Grow Weed Blog

Federal Judge Stalls Sentencing

Federal Judge Stalls Sentencing

by suckmebush on Wed Mar 25, 2009 6:40 am This is a seriously big deal of a federal sentencing case. The federal pukes had forced this wonderful grower of free medical pot into defending himself without being able to tell the jury he was Totally legal with the county and state he was growing in. The federal government was making him defend himself from heavy charges of being a huge for-profit dope dealer when he was the very opposit. His wife left the land with such a heavy heart, but he stayed on the farm where he was well known, like many of us pot growers are, to his neighbors. Seems she was very very ill and the fed, ever mindful of our health decided to tear this guys guts out to protect him. What Bullshit!! Feds didn't care one tiny bit about her health or anyone else's! Their idea to protect them is by destroying her marriage and land ownership rolled up under this boolshit case on them. She is doing some female bleeding and they destroy them by not allowing them to tell the federal jury they are very ill and not charging people for the pot. You shameful Nazis!! His was a legal grow allowed by his county and local government as well as the state, which is what might might might save his grower ass. The federal jurers were pissed after trial when they found out that they were denied knowing he was either medical or sanctioned by the state when busted and said they would have ruled differently had they known. See? what the federal assholes do here is to make this legal grower look like a total drug lord and hysterically scream how he is supposed to be flogged and made to stop. It just does not fit reality and they have done this little stomp routine for way too long on way too many peeps and I would love to see it shoved up the federal prosecutors' ass. This is some real bullshit and whole meathod needs to be wrecked on a permanent basis. It would be sooo nice to see Lynch get a time served sentence! What you have below is a short news piece where the federal judge is demanding clarification and if that clarification comes back that Obama says to the federal marshals to back off this sort of conviction effort then that judge may let this man off a really shitty prison sentence. 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 U.S. District Court Judge George H. Wu asked prosecutors for a written response from the Justice Department about its position on medical marijuana prosecutions in light of recent comments from Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. Holder said last week that the Justice Department under President Obama had no plans to prosecute dispensary owners who operated within their state's law. Wu said he did not believe that any change in policy would affect the conviction of Charles Lynch, 47. But the judge said he wanted to consider any new information about the policy before imposing sentence. [Los Angeles Times] God, Please bless Charley Lynch and protect his spirit from sadness and give him insight and wisdom in his days of fear when he needs to be so strong. Same for his bride, however she turns out. Amen happy trails

I remain, Your Humble Narrator, SuckMe, Bush!

Ledz Git Er On, Obamama! Don't play with it! Do the whole deed. You Know what we want Obama. We want legalized marijuana and we don't want a lotta delay, either. Here's a nice article courtesy of our super great friend, Carl Olsen (see! I do, too, read my comments and I fixed that spelling lol) Obama's marijuana prohibition acid test by Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman January 14, 2009 The parallels between the 1933 coming of Franklin Roosevelt and the upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama must include the issue of Prohibition: alcohol in 1933, and marijuana today. As FDR did back then, Obama must now help end an utterly failed, socially destructive, reactionary crusade. Marijuana prohibition is a core cause of many of the nation's economic problems. It now costs the U.S. tens of billions per year to track, arrest, try, defend and imprison marijuana consumers who pose little, if any, harm to society. The social toll soars even higher when we account for social violence, lost work, ruined careers and damaged families. In 2007, 775,137 people were arrested in the U.S. for mere possession of this ancient crop, according to the FBI's uniform crime report. Like the Prohibition on alcohol that plagued the nation from 1920 to 1933, marijuana prohibition (which essentially began in 1937) feeds organized crime and a socially useless prison-industrial complex that includes judges, lawyers, police, guards, prison contractors, and more. A dozen states have now passed public referenda confirming medical uses for marijuana based on voluminous research dating back 5,000 years. Confirmed medicinal uses for marijuana include treatment for glaucoma, hypertension, arthritis, pain relief, nausea relief, reducing muscle spasticity from spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis, and diminishing tremors in multiple sclerosis patients. Medical reports also prove smoked marijuana provides relief from migraine headaches, depression, seizures, and insomnia, according to NORML. In recent years its use has become critical to thousands of cancer and AIDS sufferers who need to it to maintain their appetite while undergoing chemotherapy. The U.S. ban on marijuana extends to include hemp, one of the most widely used agricultural products in human history. Unlike many other industrial crops, hemp is powerful and prolific in a natural state, requiring no pesticides, herbicides, extraordinary fertilizing or inappropriate irrigation. Its core products include paper, cloth, sails, rope, cosmetics, fuel, supplements and food. Its seeds are a potentially significant source of bio-diesel fuel, and its leaves and stems an obvious choice for cellulosic ethanol, both critically important for a conversion to a Solartopian renewable energy supply. Hemp was grown in large quantities by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and many more of the nation's founders, most of whom would likely be dumbfounded to hear it is illegal (based on entries in Washington's agricultural diaries, referring to the separation of male and female plants, it's likely he and his cohorts also raised an earlier form of "medicinal" marijuana). Hemp growing was mandatory in some circumstances in early America, and again during World War II, when virtually the entire state of Kansas was planted in it. The current ban on industrial hemp costs the U.S. billiions of dollars in lost production and revenue from a plant that can produce superior paper, clothing, fuel and other critical materials at a fraction the financial cost and environmental damage imposed by less worthy sources. On January 16, 1919, fundamentalist crusaders help pass the 18th Amendment, making the sale of alcohol illegal. The ensuing Prohibition was by all accounts a ludicrous failure epitomized by gang violence and lethal "amateur" product that added to the death toll. Its only real winner was organized crime and the prison-industrial complex. In 1933, FDR helped pass the 21st Amendment repealing Prohibition, which ended a costly era of gratuitous social repression and gave the American economy---and psyche---a tangible boost. Marijuana prohibition was escalated with Richard Nixon's 1970 declaration of the War on Drugs. There was a brief reprieve when Steve Ford, the son of President Gerald Ford appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone barefoot and claiming that the best place to smoke pot was in the White House. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter's last year in office, 338,664 were arrested for marijuana possession. Ronald Reagan renewed the War on Drugs and declared his "Zero Tolerance" policy, despite his daughter Patti Davis' claim the Gipper smoked weed with a major donor. Following Reagan, President George Herbert Walker Bush recorded a low of 260,390 marijuana possession arrests, but the numbers climbed again under Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, both of whom are reported to have smoked it themselves (though Clinton claims not to have inhaled). On a percentage basis, at least as many American high school students smoke pot than students in Holland, where it is legal. In the midst of the drug war, U.S. students report virtually unlimited access to a wide range of allegedly controlled substances, including pot. Because so many Americans use it, and it is so readily available, the war on marijuana can only be seen as a virtually universal assault on the basic liberties of our citizenry. In a 2005 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services survey, more than 97 million Americans admitted to having tried marijuana at least once. President-elect Obama makes it clear in his book Dreams From My Father that he has smoked---and inhaled---marijuana (he is also apparently addicted to a far more dangerous drug, tobacco). His administration should tax marijuana rather than trying to repress it. Like alcohol and tobacco, a minimum age for legal access should be set at 21. As a whole, the violent, repressive War on Drugs has been forty years of legal, cultural and economic catastrophe. Like FDR, Obama must end our modern-day Prohibition, and with it the health-killing crusade against this ancient, powerful medicinal herb. -- Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman have co-authored four books on election protection, available at http://freepress.org, along with Bob's FITRAKIS FILES. Harvey's SOLARTOPIA! is at http://harveywasserman.com. This article was first published by http://freepress.org.

Love and solidarity to you from the Land of Hoag, California freedom fighters!  Bush Administration Deals Eleventh Hour Blow To Scientific Freedom From California NORML: We received today a final order from DEA in the Lyle Craker case (professor at U. Mass Amherst who sough a DEA license to grow marijuana to provide to FDA-approved medical researchers).  Our press release is below. Allen Hopper Litigation Director ACLU Drug Law Reform Project 1101 Pacific Avenue, Suite 333 Santa Cruz, CA 95060 831-471-9000 831-471-9676 (fax) ahopper@aclu.org www.aclu.org/drugpolicy _____________________________________________ From: Daniel Berger Sent: Monday, January 12, 2009 11:25 AM To: Daniel Berger Subject: ACLU RELEASE: Bush Administration Deals Eleventh Hour Blow To Scientific Freedom Bush Administration Deals Eleventh Hour Blow To Scientific Freedom On Eve of Obama Presidency, DEA Blocks Privately-Funded, FDA-Approved Medical Marijuana Research FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 12, 2009 CONTACT:  Dan Berger, ACLU, (917) 602-2445 WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Bush administration struck a parting shot to legitimate science today as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) refused to end the unique government monopoly over the supply of marijuana available for Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved research.  DEA's final ruling rejected the formal recommendation of DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Mary Ellen Bittner, issued nearly two years ago following extensive legal hearings. "With one foot out the door, the Bush administration has once again found time to undermine scientific freedom," said Allen Hopper, litigation director of the American Civil Liberties Union Drug Law Reform Project.  "In stubbornly retaining the unique government monopoly over the supply of research marijuana over the objections of DEA's own administrative law judge, the Bush administration has effectively blocked the proper regulatory channels that would allow the drug to become a wholly legitimate prescription medication." The DEA ruling constitutes a formal rejection of University of Massachusetts at Amherst Professor Lyle Craker's petition, filed initially June 24, 2001, to cultivate research-grade marijuana for use by scientists in FDA-approved studies aimed at developing the drug as a legal, prescription medication. The ACLU and Julie Carpenter of the Washington, D.C. law firm Jenner & Block represent Professor Craker in the proceedings. Professor Craker's petition was rejected despite the opinion of DEA ALJ Bittner that granting Craker a license to grow marijuana "would be in the public interest."  Judge Bittner issued a comprehensive, 88-page nonbinding recommendation to DEA Deputy Administrator Michele Leonhartt on February 12, 2007, following nine days of hearings, testimony and evidence presented by the ACLU and others on both sides of the issue. DEA failed to take action on Judge Bittner's recommendation until now, continuing the strategy of delay and pattern of unresponsiveness that has characterized the process since Professor Craker first filed his initial petition seven-and-a-half years ago. "I am saddened that the DEA is ignoring the best interests of so many seriously ill people who wish for scientific investigations that could lead to development of the marijuana plant as a prescription medicine," said Professor Craker.  "Patients with serious illnesses deserve legitimate research that might establish medical marijuana as a fully legal, FDA-approved treatment. Today, that effort has been dealt a serious blow." Judge Bittner's recommendation was based largely on the fact that marijuana is the only Schedule I drug that the DEA prohibits from being produced by private laboratories for scientific research, which has resulted in a unique government monopoly that fundamentally obstructs appropriate research and regulatory channels. Other controlled substances, including LSD, MDMA, heroin and cocaine, are available to researchers from DEA-licensed private laboratories. In contrast, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) remains scientists' sole source of marijuana, despite the agency's repeated refusal to make marijuana available for privately-funded, FDA-approved studies that seek to develop smoked or vaporized marijuana into a legal, prescription medicine. As Judge Bittner concluded, "NIDA's system for evaluating requests for marijuana has resulted in some researchers who hold DEA registrations and requisite approval from [HHS and FDA] being unable to conduct their research because NIDA has refused to provide them with marijuana. I therefore find that the existing supply is not adequate." Professor Craker's proposed facility to grow high-quality medical marijuana for research purposes would be funded by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a non-profit pharmaceutical company with plans to develop marijuana into a fully legal, prescription medication. "The DEA and NIDA, but not the FDA, are clearly frightened of permitting privately-funded, scientific research into the risks and benefits of the medical uses of marijuana," said Rick Doblin, President of MAPS. "We need the Obama Administration to reverse this egregious suppression of scientific research that the outgoing administration so fears will reveal inconvenient truths." Forty-five members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Massachusetts Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA), and a broad range of scientific, medical and public health organizations have written in support of Professor Craker, including the Lymphoma Foundation of America, the National Association for Public Health Policy, the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, as well as several state medical and nurses' associations. Despite contradictory federal policy, 13 states have enacted legislation protecting patients who use medical marijuana with a physician's recommendation from prosecution under state law, and national polls consistently find that roughly 75 percent of Americans support the use of medical marijuana. Judge Bittner's final recommendation in support of Professor Craker's petition is available at: www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/28341lgl20070212.html The DEA's rejection of Professor Craker's petition is available at: www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/38298lgl20090112.html Complete background on the case, including client profiles, hearing transcripts, a full selection of legal documents, media reports, and letters of support from lawmakers and scientists can be found at: www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medicalmarijuanafeature/index.html and www.maps.org/mmj/DEAlawsuit.html It is clearly clearly clearly a secret plan to control marijuana by a government within a government. I do not causually draw such a conclusion, it has to be forced on me. DEA scum are refusing the will of the people of the United States of America. There is a separate will held within these out of control government bodies of DEA and NIDA that is becoming more and more visible as in defiance of court judges. You are traitors, DEA. You have been traitors and you are now traitors. Seventy per cent of the citizenry voted "yes" on change.gov and you are voting "no" and because you are actually in total control as some sort of dictators your single no is enough to overwhelm our certainty. I am deeply ashamed of you DEA scums! I firmly believe your heirarchy must stand trial and, I believe, be jailed for crimes against the people of the United States of America. You can just Keep on attacking me through the irs. I resist traitors and I demand the will of the common man to be brought forward and for All the agencies of the government of the United States of America to become compliant with that will. Yeah, I was just ordered, by the irs, to complete forms about my alien citizenship. I have recently been threatened with being forced to pay back money that is a settled issue and that I do not owe... thousands of dollars. Oh, yeah, step up dea. I will expose you and I will not run from you, either. piss off. NOW!

Oh, piddle, Obama is looking at this guy Sanjay Gupta and I can't tell if he is worth a crap or not. Some very positive medical things came out of his mouth about how reefer helps stop Alzheimer's, something I recently gave you a report on. But, he seems to have totally gotten stuck on the damage smoking the vegitation in pot does as the whole show. Well, DOCTOR... it's not. And you look like a dummy for thinking it is. We do not need a dummy where you are probably getting appointed... Surgeon General. Here's an article on him out of a bunch that I thought looked the best to pass on:

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is no fan of drug-policy reform. CNN's Sanjay Gupta hasn't yet been officially named as Barack Obama's pick for Surgeon General, but the TV talking head and Emory University neurosurgeon has been approached about the job and reportedly is more than a little interested in becoming the nation's chief scold. In that role, he would almost certainly continue the government's tradition of nagging the public about its choice of intoxicants.You can expect a Surgeon General Gupta to take a relatively hard line on marijuana, for one thing. In Time magazine in 2006, Gupta wrote "Why I would vote no on pot":

Maybe it's because I was born a couple of months after Woodstock and wasn't around when marijuana was as common as iPods are today, but I'm constantly amazed that after all these years--and all the wars on drugs and all the public-service announcements--nearly 15 million Americans still use marijuana at least once a month. ... The Nevada and Colorado marijuana initiatives have gained support from unlikely places. More than 33 religious leaders in Nevada have endorsed the measure, arguing that permissive legalization, accompanied by stringent regulations and penalties, can cut down on illegal drug trafficking and make communities safer. Perhaps. But I'm here to tell you, as a doctor, that despite all the talk about the medical benefits of marijuana, smoking the stuff is not going to do your health any good. And if you get high before climbing behind the wheel of a car, you will be putting yourself and those around you in danger.

Gupta's take is certainly less strident than that of some advocates of Prohibition. He's willing to actually discuss the issue, rather than treat the war on drugs as some sort of religious crusade. Ultimately, though, he wants to keep in place laws that threaten people with legal penalties for ingesting substances of which he disapproves. It's hard to predict whether Dr. Sanjay Gupta would make a good Surgeon General -- it depends on how convincing he is about wagging his finger, which is the job's main responsibility. But Gupta would certainly not represent any new direction for the Obama administration in terms of drug policy. And by the way ... With television personalities headed to powerful offices in D.C., can we expect Judge Judy to be named to the Supreme Court? Update: Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project rightly admonishes me for passing over the fact that Gupta allows that marijuana may well have some medical use. In the Time piece, Gupta writes:

True, there are health benefits for some patients. Several recent studies, including a new one from the Scripps Research Institute, show that THC, the chemical in marijuana responsible for the high, can help slow the progress of Alzheimer's disease. (In fact, it seems to block the formation of disease-causing plaques better than several mainstream drugs.) Other studies have shown THC to be a very effective antinausea treatment for people--cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, for example--for whom conventional medications aren't working. And medical cannabis has shown promise relieving pain in patients with multiple sclerosis and reducing intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients.

That marijuana is helpful for Alzheimer's, cancer and glaucoma patients doesn't seem like a major concession at this late date for most of us -- but for a serious contender for a government office, it's almost revolutionary. The federal government has been so hostile to any effort to consider the use of marijuana as medicine that its acceptance in that role by a potential presidential appointee is remarkable. Gupta deserves a nod on that count. That said, I still want to serious consideration of real drug policy reform that would spare people prison time for mere possession and use. Yeah, doc... how about you get off the idea that jailing me away from my family is such a keen idea, hunh? People who think jailing others over pot are assholes. period. whether you are an uninformed asshole or a bigoted son of a bitch of an asshole doesn't really matter too much... find out the truth and quit hurting other people over your idea of morality being better than mine. We aren't talking about crime, we are talking about cannabis for consenting adults. More possible jerks about pot from Obama and we told him loud and clear in his change.gov querry of the public that we want pot legalized.  No mumbles about it, Obama. Legalize Marijuana Now.

I mentioned the crap about my daughter, but there was a very serious book that put me onto what was happening to me and then my little girl.  The Power To Harm   by John Cornwell. Thank you, John. You probably saved my life because I doubt I could have survived without your investigative research. It is the story of Joe Westerbeck who was a very hard worker and took prozac... and it made him plan and then kill a whole bunch of people he used to work with. And the outfit that makes it? Oh, they got off. You know, away with the most horrifying evil shit that makes tons of money for them. The top ten stocks are making as much money as the rest of the other 90% The top ten stocks are pharmaceutical corporations. I'll take the pot.