cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Advocate To Plead Guilty 





Medical Marijuana Advocate To Plead Guilty 
Posted by CN Staff on February 07, 2003 at 11:53:25 PT
McWilliams Would Have Faced 40 Years In Prison 
Source: SanDiegoChannel.com
San Diego -- Medical marijuana advocate Steve McWilliams said Friday that he would plead guilty to one felony charge stemming from a raid in which pot plants were removed from his front yard. As part of a plea agreement that will spare him a federal drug trial, McWilliams is expected to admit that he grew 25 marijuana plants, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. 
McWilliams, who was arrested in October, previously vowed to go to trial in federal court to argue he had a right to grow marijuana under California's Proposition 215, which allows sick people to grow marijuana. "In my heart I wish we could go to court and say: 'Seat a jury. Let's have a fair trial,'" McWilliams told the Union-Tribune. "More than anything we wanted to tell a jury of our peers about our case. That simply can't happen now." If McWilliams, 48, had gone to trial and been convicted of two felony charges, he could have faced five to 40 years in prison. According to the proposed plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend no more than six months in prison. McWilliams' attorney told the Union-Tribune it's possible his client won't serve any prison time at all. "This is the best deal I've ever been offered by the government," David Zugman, a former federal defender turned private attorney, told the Union-Tribune. "It would be crazy to reject it." McWilliams told the newspaper he decided to accept the offer because it allows him to ask the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to hear his legal challenge to medical marijuana prosecutions. Usually when a defendant agrees to plead guilty, the government requires that all appeals be dropped. But in an unusual concession, federal prosecutors will allow McWilliams to file an appeal, according to the newspaper. The San Diego City Council recently voted 6-3 to accept guidelines that allow sick people, with a doctor's prescription, to keep as much as one pound of marijuana. McWilliams was one of the original members of the city's Medical Cannabis Task Force, which supported the guidelines. Despite the passage of the guidelines, marijuana possession remains a federal crime. McWilliams had hoped that if he went to trial, an outraged jury might acquit him after hearing of the conflict between state and federal laws. But in order to mount such a defense, McWilliams' attorney would have had to call witnesses to testify that the pot was being grown by them, not McWilliams, to treat their illnesses. A federal judge would have been unlikely to allow such evidence. An Oakland activist who took that gamble now faces up to 85 years in prison. After a two-week trial, a federal jury convicted medical marijuana advocate Edward Rosenthal of pot growing charges. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer refused to allow the defense to present evidence that Rosenthal, 58, was acting as an agent of the city of Oakland's medical marijuana program. Note: McWilliams Would Have Faced 40 Years In Prison In TrialComplete Title: Medical Marijuana Advocate To Plead Guilty To Federal ChargesSource: SanDiegoChannel.com (CA)Published: February 7, 2003Copyright: 2003 TheSanDiegoChannel.comWebsite: http://www.thesandiegochannel.com/news/Contact: http://www.thesandiegochannel.com/station/Related Articles & Web Site:Ed Rosenthal's Trial Pictures & Articleshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htmMcWilliams Gives Up Hope for Federal Court http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15405.shtmlMarijuana Activist Seeks Dismissal of Charges http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15239.shtmlPolice Raid Home of Medical Marijuana Activist http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15014.shtml
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on February 07, 2003 at 18:15:32 PT
A Little More About Weird Nature
I found a web site and short video clip. It will be repeating on the Discovery Channel on Direct TV later on tonight and we'll watch the whole thing. It shows that animals seek to alter their consciousness just like people do.Weird Nature Symbiotic relationships exist between very different animals. Find out how unlikely relationships can be beneficial to both animals. Then, discover how the animal kingdom handles the effects of drugs and alcohol among its inhabitants. BBC: Weird Nature: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/programmes/tv/weird/Short Video Clip About Cats and Catnip: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/programmes/tv/weird/video/preview6_potions.ram
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Comment #7 posted by mayan on February 07, 2003 at 18:12:21 PT
Unrelated...
Sorry, but this is very important! The U.S. Government is now backed into a corner and may be forced to start the war! News of Bogus UK Intelligence Report Sweeping the Planet! Blair Government Facing Imminent Crisis!Revelation May Speed Up Iraqi Invasion!Britain's Intelligence Dossier on Iraq was Plagiarized from a Grad Student - by Mike Ruppert
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/020603_plagiarized.html
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on February 07, 2003 at 17:48:02 PT
Interesting Program on The Discovery Channel
Thought some of you might want to see this program. We just found it. It's called Weird Nature.Weird Nature Symbiotic relationships exist between very different animals. Find out how unlikely relationships can be beneficial to both animals. Then, discover how the animal kingdom handles the effects of drugs and alcohol among its inhabitants. http://dsc.discovery.com/schedule/episode.jsp?episode=3&cpi=30354
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Comment #5 posted by mayan on February 07, 2003 at 17:46:13 PT
What an Offer!!!
McWilliams' attorney told the Union-Tribune it's possible his client won't serve any prison time at all. "This is the best deal I've ever been offered by the government," David Zugman, a former federal defender turned private attorney, told the Union-Tribune. "It would be crazy to reject it." McWilliams told the newspaper he decided to accept the offer because it allows him to ask the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to hear his legal challenge to medical marijuana prosecutions. It looks like the fed's know the cat's out of the bag & don't want to get embarrassed by jury nullification! But I don't blame McWilliams if he can go in front of the 9th
Circuit to argue for mmj!The way out is the way in -British officials admit to plagiarising "intelligence" dossier: 
http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1429_W_774039,00.htmlUK accused of lifting dossier text:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/02/07/sprj.irq.uk.dossier/index.htmlMake No Mistake About It - 9/11 Was An Inside Job(The lost voxnyc article that the federales shut down!):
http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:dv2JBpTIZHUC:www.voxnyc.com/archives/00000076.htm+&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on February 07, 2003 at 16:41:33 PT
firedog
Thanks! I got it posted now!
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Comment #3 posted by firedog on February 07, 2003 at 16:13:18 PT
Two new Salon items
http://www.salon.com/politics/comics/2003/02/07/drugs/index1.htmlhttp://www.salon.com/news/feature/2003/02/07/pot_jury/index.html
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Comment #2 posted by druid on February 07, 2003 at 15:48:48 PT
*boggles the mind*
Antiterror Drug Message Induces Confession
TV Commercials Aired, Frederick Co. Man Admits To Drug CrimePOSTED: 12:13 p.m. EST February 7, 2003FREDERICK, Md. -- Some televised public service announcements about the war on terrorism appear to be having an impact.A lawyer for a Frederick County man says his client was persuaded to admit to his drug crime after seeing a message about how the proceeds from even small drug purchases may be funding terrorism.John Higgins, 46, pleaded guilty Thursday to a marijuana possession charge. His lawyer, Jack Blomquist, says Higgins was arrested in December after he phoned police to tell them to come get him. Blomquist says one of the televised messages convinced him to call.Higgins said Thursday he didn't want to do anything to hurt the country. He received a suspended sentence and was ordered to continue drug treatment.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on February 07, 2003 at 12:22:57 PT
MMJ In The National Spotlight! 
PLEASE FORWARD FAR AND WIDE!Hello Everyone,The medical marijuana movement has had an amazing couple of weeks. The Ed Rosenthal jury revolt has captured the national spot light. Dateline is doing an hour special on February 21st. We must take advantage of this priceless moment and plug ahead. Medical Marijuana Week is just around the corner, February 15-22. Let’s all take this time to galvanize public support.http://www.msnbc.com/news/DATELINE_front.asp?cp1=11)	EVICT THE DEA! On February 18th help us send a message to the DEA that we will not stand for their attack on Medical Marijuana. We are serving “Eviction Notices” to the DEA on that day (see list below for local DEA office). If you CANNOT organize a protest, just grab a friend on your lunch break and take a copy the local DEA office, tape it on the front of the building, or make an enlarged copy and put it on their front door. Download a copy at: http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=308Send a press release to your local press to let them know your community is evicting the DEA. On June 6th, before the WAMM raid, before Bryan Epis’ and Rosenthal’s conviction we served “Cease and Desist” orders to 54 DEA offices. We MUST at least match that number if not surpass it. (Send us a note and let us know your plans and if you need help hilary riseup.net)2)	GET OUT AND MEET THE 80%! The recent publicity has the issue on a lot of peoples’ minds. Spend one day during medical marijuana week tabling and gathering contact information of supporters. You can use that information to mobilize participants for future events. Let’s use this opportunity to broaden our base. We have several fact sheets, sign up sheets, and information packets on our website: http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=234 So get out there and meet our allies!3)	ASK FAMILY and FRIENDS: Each day during Medical Marijuanaeek we will be sending out action items. Please forward these requests to your family and friends. You may be surprised to find out how many people you know who believe in medical marijuana and are willing to take action. They just need a little encouragement from you! Ask your friends and family to sign up for our email alert list and stay involved.WE CAN TURN THE FEDS AROUND!Love and Solidarity,Steph Sherer Executive Director Americans for Safe Access -- http://www.safeaccessnow.org -- 1678 Shattuck Ave. #317 Berkeley, CA 94709 phone: 510-486-8083 fax: 510-486-8090 
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