cannabisnews.com: Federal Seizure of Marijuana Provokes Lawsuit





Federal Seizure of Marijuana Provokes Lawsuit
Posted by CN Staff on October 24, 2002 at 14:50:43 PT
By Matt Cooper, The Register-Guard
Source: Register-Guard
Supporters of medical marijuana said Wednesday that they intend to sue state and U.S. authorities on behalf of a Lebanon man whose plants were confiscated in a seizure that pits federal law against Oregon's protection of the drug as medicine.Leroy Stubblefield, a 54-year-old veteran who uses a wheelchair, and two other users of medicinal marijuana lost 12 plants Sept. 23 in a seizure by federal authorities, said Paul Stanford, executive director of the Hemp & Cannabis Foundation, a nonprofit organization that has taken up Stubblefield's defense.
Stanford said Stubblefield is the first person in Oregon whose state-licensed marijuana garden was confiscated by the federal government, a charge that the federal Drug Enforcement Administration would not confirm.Although the 12 plants were within Oregon's rules for medical possession, a DEA agent confiscated them under the federal law that bans the drug, Stanford said.Stubblefield smokes marijuana to curb sleep apnea, pain suffered from an automobile accident and post-traumatic stress disorder.Speaking at a news conference at his countryside home outside of Lebanon, Stubblefield said he was incensed by the federal seizure and the lack of protection afforded him despite his status as a legal user of the drug in Oregon."The more I think about it, it bothers me more and more," Stubblefield said. "I felt we were left unprotected by our county."The search was conducted by drug enforcement officers from the county's Valley Interagency Narcotics Team, or VALIANT, along with DEA agent Michael Spasaro, Stanford said. VALIANT is Linn and Benton counties' narcotics task force, combining law enforcement agencies, district attorneys' offices, the National Guard and Oregon State Police.The officers were acting on a tip that Stubblefield and his caregivers had about 100 illegal plants, Stanford said.Linn County Sheriff Dave Burright confirmed Stanford's account that Spasaro stepped in after local authorities had determined that the plants were legal under Oregon law."They went up there based on information they'd received that there were plants far in excess of what was allowed" under Oregon law, Burright said."There were 12 (plants), which was within the Oregon law, but it was the federal officer that decided to enforce federal law, not the VALIANT officers."Ken Magee, assistant special agent in charge of Oregon DEA operations, said it's common for federal agents to work with local and state authorities, and he rejected the notion that local and federal authorities were at odds over the seizure."There's no conflict of opinion whatsoever," Magee said. "Different authorities have investigative authority and legal authority of different laws."No search warrant was served, but the residents consented to the search, Magee said, adding that the U.S. Attorney's Office will decide whether to press charges against Stubblefield and his caregivers."Marijuana is illegal under federal law to manufacture, possess and distribute, and we enforce those laws," Magee said."The DEA has their position and we're sticking to it until I receive further notice."Ann Witte, a Portland attorney who has represented the hemp foundation in other matters, said she plans a two-pronged legal attack in Stubblefield's defense.Witte wants the federal government to return the confiscated property and pay for damages, and she said she'll target the state to prohibit agents from working with the federal government on all marijuana investigations.Under Oregon's 1998 Medical Marijuana Act, the user "is exempt from any criminal prosecution as long as he abides by the act - and that includes search and seizure," Witte said."When the state is going around giving people their word - `As long as you're complying with state law, we won't bother you' - they shouldn't be taking the federal agents with them once they know that the federal agents aren't going to be bound by that."Attorney Leland Berger, a member of the legal committee for NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said the courts haven't resolved a host of issues related to medical marijuana, including whether seizures such as this violate the Ninth and 10th amendments to the U.S. Constitution, both protections of states' rights.Intervention in state law is warranted only when there is a "compelling federal interest," Berger said, and in this case, the most likely one - that Stubblefield or the others intended to sell their product - already is forbidden under the state marijuana act."It's all up in the air," Berger said."Everything that's going on will ultimately be resolved by the Supreme Court."Following the seizure, Stanford's foundation supplied Stubblefield and his caregivers with seven more plants and several ounces of marijuana, and he all but dared the DEA to make a return trip to Stubblefield's home."I'd love to be here and greet them," Stanford said."I wish they would try to prosecute me."Said Magee, of the DEA: "We look at each investigation on its own individual merits."Source: Register-Guard, The (OR)Author: Matt Cooper, The Register-GuardPublished: October 24, 2002Copyright: 2001 The Register-GuardContact: rgletters guardnet.comWebsite: http://www.registerguard.com/Related Article & Web Sites:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/Hemp & Cannabis Foundationhttp://www.thc-foundation.org/OMMP -- Medical Marijuana Programhttp://www.ohd.hr.state.or.us/oaps/mm/Federal Drug Agents Seize Man's Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14549.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by knox42897 on October 24, 2002 at 23:41:18 PT:
SEND MONEY AND EMAIL TO FRIENDS
If you were thinking about donating to the Marijuana Policy Project's
ballot initiative campaign in Nevada, would you please visit
http://www.NRLE.org right away? There are only 12 days left until
November 5. And you're not going to believe how close the vote is
so far ...The latest statewide poll of 600 Nevada voters -- completed on Tuesday
night -- shows that our ballot initiative is still trailing by a mere
44% to 46%, with 10% undecided. We have been 2% down since the polls
opened statewide on Saturday.Since Saturday, approximately 7,000 voters in the Las Vegas area have
been voting daily. (The county government issues daily reports on how
many people are voting, but not how they are voting.)With every day that passes, about 3,430 votes are falling into the
"yes" column in Las Vegas, and about 3,570 votes are falling into the
"no" column. The same trend is true on a smaller scale in Reno and the
rural counties.With every day that passes, we fall another 140 votes behind in Las
Vegas -- and a total of about 200 votes behind statewide. As of last
night, the cumulative voting from Saturday through Wednesday probably
puts us a total of 1,000 votes down statewide, out of about 50,000
votes cast.The good news is that we are still hanging on by our fingernails in
this bold campaign to end the arrest of all adult marijuana users in
Nevada. When we launched this campaign back in April, who would have
thought that we could defeat the federal government and the Nevada
police on this issue?But there is bad news, too. Our opponents are sitting on $100,000 of
the $200,000 they have raised for their TV ad campaign. They are going
to use their remaining $100,000 to blitz the Nevada electorate with
deceptive TV ads next week, and they need only maintain their 2%
margin over us during these last 12 days to defeat us.Our strategy, in the meantime, is to make up the 2% deficit and take
the lead by November 4, because literally half of the Nevada
electorate votes on November 5. Quite simply, we can do this if we
outspend our opponents two-to-one on TV next week. I reported to you
on Monday that our campaign needs to raise $100,000 from you and other
supporters this week. The $100,000 worth of TV ads we had already
reserved for next week, plus a new $100,000 from this e-mail list this
week, will mean that our TV ad blitz will double our opponents' blitz
next week, taking us to victory on November 5.Since Monday, our e-mail list and the Libertarian Party's e-mail list
have generated an astounding $24,500 for the Nevada campaign, leaving
us in need of only $75,500.Would you please visit http://www.NRLE.org to donate some of the
remaining $75,500 that is needed to finish off this campaign and
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http://www.NRLE.org/donate.html and checking the appropriate box.To give some perspective on how important the final $100,000 is to
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that all 835,000 potential Nevada voters will see one of our TV ads
eight times each.This initiative to end the arrest of all marijuana users is by far the
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from passionate MPP members and other allies in all 50 states ...Since we launched the Nevada campaign, 4,346 people in all 50 states
have donated financially to this effort. Unfortunately, 29,388 people
on this e-mail list have not donated anything.I want to thank you in advance if you decide you are able to make a
last-minute donation. Money equals TV airtime. Thank you!Sincerely,Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.P.S. By donating $250 or more now, you will receive a videotape of the
   TV news coverage and all TV ads from the Nevada campaign. Better
   yet, we are making a special offer whereby donations of $250 or
   more can be tax-deductible.P.P.S. Our first-ever national conference will begin three days after
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     Nevada Campaign, P.O. Box 77492, Capitol Hill, Washington, DC
     20013.
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Comment #2 posted by canaman on October 24, 2002 at 19:45:48 PT
I still don't get it
"Marijuana is illegal under federal law to manufacture, possess and distribute, and we enforce those laws," Magee said.Where do you manufacture cannibus? In a marijuana factory? 
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Comment #1 posted by afterburner on October 24, 2002 at 19:29:39 PT:
Take Notice!
"The DEA has their position and we're sticking to it until I receive further notice."The notice is in the mail. Barr is gone. You're next. This insane prohibition is not the will of WE THE PEOPLE. We shall prevail. We will fight you at the ballot box, in the courts, in the media.Gandhi once said that "Almost anything you do will be insignificant, but you must do it." And the reason I must do it is captured by yet another adage, cited by various religious leaders: "We do these things not to change the world, but so that the world will not change us." ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question!
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