cannabisnews.com: Judge Orders 18 Ounces of ‘Purple Haze’ Returned





Judge Orders 18 Ounces of ‘Purple Haze’ Returned
Posted by CN Staff on February 05, 2004 at 08:20:10 PT
By Cathy Redfern, Sentinel Staff Writer
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel 
Santa Cruz — Judge Art Danner on Wednesday ordered police to return 18 ounces of "Purple Haze" marijuana to two men who had the drug confiscated during a minor car stop in Scotts Valley.Police pulled over Leo Beus, 47, of Felton, on Sept. 22 because his car had tinted windows. His friend, Jon Balesteri, 54, of Santa Cruz, was with him. The men had bought the 14 ounces of "herbal medicine" a day earlier at the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Club, said their attorney, Ben Rice.
They didn’t have their medical prescriptions with them, but the "very nice" officer allowed them to go home and get them, Beus said. However, their $3,000-plus worth of medicine was confiscated for evidence. The District Attorney’s Office charged the men with transporting and possessing marijuana for sale, then dropped the charges. District Attorney Bob Lee said there have been a handful of county cases in the past few years where judges have ordered medical marijuana returned to patients.Rice said Danner issued the return order because of the December federal appeals court ruling that the 1970 Controlled Substances Act outlawing marijuana may not apply to sick people who have a doctor’s recommendation. The decision is likely to be appealed by the federal government.California voters in 1996 passed Proposition 215, which made medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation legal under state law. The law contradicts federal drug laws."In the past, Danner has refused to order it returned because of the divergence of federal and state law," Rice said. But the December decision "means that California and federal law, at least in the 9th circuit area, are on the same page."He said county officials and Sheriff Mark Tracy have been working on defining how much medical marijuana is reasonable for a patient to possess. A state law that took effect Jan. 1 says patients may possess up to 8 ounces, but that counties can set more lenient amounts. Rice said 8 ounces is an "unrealistic number."When medical marijuana is confiscated, Rice and others would like to see officers seize only as much marijuana as needed for evidence."We are lucky to have Sheriff Tracy and other local government leaders," he said. "But one thing that has to stop is the confiscation of crops and then officers giving back spoiled marijuana."Beus, a landscaper, has two broken vertebrae and says pain medication in pill form nauseates him. Balesteri, a disabled former truck driver, suffers from maladies including migraines, hepatitis C and carpal tunnel syndrome.The men were obviously pleased with the outcome Wednesday. The marijuana was given to the court by Sgt. Donna Lind, then handed to Rice. Lind said later she was simply following the court’s order."The law is so confusing that it puts us in a difficult position," she said.Outside Danner’s courtroom Wednesday the pungent odor of marijuana wafted in the hallway.Rice’s clients thanked him for getting their marijuana back. "Thanks, man, you’re a sweetheart," Balesteri said."Yes, thanks, it’s been great," Beus echoed. "Santa Cruz has come a long way. I’m really grateful."Complete Title: Judge Orders 18 Ounces of ‘Purple Haze’ Marijuana Returned To Local MenSource: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)Author: Cathy Redfern, Sentinel Staff WriterPublished: February 5, 2004 Copyright: 2004 Santa Cruz SentinelContact: editorial santa-cruz.comWebsite: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:OCBChttp://www.rxcbc.org/WAMMhttp://www.wamm.org/Major Ruling Favors Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17977.shtmlMedical Pot Users Win Key Ruling http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17976.shtmlAppeals Court Sets Aside Federal Marijuana Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17975.shtml 
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on February 07, 2004 at 14:02:41 PT
Medical Marijuana Action Week
Medical Marijuana Action Week is approaching so I updated my page from last year. I hope it is a great success!http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/aware.htm
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on February 06, 2004 at 13:18:43 PT
NPR: A Medical Hit of Pot
'Morning Edition' Returns: A Medical Hit of PotMorning Edition AudioFeb. 6, 2004A California judge rules in favor of two men who claimed the 18 ounces of marijuana in their possession was not for sale, but for medical purposes -- legal under state law. The men lit up before leaving the courthouse.http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1648050
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Comment #22 posted by E_Johnson on February 05, 2004 at 20:00:58 PT
Kiss the sky
Isn't that the quintessential acid head thing to do -- want to kiss the sky?If you think about it, you already are! If the sky begins where the Earth ends...
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Comment #21 posted by breeze on February 05, 2004 at 18:02:16 PT
purple haze
'scuze me while I kiss this guy- 
'or is it 'scuze me while I kiss this fly? Like as in the chong and cheech movie-
man This gave me a headache when I first heard it...
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Comment #20 posted by afterburner on February 05, 2004 at 15:21:29 PT:
Funny, E_J
Funny.
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Comment #19 posted by Virgil on February 05, 2004 at 14:46:24 PT
EJ, that is what I want to know too
I used to write LTE's with the main purpose of bringing journalist to Cnews to see that the jig is up. I also thought some might really come to a fuller understanding of all things surrounding the Miracle Plant issue.I am very interested in messageboards as the tenure on the Internet grows. Virtual people get more real as the length of time expands and communities with two-way communication are really communities of thousands to thousands communication.One messageboard I registered for in Detroit was like a LTE messageboard where all LTE's were viewable. This screening stuff that goes to the print edition could soon be an obsolete ship in the informational blockade.I know DU has 39K users so they are as big a force as most newspapers in dispersing news. But there also comes a collective history of events and links. My biggest leap in computer use is in using bookmarks and it has to hit other people too. There is a learning curve to everyone including the journalist. Here I think of the Drug War Carol- http://www.adrugwarcarol.com/index.html It gave us a good little story to educate people of all ages on cannabis. It would evolve into a book of 64 pages of art and 14 pages of notes all for $5.95. There is something permanent on the bookshelves of America and a permanent reminder that the cannabis informational blockade can be run. Now if we could get Soros to donate a few thousand books to the libraries of America, we would have a good smile. But even here as that one source matures, we will probably see it or a derivative work go to full animation.There is a new level of performance in computers now that the 64-bit processors are out and AMD with Linux is setting new standards of speed. You take broadband and the standard use of digital camcorders and a developed learning curve on editing and transmitting video with P2P software and we will not miss things like Jack Herer speaking at his award at the last NORML convention.We are starting to see increased retires that will have full computer literacy gaining a cannabis perspective. This has big implications as they take the issues before us to the corners of the Internet.The next big thing will be GW extracts. Well, maybe the cannabis cards depending on how big, big is. Then it will be the collection of commercials concerning clinical cannabis.
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Comment #18 posted by E_Johnson on February 05, 2004 at 13:38:46 PT
Will the headlines start to evolve?
As journalists climb up the cannabis learning curve, what headlines can we expect to see in the future?DEA Intercepts Shipment of Cheap Mexican SchwagRock Star Busted with Sage x Blue RhinoBush Twins rumored to smoke BlueberryCandidate admits he once tried Skunk #1
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on February 05, 2004 at 12:27:58 PT
Dankhank 
Thanks you made me smile!
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Comment #16 posted by Dankhank on February 05, 2004 at 12:23:15 PT:
Purple Haze ... 
was introduced to us in the 60's by Jimmy Hendrix in a song of the same name.The song described an encounter with a popular ergot-derived substance much used for 'enhancement' by the "Hippies" in the sixties and remains an intersting diversion for an evening, today.One would hope to have a better time than Jimmie apparently had ... :-){cough? }
Purple haze all in my brain
Lately things just don’t seem the same
Actin’ funny, but I don’t know why
’scuse me while I kiss the sky
Purple haze all around
Don’t know if I’m comin’ up or down
Am I happy or in misery? 
What ever it is, that girl put a spell on me
Help me
Help me
Oh, no, no
[faint, spoken lyrics...all questionable]
Hammerin’
Talkin’ ’bout heart ’n’...s-soul
I’m talkin’ about hard stuff
If everbodys still around, fluff and ease, if
So far out my mind
Somethings happening, somethings happening
Ooo, ahhh
Ooo, {click} ahhh,
Ooo, ahhh
Ooo, ahhh, yeah!
Purple haze all in my eyes, uhh
Don’t know if it’s day or night
You got me blowin’, blowin’ my mind
Is it tomorrow, or just the end of time? 
Ooo
Help me
Ahh, yea-yeah, purple haze, yeah
Oh, no, oh
Oh, help me
Purple haze, tell me, baby, tell me
I can’t go on like this
Purple haze
You’re makin’ me blow my mind...mama
Purple haze, n-no, nooo
Purple haze, no, it’s painful, babyWe must also expect the Cannabis Variety to be interesting.:-)SGD ... for you ... http://www.mpp.org/releases/nr092203gsmm.html
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on February 05, 2004 at 11:57:05 PT
SystemGoneDown
Please lets not bring Kerry into this thread. It would be best if you asked on Kerry's board. I'm sure you will find out all you want to know. 
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on February 05, 2004 at 11:54:51 PT
Duzt 
Thank you. That what I was wondering. I really have no idea about these things but because it was mentioned in the article I thought I'd ask. 
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Comment #13 posted by SystemGoneDown on February 05, 2004 at 11:53:59 PT
John Kerry
Does anybody know his stance on the drug war?
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Comment #12 posted by Duzt on February 05, 2004 at 11:51:29 PT
Purple Haze
Haze was originated in N. California in the early 70's by the Haze brothers and was originally an Acapulco Gold x Colombia Gold x South Indian x Thai cross. The purple haze varieties (when they were good) were back crossed with another purple Thai. Purple in the real purple haze is genetic but cold weather will bring out reds and purples in most varieties.
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on February 05, 2004 at 11:49:19 PT
Related News Brief from The Associated Press
Seized Pot Returned to Men
 
 February 5, 2004 SANTA CRUZ (AP) -- A Santa Cruz County judge has ordered police to return 18 ounces of marijuana to two men who had the drug confiscated during a traffic stop in Scotts Valley. Police pulled over Leo Beus, of Felton, on September 22nd because his car had tinted windows. But the routine stop grew in scope after it was discovered that Beus and his friend had 18 ounces of so-called Purple Haze pot they bought a day earlier at the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Club, according to their attorney. Beus and Balesteri were charged with transporting and possessing marijuana for sale, but the charges were later dropped. Rice said Superior Court Judge Art Danner ordered the pot returned because of the December federal appeals court ruling that a congressional act outlawing marijuana can not apply in states with such laws.Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press
Raich v. Ashcroft in PDF
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Comment #10 posted by yippierevolutionary on February 05, 2004 at 11:47:07 PT
True Haze?
I doubt it, from what I have read true haze is extremely hard to grow because it has a very long flowering cycle.A lot of people call buds purple haze because of the jimmi hendrix song. He was talking about LSD though, right?
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Comment #9 posted by Critto on February 05, 2004 at 11:46:46 PT
VERY GOOD NEWS !!!
3 Cheerz for the judge, and for the humane police. Are the times a-changing? I hope so ... At least, the sick people will no more be prosecuted ... And if the feds protest ... Just ignore them. Or secede :)For Liberty!!!!
Critto
LIBERTARYZM=LIBERTARIANISM
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Comment #8 posted by SystemGoneDown on February 05, 2004 at 11:33:57 PT
Useless knowledge
Pakalolo is marijuana in Hawaiian.Batu is marijuana in somoan.
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on February 05, 2004 at 11:04:17 PT
schmeff 
I do know that but what is it? I've heard it's name mentioned but I don't know exactly what it looks like or anything about it. I've never taken the time to compare anything. Doing news keeps me very pre-occupied. 
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Comment #6 posted by schmeff on February 05, 2004 at 11:00:01 PT
Purple Haze
Is a name for a 'variety' of cultivated cannabis.Acapulco Gold.
Bubble gum.
Northern Lights.
Mauie Wowee, etc.
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Comment #5 posted by Truth on February 05, 2004 at 10:48:38 PT
Scotts Valley
Where they were pulled over is locally know as Cops Valley, it's five miles up HWY 17 from SC, totally different people.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on February 05, 2004 at 10:27:41 PT
A Question
What is purple haze?
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Comment #3 posted by Max Flowers on February 05, 2004 at 10:25:24 PT
Oops, typo
Should have said enriching Santa Cruz, as is proper and right for a city that places strong emphasis on following state law.
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Comment #2 posted by Max Flowers on February 05, 2004 at 10:23:27 PT
Nice!
Santa Cruz is a nice town. This just and honest approach will help them attract more tourists and others, enriching Santa Cruz, as.Not too smart of these guys to drive around with over a pound and not have their recommendations with them, though. Not smart to drive around unnecessarily with that much, period. You gotta plan these things a little better.But hey, they learned from it I'm sure, and got it back! That's great!
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Comment #1 posted by BlakNo1 on February 05, 2004 at 10:10:48 PT:
justice prevails for a change
This is definitely the feel-good story of the month...
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