
you?

SK: They just said I was under arrest for
multiple warrants. I thought it was federal at
the time; I was crapping in my pants. I took it
pretty cool, actually.

PM: Bill [McPike] said you were in a pretty good
mood, that you seemed to look forward to getting
it resolved. Is that a fair description? [SK: Who
said that?] Bill McPike.

SK: Yes. Yes. I want everyone to understand three
things. First of! all, I never fled. I had the
permission of the court to leave. Two, I opted
not to return when it was clear to me that
illegal and damaging things were being done
behind the scenes to harm to me and to come after
me. And three, I came down to voluntarily
surrender myself.

PM: Well, did you have any choice?

SK: Yes, I had the choice to run, I had a choice
to duck out in another country, but I came right
to Placer County to face the music, and for them
to face the music.

PM: So, you could have engineered an escape from the Canadian airport?

SK: Oh, I had all kinds of offers to go to
Amsterdam, Europe, Australia, New Zealand.

PM: How about St. Vincent?

SK: Hey, if I'd had that, I might have taken it.
[Pause.] Oh god, this Marinol has been so much a
godsend for me.

PM: Dr. Tod told me yesterday that it was the
first time he'd ever prescribed or recommended,
prescribed I guess, in t! hese kinds of
circumstances. It has to be enough to give you an
initial, uh, I forget the term, but Š

SK: You know, I was pissing blood until I got on the Marinol.

PM: Wow. [Pause.] So, did you sign that paper or not?

SK: You bet I signed it. They made it pretty
clear I was in for a bad time if I didn't.

PM: But even with that cooperation, they have
not monitored your health closely?

SK: I have only received one blood-pressure
check and that was upon entry, at one-seventy
over one-twenty.

PM: And now it's more than 24 hours later.

SK: Yes, that's correct.

PM: Steve, you said you've been kept in solitary
since then. Is it at least an open-air cell?

SK: Yeah, it's part of a facility where each guy
has one cell, and there's probably a dozen other
guys locked down with me. Each of us gets out,
now that I've been here a while, I get out one
hour a day. I get out one hour a day, ! right now,
and I'm locked down the rest of the time.

PM: When did you receive the Marinol, and has
that been given to you regularly?

SK: Yes, I received the Marinol upon entering
Placer County. And if you look at my mugshot,
you'll see that within an hour I was already able
to muster a smile for my mugshot. [PM: Good, so
you had the Marinol before you took the mugshot?]
Yes, and I remembered what you said, that they'd
probably print it, so I smiled.

PM: You know. Good point. Even Tom Delay learned
that one. [Laughs.] [SK: Yeah.] So, have you had
any other comments either by inmates or
law-enforcement officials that stand out, Placer
County officials?

SK: [To someone else:] Yes, ma'am. I have to go.

PM: OK. Say, thanks Steve for giving me a call.

SK: OK. I gotta go. They want me to go.

PM: I'll see you tomorrow.

SK: Bye-bye.

The proposed resolution, which may also have the backing of city supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, was sparked by the imprisonment of medical cannabis patient Steve Kubby who was taken into custody by San Francisco police officers after arriving on a flight from Canada Thursday.

Kubby, who suffers from a rare form of adrenal cancer that he treats with cannabis, is now in a Placer County jail cell. Kubby tells supporters that jail officials are allowing him to use Marinol, a synthetic form of cannabis, but he is still suffering from nausea and extreme pain.

Kubby is scheduled to for a hearing at the Placer County courthouse in Auburn, California tomorrow at 1 pm. Gochenaur says she is arranging to transport 20 to 40 activists, patients and organizers from the steps of San Francisco City Hall to the Placer County Courthouse at 5 am tomorrow. The group plans to hold a press conference on the steps of the courthouse at 8:30 am.

Gochenaur asks that those who want to be transported be dressed for court. Axis of Love, which is headquartered at the California Marijuana Party bookstore at 223A 9th Street in San Francisco, is also looking for donations of food and gas money to Auburn.

"I am not fully aware of the context as to why they moved on Steve, but I will inquire," wrote Mirkarimi in an e-mail to Kubby's supporters.

Kubby's attorney, Bill McPike, said he had made arrangements for Kubby to turn himself in to Placer County Superior Court on Tuesday. But San Francisco police summoned Kubby to the jetway after his Alaska Airlines flight landed. He was met by officers who escorted him to a Redwood City jail.

A San Francisco police officer, who identified himself at Sgt. Mike Hughes, said at the airport that Kubby was arrested on a no-bail warrant for violation of probation on a narcotics charge. He said Kubby was polite as he was taken into custody at the request of the Placer County Sheriff's Department.

In a letter to Mirkarimi asking him to look into the matter, medical cannabis activist Clark Sullivan pointed out that the voters passed a resolution in 2001 making San Francisco the City of Sanctuary for medical cannabis.

"The SFPD has again, blatantly disregarded the policies of the government of San Francisco," wrote Sullivan. "Their actions are but another slap in the face of the public's will."

Kubby, who has a rare form of adrenal cancer that he treats with cannabis, fears that county officials will not permit him to use cannabis in jail. According to supporters, Kubby smokes cannabis every thirty minutes and consumes it before sleeping to regulate the levels of adrenalin in his body.

Kubby phoned Dale Gieringer of California NORML last night from jail to say that he was beginning to suffer from nausea, headache and chills.

After an uncomfortable night, McPike reports that Kubby has been transported to the Placer County Jail where he is to receive Marinol, a synthetic version of marijuana. Kubby is scheduled to be arraigned at 1 pm on Tuesday at the Placer County courthouse in Auburn, California.

Kubby was deported from Canada where he had sought asylum. According to McPike, Kubby was met at the airport at Vancouver, British Columbia by Canadian officials who spoke with him privately for at least an hour. McPike said Kubby wanted to return to the U.S. and face the warrant against him instead of fleeing to another country. "He just wants to get it over with," said McPike.

But McPike noted that Kubby's detention has been hard on his family and supporters.

"I'm worried about his health it would be a death sentence if he can't get his medicine," said McPike after he got off the phone with Kubby's wife Michele. "She's crying and worried about his health."

"Steve Kubby is someone who really relies on marijuana forhis life," said Gieringer. "And it would really be a crime for Placer County to deprive him of his marijuana."

McPike says state law allow for the use of medical cannabis in jail, not just Marinol. He says he will file a motion to let Kubby use cannabis while locked up.

"San Francisco is a sanctuary for medical marijuana, but that is a symbolic gesture," said activist Shona Gochenaur, who brought a dozen medical cannabis patients to the airport to greet Kubby last night, "I wish the city could lift up her skirts and shelter Kubby who is a person with cancer and has a condition that could get worse without life saving medical cannabis."

Medical cannabis patient Mira Ingram, who was there at the airport to greet Kubby in her wheelchair along with two dozen other supporters, said Kubby's arrest at the airport is intended to send a message to medical cannabis patients. "Medical cannabis helps us when other medicines don't work, but they want to come and take it away from us," says Ingram "The government wants to murder him."

As the San Francisco police were describing Kubby's detention, someone from the crowd yelled, "Welcome to the land of the free and the home of the dead."

According to his colleague Omar Figueroa, a fellow attorney at the Pier 5 law offices, Serra will being serving a 10-month term on March 31 for his long standing refusal to pay taxes. Or as the court stated it, "failure to pay war taxes."

This is potentially bad news for Lepp who Serra was representing pro bono. Lepp says he can not afford to pay a private attorney. Lepp is arguing a religious use defense for his cultivation of cannabis – an argument which could set an important precedent. If Lepp looses Serra as an attorney, chances are that his federal public defender will have far less fire in the belly to make the religious use defense that Lepp wants.

The gathering, which will take place at 8 pm at Alaska Airlines Terminal 1 at San Francisco International Airport, is a show of support for Kubby who was denied refugee statues by Canada where he had fled after being arrested in Placer County California for growing cannabis.

Kubby, a former Libertarian candidate for California governor, says he suffers from pheochromocytoma, rare adrenal cancer which causes deadly amounts of adrenaline to enter his blood stream. After surviving 20 years with the condition, Kubby says he is alive because he uses medical cannabis to help control the levels of adrenaline in his blood stream.

Placer County Assistant District Attorney Chris Cattran told the Auburn Journal on January 6th that when Kubby returns, he would be arrested and jailed for at least 120 days and possibly longer.

But on January 9, Immigration Counsel Keith Reimer told Canadian Justice Yvon Pinard that Kubby faced no risk of arrest if he was forced to return to the U.S. Kubby's request for refuge status was subsequently turned down.

When Kubby arrives in San Francisco tomorrow night, he is expected to be greeted by both law enforcement and medical cannabis activists who say every effort will be made to keep Kubby from being forced to return to Placer County.

Cattran told a Canadian Refugee hearing in April 2003 that Placer County had arranged for two "specialists" to fly in and testify at Kubby's trial that Kubby did not have cancer, but if he did, cannabis would make the condition worse.

Kubby's wife Michele and his two daughters are driving to California because they say they want to shield their children from having to watch their father taken into custody.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), and several patient plaintiffs filed a motion in federal court today to intervene in the San Diego County Board of Supervisors’ lawsuit against the State of California. The Supervisors’ lawsuit seeks to overturn California’s Compassionate Use Act (Prop. 215), which permits patients to use medical cannabis with a doctor's recommendation.

San Diego is the first county in California to defy the state-mandated medical marijuana ID card and registry program that went into effect this month. The County Board of Supervisors voted in December to sue the state rather than follow Proposition 215 and implement the program. This is the first such lawsuit to overturn medical marijuana laws which have been passed in 11 states.

The Board of Supervisors of San Bernardino County also voted this morning to file their own lawsuit against the state of California opposing Prop. 215.

"The case law is very clear," said Sherer who accompanied the patient plaintiffs to the Supervisor's meeting today.

"We went in and testified in front of the board and held a press conference at noon and asked them for one more chance to remove their lawsuit and they said no, so we are intervening," said Sherer. "We feel very confident that this whole case is going to be dropped after the attorney general files the motion to dismiss. But just in case, we wanted to make sure that someone was looked out not just for California, but for the patients of California."

BASEL, Switzerland -- When Kevin Herbert has a particularly intractable programming problem, or finds himself pondering a big career decision, he seeks insight with a powerful consciousness expanding tool -- LSD-25.

"It must be changing something about the internal communication in my brain. Whatever my inner process is that lets me solve problems, it works differently, or maybe different parts of my brain are used, " said Herbert, 42, an early employee of Cisco Systems who intervened to ban drug testing of technologists at the company.

Herbert says he's solved his toughest technical problems after dropping LSD and listening to drum solos by the Grateful Dead – who were among the many artists inspired by LSD.

"When I'm on LSD and hearing something that's pure rhythm, it takes me to another world and into another brain state where I've stopped thinking and started knowing," said Herbert.

Herbert, who lives in Santa Cruz, California, joined 2,000 researchers, scientists, artists and historians from 40 countries who gathered here over the weekend to celebrate the 100th birthday of Albert Hofmann, the Swiss chemist who discovered LSD in 1938.

In many ways, the conference LSD: Problem Child and Wonder Drug, an International Symposium on the Occasion of the 100th Birthday of Albert Hofmann, was a scientific coming-out party for the substance Hofmann uncovered.

The conference was picketed Saturday by a splinter group from Scientology opposed to drug use. But Hofmann received a congratulatory birthday letter from the Swiss president, roses, and a spontaneous kiss from a young woman in the crowd.

The storied history of LSD began during the darkest days of World War II, five years after Hofmann discovered the molecule. The chemist had what he described as a "peculiar presentiment" compelling him to resynthesize the drug. Soon afterwards, without intentionally ingesting the substance, Hofmann had a transcendent experience akin to one he experienced as a child. In a second
intentional trip, Hoffman took too large a dose and had a frightening experience that gave way to a feeling of rebirth.

"LSD wanted to tell me something," Hofmann told the gathering Friday. "It gave me an inner joy, an open mindedness, a gratefulness, open eyes and an internal sensitivity for the miracles of creation." During the 1950's and 1960's, LSD was used by psychiatrists and psychotherapists and was studied by the CIA as a potential interrogation weapon. LSD was criminalized after it was rejected by the government and widely embraced by the youth culture.

Aged but still eloquent, Hofmann said Friday that he hoped the symposium would encourage the renewed therapeutic and ceremonial use of LSD in supervised settings.

Hofmann says he would like to see a modern version of the Eleusinian Mysteries, an ancient Greek ritual of renewal which persisted for two millennium beginning in 1500 BC. Mythologist Carl P. Ruck and chemist Peter Webster said at the symposium that they believe that an ergot preparation was the active ingredient for the Kykeon beverage used to promote spiritual awakening during the ritual.

"When Hofmann synthesized the chemical in LSD, he stumbled upon a 4,000-year-old secret," said Ruck, author of Road To Eleusis.

In 1958, Hofmann was the first to isolate the psychoactive substances of psilocybin and psilocin from Mexican magic mushrooms Psilocybe
mexicana which were among a variety of sacred plants used around the world to invite ecstatic and spiritual experiences.

The United States Supreme Court is now considering an appeal brought by the New Mexican chapter of the Uniao do Vegetal (UDV) which uses the outlawed ayahausca brew in its ceremonies and cites the Eleusinian Mysteries as a precedent for a psychoactive Eucharist.

In Basel, symposium attendees sang, talked, danced to music, and viewed works by visionary artists including painter Alex Grey. Conversations and gatherings stretched long into the night -- especially for those in altered states of consciousness.

Participants wishing to describe their LSD experiences were
encouraged to contribute to a library of drug experiences at the Erowid web site. Earth and Fire Erowid, who operate the site, presented a sampling of comments at the symposium and document the 2-5 known deaths that have been associated with LSD. They note that according to the National Household Survey, the percentage of Americans who say they have tried LSD has held steady at about ten percent for about twenty years.

Geri Beil of Cologne, Germany, who attended the symposium, recalled his own ecstatic LSD experience on an Indian beach on New Year's day 2000. "I was crying from happiness, thankful that life was given to me and so thankful to my parents that they created me," said Beil. "This experience has not disappeared, it has had a lasting effect."

Like Herbert, many scientists and engineers also report heightened states of creativity while using LSD. During a press conference on Friday, Hofmann revealed that he was told by Nobel prize winning chemist Kary Mullis that LSD had helped him develop the polymerase chain reaction which helps amplify DNA sequences.

"When you study natural science and the miracles of creation, if you don't turn into a mystic you are not a natural scientist," said Hofmann. He believes LSD brings users closer to nature, a bond that he says has been damaged by the intrusion of technology.

In his presentation, artist Alex Grey noted that Nobel prize winner Francis Crick, discoverer of the double helical structure of DNA, told friends that he received inspiration for his ideas from LSD - a revelation covered by href="http://www.mayanmajix.com/art1699.html">news reports.

The gathering included a discussion of how early computer pioneers used LSD for inspiration, including Douglas Englebart, the inventor of the mouse, Myron Stolaroff, a former Ampex engineer and LSD researcher who was attending the symposium, and Apple-cofounder Steve Jobs. In the 2005 book
What the Dormouse Said, New York Times reporter
John Markoff quotes Jobs as describing his LSD experience "one of the two or three most important things he has done in his life."

In addition to enhancing creativity, supporters say LSD has promising medical uses. Psychotherapists and psychiatrists at the symposium discussed research into the therapeutic usefulness of psychedelic drugs.

Dr. Michael Mithoefer presented the preliminary findings of his study in Charleston, South Carolina, which is investigating whether MDMA is effective for treating post traumatic stress disorder in people traumatize by crime or war.

Dr. John Halpern of Harvard University discussed his proposed study using MDMA to treat anxiety in cancer patients which is now awaiting DEA approval.

The Florida-based Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is sponsoring these inquiries and research in Canada investigating the use of ibogain to treat drug addiction.

And a study at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, supported by the Heffter Research Institute, is investigating whether psilocybin effectively eases the anxiety of terminal cancer patients. Psychiatrist Charles Grob says his research group has located six of the needed twelve subjects and is looking for more participants.

While the data has yet to be analyzed, Grob told the gathering that study results have been promising and applauded the opportunity to share the data in an international gathering.

"It's very encouraging to see such a large number of people, including very knowledgeable people, getting together and sharing a common vision that these compounds have tremendous potential to facilitate healing, especially in areas that do not respond well to conventional treatments," said Grob.

"There is global healing in these compounds which have been used for millennium by indigenous people that have much to teach modern man and modern woman."

MAPS founder Rick Doblin says his goal is to make psychedelic medicines into prescription drugs. But he notes that LSD is not yet being studied for therapeutic purposes. "We have been deeply touched by our experiences with psychedelics and it is hard that there is not a single legal study with LSD given to humans anywhere in the world," said Doblin. "We need to bring what is underground and illegal back into a legal context."

But Doblin notes that a group of people who say LSD provides relief from their cluster headaches have organized
online and are pushing for a study at Harvard to explore this possible therapy. Doblin says that if Harvard accepts the MDMA study, it could pave the way for the symbolically important return of psychedelic research at Harvard. His goal, says Doblin, is to secure an LSD study in time for Hofmann's 101st birthday.

Dr. Andrew Sewell, a psychiatrist and neurologist from the Harvard Medical School who studies alcohol and drug abuse, says most problems with LSD occur when users take an unknown dose they don't feel comfortable with, in an uncontrolled setting, without supervision to shield them from dangerous situations.

"LSD flashbacks are well-confirmed phenomenon but they are relatively rare and don't seem to cause as much trouble as the media would have you believe," said Dr. Sewell who is attending the LSD symposium.

Dr. Sewell says people who have underlying mental disorders should not take LSD because it could make their symptoms worse. "Like any powerful drug, if LSD is used incorrectly it can cause more harm than good," said Dr. Sewell. "LSD is a potentially dangerous drug and should be taken under medical supervision."

"There is no evidence that LSD causes permanent brain damage and quite a lot of evidence that it doesn't," continues Dr. Sewell. "We are lucky that we have over 1,000 papers written in the 50's and 60's when LSD was given to thousands and thousands of research subjects so we have a pretty good idea at this point what it does and does not do."

Asked if the world need his invention, Hofmann said he hoped that the Basel LSD symposium would help create an appropriate place for LSD in society. "I think that in human evolution it has never been as necessary to have this substance LSD," said Hofmann. "It is just a tool to turn us into what we are supposed to be."