cannabisnews.com: Government Scores Win Over Pot Clubs 





Government Scores Win Over Pot Clubs 
Posted by CN Staff on June 15, 2002 at 21:58:13 PT
By Jason Hoppin, The Recorder
Source: The Recorder
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer on Wednesday handed the government the prize it sought in its efforts to shut down medical marijuana clubs -- a permanent injunction. After asking the clubs whether they would comply with an earlier ruling that the distribution of marijuana is illegal and receiving no reply, Breyer granted the government's request, saying he was doing it in lieu of forcing the government to pursue marijuana patients and distributors in criminal court. 
"In light of the serious penalties faced by the individual defendants in a criminal proceeding and the unavailability of a medical necessity defense, the court concludes in its discretion that civil enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act in the circumstances of these related cases is appropriate," Breyer wrote. The move is considered a victory for the government, which can now avoid charging people in criminal court where juries may be sympathetic to patients who say they use marijuana as a medical treatment. It also lowers the burden of proof the government needs to show that defendants violated drug laws, from beyond a reasonable doubt to a preponderance of the evidence, in civil court. During an earlier court ruling, Breyer made clear that he did not want medical marijuana users to end up in criminal court, where they face stiff federal drug sentencing laws. The case is United States v. Cannabis Cultivator's Club, 98-0085. Source: Recorder, The (CA)Author: Jason Hoppin, The Recorder Published: June 13, 2002Copyright: 2002, NLP IP CompanyContact: bbaraff therecorder.comWebsite: http://www.callaw.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:OCBChttp://www.rxcbc.org/OCBC Vs US Government Newshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/mj.htmCitizens Protest at 50 DEA Offices Nationwide http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13130.shtmlFederal Judge Rules Against Medical Marijuana Clubhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13127.shtmlAre Pot Clubs About to Go up in Smoke?http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12616.shtml
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Comment #8 posted by Zero_G on June 16, 2002 at 11:18:48 PT
Nazi - American comparison
Also, if you are a suspected cannabis user in the US of A, you can be shot to death and no one will ever hear about it. 
We Will Hear About It. And We Will Not Be Quiet.Remember the names:Peter McWilliams
Tom & Rollie
Mario Paz
Patrick Dorismond
Esequjel Hernandez Jr.There are others, whose cases I cannot call to mind immediatly, but I will not disrespect their memories by just saying etc. So I did a search and came up with this link:http://apll.freeyellow.com/drug_war_list.htmlFrom which I copied:Killing someone for injesting a chemical is not just. There is no moral, legal, or philosophical justification for harming people who do not harm others.All victims of the injust "War on Drugs" listed on this page have been memorialized with a maximum 200 word summation of their cause of death or accomplishments in life. There are no favorites and there are no winners in this list. All of these victims died miserable, unfortunate deaths at the hands of our government. Hopefully this WebSite will serve as a memorial -- a tribute -- to them.PLEASE NOTE: I am in the process of collecting the stories of Gregory L. Smith Jr. (1/30/02), Saul Montoya (1/13/02), Vic McLaughlin (11/11/01), Tom Crosslin (9/3/01), Rollie Rohm (9/3/01), Albert Compoz (7/11/01), Richard Vaughn Dutson (7/11/01), Ismael Mena (9/29/99), Thomas Pizzuto (1/8/99), Charles A. Bowyer (5/3/98), Gregory Eugene Rodriquez (2/7/98), Robert Daniel Murphy (10/31/97), Manuel Moreno DelGado (12/22/96), Jeff Truax (3/20/96), William Abeyta (1/18/95), Clinton Brown (12/13/94), Steven Gant (9/1/92), Susan Bennett, Karen Johnson, Dee Dee Ramone, and Dirk Bolis. Because no one deserves to be forgotten.In memory of the victims of the War on Drugs.Sincerely,Aaron J. Biterman
WebMaster
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Well, they are coming for us, will we be silent? Not I, nor, I suspect, you.Zero
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Comment #7 posted by goneposthole on June 16, 2002 at 07:32:33 PT
All the governments want control
Doesn't matter if you were a Jew in Germany, a Gypsy in Germany, a Kurd in Turkey or Iraq, a Cherokee moving along the Trail of Tears into Oklahoma in the Good 'ol USA, a Tibetan in China. If you were a Christian during Roman times, you were fodder for sport. But then, if you are an athiest in America, you might find yourself in an unmarked grave in Texas...Also, if you are a suspected cannabis user in the US of A, you can be shot to death and no one will ever hear about it. Not kind of, no, just like the Jews in Germany. 
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Comment #6 posted by Lehder on June 16, 2002 at 03:37:39 PT
JURY NULLIFICATION tee shirts
A great idea. I think I'll have one made and sport it around town. More people should know about jury nullification.
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Comment #5 posted by CorvallisEric on June 16, 2002 at 01:49:38 PT
p4me
Dana's story is many months old. See this one from 25-Jan-2002. Now that the Spring in question has passed, what happened to this?
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n123/a07.html
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Comment #4 posted by p4me on June 15, 2002 at 23:44:05 PT
I agree that civil trials are unfair
I mean I have read the hair-splitters justifications about the civil process and I say it is just more bullshit. So you have one guy that rents a house and grows MJ and you have a person that does own a house and grows MJ. If there were a true justice to civil damages the penalties would be the same.But a crime is a crime and all those so called civil penalties fall under the realm of fines in criminal court. This is America where efficiency is prized and the hair-splitters have said we need these civil trials because it easier to get our hands on some money. It is bullshit. One trial is plenty and everyone knows the criminal laws are severe enough. If you do a search of the Jamacian papers you will see huge fines of $60,000 to hundreds of thousands of $. The civil trial of a criminal trial is just what the hair-splitters call legal. It is funny that it was overlooked by 10 generations of constitutional legal scholars before the drug wars demanded more money for the unlaw enforcement bureaucrats.It is just another way that the laws have been twisted so that if they want to screw with you, you will beg for vasoline. It is time the country took to eating gruel and choking the economy.1,2
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Comment #3 posted by BGreen on June 15, 2002 at 22:46:01 PT
From what I've seen
The civil court affords you none of the supposed guarantees that criminal court does. Civil proceedings are inherently unfair (as Zero_G pointed out,) and that's why MMJ patients are being sent there.The thing that scares me the most is that it's civil court cases that allow property to be sued and seized.
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Comment #2 posted by p4me on June 15, 2002 at 22:26:54 PT
I beg to differ. No I just differ
During an earlier court ruling, Breyer made clear that he did not want medical marijuana users to end up in criminal court, where they face stiff federal drug sentencing laws.No Judge Breyer did not want people in wheelchairs wearing JURY NULLIFICATION tee shirts in front of every court house in California. He did not want garbage cans full of shreaded papers from the New York Times and The Lost Angeles Times and every other conglomerate media corporation. He did not want people eating gruel in front of the courthouse in anticipation of next week's hempfood ruling with signs that said "Our peasant ancestors were allowed gruel, so why can't we?" Maybe on the other side of the sign it would say "Before the pill companies came our ancestors grew medicine. Why can't we."This dipshit Judge was not thinking about anyone but himself and his political think-a-likes. The stonewall does not need attacking, we just have to demand they open the gates that hold our freedom. What kind of government would not let the people even have gruel? This misadministration that is who? I think that a gruel feeding station needs to be set up on the front of the Supreme Court to tell people to starve the economy and have a thrifty meal and end this nonsense now. The leaders of the movement need to call for a economic slowdown and say we cannot support a terrorist goverment that is raiding the treasury and increasing the national debt $1.1 billion a day.The guy from Canada that recently said in comment that the government should stop the war on marijuana and start paying on a mere $500 billion dollar Canadian national debt would come out of his skin knowing we can grow the national debt by that much in just one year. Just Tuesday Congress authorized another $450 billion on the debt ceiling. And on Wednesday the Senate knowing the House had passed the permanent removal of the estate tax and knowing the sadness of the national debt raised 55 votes for doing away with estate taxes that mainly would help the top 3000 families in America and not that the issue even was necessary for another 8 or 9 years.It is the new beginning in this country to put the haves back into their mansions and out of Congresses mind. There may be a few million haves that influence everything put it is the hundreds of millions of have nots that will demand their right to a decent living, some gruel, and the right to grow medicine. The New york Times and Washington Post want to remain silent on anything cannabis this Sunday. There was one article at Cannabis Culture I will copy here because it is so brief. Why they have to wait until nest spring to submit a report that is completed is beyond me. It must be heavy. Norway report pro-decrim
by Dana Larsen (14 Jun, 2002)Commission appointed to 'modernize' Norwegian laws.A government commission in Norway is set to recommend decriminalizing all drug possession and also liberalizing censorship laws.The commission was appointed seven years ago to recommend ways to "modernize" Norwegian laws. Members include a Supreme Court justice, a state attorney and the head of Norway's white-collar crime unit.The commission's report is due to be presented to Justice Minister Odd Einar Dorum in the spring.
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Comment #1 posted by Zero_G on June 15, 2002 at 22:09:41 PT
Confettitution
The move is considered a victory for the government, which can now avoid charging people in criminal court where juries may be sympathetic to patients who say they use marijuana as a medical treatment. It also lowers the burden of proof the government needs to show that defendants violated drug laws, from beyond a reasonable doubt to a preponderance of the evidence, in civil court.During an earlier court ruling, Breyer made clear that he did not want medical marijuana users to end up in criminal court, where they face stiff federal drug sentencing laws. The right to trial, by a jury of ones peers, is history. Also history is the right to face your accuser.Confettitution = The Constitution through a paper shredder - good for flag waving parades and no more...
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