cannabisnews.com: ACLU Offers Help in Pot Case 










  ACLU Offers Help in Pot Case 

Posted by CN Staff on October 15, 2005 at 16:10:27 PT
By Brian Wargo, Las Vegas Sun 
Source: Las Vegas Sun  

Nevada -- Accusing Boulder City of legalized extortion, the state's American Civil Liberties Union has offered to help a 56-year-old woman convicted of misdemeanor pot possession fight the city's threat to seize her $400,000 home or force her to pay to keep it.Although Boulder City, which accused Warren of selling marijuana out of her home, filed a lawsuit in April to confiscate her house, it also is discussing a deal that would allow her to keep it for a payment of up to $100,000.
"It would be terribly unfortunate if Boulder City was able to bully someone into paying a fine on a threat of taking their house away from them," said Gary Peck, Nevada ACLU executive director.Peck said his organization is willing to work for free with Warren's attorney, John Lusk, in resisting the Boulder City lawsuit if Warren decides to fight it in court. National ACLU officials also have expressed interest in getting involved in the case, he added.Lusk has spoken with the ACLU but declined to say whether he will take up its offer. Stressing that his first obligation is to protect Warren's interests, Lusk noted that a trial could be expensive and carries the risk of losing the home.Peck agreed that it might be in Warren's best interest to settle the case because of the uncertainties of any court case."I would think she would have a strong case in the court of law," Peck said. "She certainly has a strong case in the court of public opinion."It demonstrates how misguided asset-seizure laws are and underscores the way in which the war on drugs is a war on the American people. This is a woman accused of having six marijuana plants in her house. The effort to seize her house is disproportionate to the offense."Boulder City Attorney Dave Olsen said Lusk told him about the ACLU's interest in the case, but added that will not affect the negotiations."The ACLU is a very important part of our (American) process," Olsen said. "They get involved in constitutional issues, and you need to respect that. But merely hearing the ACLU rattling sabers does not cause any fear. We feel we have a very good case on this one."Olsen, who said he is willing to settle because he, too, always runs the risk of losing in court, said Friday that he will seek a settlement of between zero and $100,000.Lusk, who has suggested a token payment, declined to say what it will take to settle the case. But he emphasized that his client would not pay $100,000."If that's the number, a settlement wouldn't get off the ground," Lusk said.Olsen said he is interested in a settlement that would at least recoup the costs of the police investigation and surveillance and other expenses that led to a raid of Warren's home in April. He said he does not know what that specific figure is.If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, the city will take the case to court, Olsen said.Warren was originally charged by the Clark County district attorney's office with possession of marijuana with intent to sell and conspiracy to possess marijuana, both felonies. Rather than take the case to court, the district attorney plea bargained it to a misdemeanor possession charge that required Warren to pay a $500 fine to complete drug counseling.Nevada ACLU attorney Allen Lichtenstein called Boulder City's attempt to extract a payment as high as $100,000 improper use of forfeiture laws, which he says were designed to go after organized crime. When such laws were enacted across the nation during the past three decades, civil libertarians feared they would be abused in this manner, he said."This kind of case is an abuse of power," Lichtenstein said. "Regardless of the outcome, to put a house in jeopardy has a chilling effect on the public. The laws were never intended for this kind of case."Olsen, though, said the forfeiture laws were not designed only for tackling organized crime. He said selling drugs in a small community like Boulder City is a threat to the community, especially its youth, and taking someone's house sends a message that it will not be tolerated."If you tell someone we are doing this for someone possessing a small amount of marijuana it sounds terrible, but if you say there is commercial marijuana growing in one room of the house, it sounds a whole lot different," Olsen said.Peck said state legislation passed in 2003 made it tougher for authorities to seize property. Boulder City's pursuit of Warren's home, he added, demonstrates that further changes are needed."No one in the public is going to rest easier if they take her house away," Peck said. "If you are somehow trying to claim this is a powerful deterrent, that is ridiculous."Source: Las Vegas Sun (NV)Author: Brian Wargo, Las Vegas SunPublished: October 15, 2005Copyright: 2005 Las Vegas Sun Inc.Contact: letters lasvegassun.comWebsite: http://www.lasvegassun.com/Related Articles & Web Site:ACLUhttp://www.aclu.org/Pot Case Could Be Closed http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21178.shtmlMisdemeanor Charge: Pot May Cost Homeownerhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21114.shtmlProsecutors Seek To Uphold Property Seizure Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18568.shtml 

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Comment #33 posted by FoM on October 17, 2005 at 08:39:43 PT
Press Release from The Marijuana Policy Project
Marijuana Arrests Set New RecordOctober 17, 2005 More Americans Arrested on Marijuana Charges in 2004 than for All Violent Crimes CombinedWASHINGTON, D.C.—According to figures released today by the FBI, marijuana arrests set a new record in 2004, totaling 771,605. Eighty-nine percent of these arrests were for marijuana possession, not sale or manufacture.In contrast, arrests for all violent crimes combined totalled 590,258—a decline from 2003."It's important to remember that each of these statistics represents a human being, and in many cases, a preventable tragedy," said Aaron Houston, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "One of those marijuana arrests in 2004 was Jonathan Magbie, a quadriplegic medical marijuana patient who died in the Washington, D.C., city jail while serving a 10-day sentence for marijuana possession. Had Congress not blocked the district's medical marijuana law from taking effect, Jonathan Magbie would almost certainly be alive today."Over the weekend, Melissa Etheridge became the latest celebrity to acknowledge using medical marijuana, using it to treat the nausea and pain she experienced while undergoing cancer chemotherapy. Etheridge is a hero to many, and for good reason. But for every Melissa Etheridge or Montel Williams, there are hundreds of thousands more Americans whom most of us will never hear of—ordinary Americans who live in fear, suffer and, yes, sometimes die because of our irrational marijuana laws. It is time for Congress to end this cruel war on the sick and enact marijuana laws based on science and common sense."With more than 18,000 members and 120,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana—both the consumption of marijuana and the laws that are intended to prohibit such use. MPP believes that the greatest harm associated with marijuana is imprisonment. For more information, please visit: http://www.MarijuanaPolicy.orghttp://www.mpp.org/releases/nr20051017.html
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Comment #32 posted by Hope on October 16, 2005 at 17:13:05 PT
Amazing wonderful that it's happening.
Matt's experience as a probation officer in the state of Washington, showed him that there has to be a better way to fight the war on drugs. Matt states that "Potentially, I might have had to send someone back to prison for nothing worse than smoking a joint." That realization was a major turning point in Matt's life. Since that moment, Matt has been involved in drug policy reform on various fronts: as a volunteer with local and state ballot initiatives, as the one-time host of a talk radio program on KVI 570 in Seattle, and as the press spokesman for several candidates for elected office. Matt will discuss a variety of drug prohibition issues to both students and faculty during his visit. Location: Katz Pharmacy Building Room 301, University of Missouri at Kansas City.
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Comment #31 posted by Hope on October 16, 2005 at 17:10:57 PT
That's amazing, Ekim.
I hope it goes well. That would be something to see.
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Comment #30 posted by Hope on October 16, 2005 at 17:09:01 PT
Music has a lot of power over how we feel.
My husband is often effected that way by old photographs. He doesn't really like to look at them.
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Comment #29 posted by ekim on October 16, 2005 at 17:08:52 PT
anyone goen to Kansas City
 http://leap.cc/events/
Oct 20 05 Marijuana Legalization? A Panel Discussion 06:30 PM Matt McCally Independence Missouri USA 
 Given that Missouri is the Show Me State, that is exactly what Speaker Matt McCally plans to do when he participates in "Marijuana Legalization? A Panel Discussion". This discussion will cover current drug policy and its impact on the country and today's college students, as well as pointing out the benefits of harm reduction that would occur if marijuana was legalized. Location: Blue River Community College, Education Center EC110. Oct 20 05 Introduction to Criminal Justice Class 09:30 AM Matt McCally Kansas City Missouri USA 
 Speaker Matt McCally will meet with students of the "Introduction to Criminal Justice Class" at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. Matt's experience as a probation officer in the state of Washington, showed him that there has to be a better way to fight the war on drugs. Matt states that "Potentially, I might have had to send someone back to prison for nothing worse than smoking a joint." That realization was a major turning point in Matt's life. Since that moment, Matt has been involved in drug policy reform on various fronts: as a volunteer with local and state ballot initiatives, as the one-time host of a talk radio program on KVI 570 in Seattle, and as the press spokesman for several candidates for elected office. Matt will discuss a variety of drug prohibition issues to both students and faculty during his visit. Location: Katz Pharmacy Building Room 301, University of Missouri at Kansas City. Oct 20 05 Introduction to Criminal Justice Class 10:30 AM Matt McCally Kansas City Missouri USA 
 Speaker Matt McCally will talk to students of a second "Introduction to Criminal Justice Class" at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. Matt will discuss a variety of drug prohibition issues to both students and faculty during his visit. Oct 21 05 "Hartford's Drug Burden: Where to Put Our Resources" 08:00 AM Eric Sterling Hartford Connecticut USA 
 As each new day passes, cities across this great country are beginning to realize that America's war on drugs is not working. One of the most recent cities has been Hartford CT. To get a better understanding of what they can do, the Hartford City Council presents "Hartford's Drug Burden: Where to Put Our Resources". This two day discussion will feature LEAP co-founder Jack Cole and Speaker Eric Sterling. Mr. Cole, a former undercover police officer, is one of America's premier experts on America's failed policies of drug prohibition. Mr. Sterling has impeccable credentials in understanding the impact that our drug laws, in particular mandatory minimum sentencing, have on our local, state and national levels. 
http://www.leap.cc/events
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Comment #28 posted by Hope on October 16, 2005 at 17:07:36 PT
Can't resist 
the "Rattlesnakin Daddy". I better listen to Blues a minute before I settle in anywhere.
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Comment #27 posted by FoM on October 16, 2005 at 17:06:09 PT
Hope
Yes he does have some good music out there. I don't like all of his music but most I do like. I don't like Old King from Harvest Moon. I was very much into Harvest Moon and my dog got sick and died and it reminded me of Old King. I have almost all of Enya's Albums. I listened to them during my son's illness. It was comforting but I can't handle it at all anymore. Music has a lot of power over how we feel.
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Comment #26 posted by Hope on October 16, 2005 at 17:00:24 PT
"Lost all my money but a two dollar bill
I'm on my long journey home.It's dark and it's rainin and I gotta go home.Lost all my money but a two dollar bill."and then he "get's down".
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Comment #25 posted by Hope on October 16, 2005 at 16:57:02 PT
He's a real star there is no doubt.
He's got some really good music out there. He and his music have been a blessing for many people. Including you...I'd say.
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Comment #24 posted by Hope on October 16, 2005 at 16:55:29 PT
Uncle Pen
hmmmm
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on October 16, 2005 at 16:55:19 PT
Music
I really am a relatively new Neil fan. Only since I saw Greendale in 2003 did I really pay attention to what he was doing. I remember him more from CSNY many years ago. Musicians sing what they feel and often it hits us somewhere where we live. 
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Comment #22 posted by Hope on October 16, 2005 at 16:54:51 PT
High and Lonesome
and the part about being "lonesome for you, pretty little darlin" made me think of my little granddaughter. Oh man. "You could hear it talk. You could hear it sing."
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Comment #21 posted by Hope on October 16, 2005 at 16:51:18 PT
Which for some reason reminds me of Bill Cosby.
I heard him say the funniest thing today. It was good.Went something like ..."Don't look at me like somethin's wrong with me. There's nothing wrong with me. You just can't comprehend ...............
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Comment #20 posted by Hope on October 16, 2005 at 16:48:52 PT
I can see my old grandfather 
grinning and tapping his feet in my imagination.
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Comment #19 posted by Hope on October 16, 2005 at 16:47:45 PT
It's really sad...
when it is "too late". I don't love remembering all that. Failures. Failures. I think it would be the rare soul that doesn't have them. Too much seventies music...the wrong song...can excavate things I'd just as soon leave buried somewhere. I don't like tear jerkers of any kind, in general. I use music to make myself feel better. To inspire me. To stimulate me. It's good for anyone when they find the right music. Although, sometimes the best music is relative silence. I've washed dishes many a time to "Yakkity Yak". It makes washing dishes a party.Maybe I'll switch to fifties music after I listen to about fourteen heinous killings designed to keep the young men and women pure. I learned one thing from Bluegrass. Don't ever go down to the river with a good looking guy...no matter how nice he seems. Don't do it.Somebody just got "shot in the back of the head". Some thing a bout a "legend that still lives on".Oh, and such beautiful fiddle and banjo.Love em. Train whistle blowing fiddles and break downs...and just good ole fashion stuff.
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on October 16, 2005 at 16:43:34 PT
Hope
Enjoy your Bluegrass music. I am a firm believer in music no matter what type as long as a person enjoys it. Music is good for us. It comforts and is therapeutic. 
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Comment #17 posted by Hope on October 16, 2005 at 16:35:16 PT
Oooohhh....
I think I might listen to a little Bluegrass. 
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on October 16, 2005 at 16:33:29 PT
Hope
My favorite song from back in the 70s that always reminds me of my first husband is!Carole King's, It's Too Late Baby! LOL!
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Comment #15 posted by Hope on October 16, 2005 at 16:29:47 PT
"The older I get the deafer I get."
Me, too. I was trying to listen to some seventies music...but it mostly reminded me too much of my ex husband...so I'm going to listen to or watch something else.
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Comment #14 posted by Hope on October 16, 2005 at 16:26:34 PT
Dang!
I should have turned on the TV!
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on October 16, 2005 at 16:22:47 PT
siege 
It was great!
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Comment #12 posted by siege on October 16, 2005 at 16:17:29 PT
 Melissa Etheridge
Just seen Melissa Etheridge ON dateline real good 
if we could have more do it... talking about Marijuana.
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on October 16, 2005 at 13:23:13 PT

Right Now I'm Listening To
The high Resolution Audio of Prairie Wind that is on the DVD version. It's just beautiful watching the field gently blow on the TV Screen too. I sure appreciate the quality in sound nowadays. The older I get the deafer I get and I can still crank it up and enjoy. The same thing goes for monitors and TVs. By the time I get older the price of the big TVs won't be so much and we'll get one. So even if I become almost blind and deaf I'll still be happy.
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on October 16, 2005 at 13:12:21 PT

Stevie Wonder
I really Stevie Wonder. I haven't heard any of his music for years except now and then on a benefit. He's a good person and talented. People that are good people make a special kind of music no matter how different it actually is.
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Comment #9 posted by E_Johnson on October 16, 2005 at 13:04:58 PT

Any Stevie Wonder fans here?
His new album just came out -- A Time To LoveSo far I'm liking it. It reminds me of a funk version of Prairie Wind, it's on that wavelength.
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Comment #8 posted by Hope on October 16, 2005 at 08:34:15 PT

Plain and simple.
Extortion.
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Comment #7 posted by goneposthole on October 16, 2005 at 08:23:47 PT

a hundred grand, eh?
It is nothing more than indentured servitude.When you gain the whole world, you lose your soul.'Olsen pled no contest to drunken driving'http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1524/a07.htmlIt's the pot calling the kettle black.
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on October 16, 2005 at 07:19:53 PT

OverwhelmSam
I think that the laws surrounding Cannabis must be changed soon too. I look forward to the day when our issue isn't an issue and we can move forward with however the culture will become.
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Comment #5 posted by OverwhelmSam on October 16, 2005 at 07:11:13 PT

FoM
We're not only winning, but if Congress doesn't act to change the law soon, all hell is going to break out. Alas, no one ever accused the government of having common sense. If History is any indication, our Representatives, Senators and Administrators will act too late to stop the inevitable political and literal carnage. And yes, just over our right to use pot to relax. We have a right to do what ever we want as long as we don't harm others. Punishing people just because you imagine something bad might happen is paranoid, wrong and IMMORAL. The prosecutors are feeling the pressure now, our elected officials are next.
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on October 15, 2005 at 19:05:54 PT

I'll add an "Amen" to that prayer, Runruff.
And not that you just live long enough to see it...but long enough to enjoy it, too.Amen.
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Comment #3 posted by runruff on October 15, 2005 at 16:52:06 PT:

Asset forfiture.
We have all but done away with asset forfiture in the state of Oregon. By referendum. It would be alot for my vicodin induced brain to try to explain right now but the changes made by the people of Oregon make asset forfiture a nonsequinter in the war on drugs and other than for the raging feds we hardly notice there is a war on cannabis here in our state. Medical marijuana is being fully recognized by law enforcement. My pal Indian Dale was inspected for a comliance check. He had six eight foot plants and one four plant. they told him he had to pull one plant to be in compliance with the law. They told him he could pull the smallest one if he wanted. So he did.
They left and that was the end of it. After Jan. first
we can have twelve plants as a care giver for two people. His plants yeild over two pounds each. Med cards are easy to obtain as many doctors issueing them are activist. They will even tell you what to do in order to make it legal to get one. If it were not for the pissed off DEA Oregon would be like a legal state. It was the DEA who came to my place. They even ridiculed our local sherrif because he would not bust me. They called him a friend to the pot heads. He even turned down federal funding rather than go against state law. I would like to see state by state legalize it untill the feds are standing stubbornly, arms crossed over their
chest, bottom lip stuck out, surrounded by 50 states just saying,"no, never". Ha, an island of stubborn ignorance.
Our day will come. Please Lord let me live long enough to see this day. Then I can say "today is good day to die".Peace, Namaste
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on October 15, 2005 at 16:36:44 PT

Article from The Times Argus
The Cannabis ProhibitionBy Rama Schneider October 15, 2005Burlington, Vermont -- Under most circumstances it would be hard to connect dots involving lower teen drug use, improved understanding of medicines and law enforcement ... but when we're talking about the ruthless cannabis prohibition it's actually an everyday affair.I have long proudly stood with my brothers and sisters who advocate an end to the cannabis prohibition. In general I am repulsed by the attitudes that ignore the numerous proved uses of cannabis (aka hemp or marijuana) as a medicine or industrial and food crop ... all to enable one end: a compulsive governmental disorder that insists people smoking a little pot in the privacy of their own lives cannot be allowed! (As an aside guess which practice is the one seemingly unaffected by the cannabis prohibition?)Vermont last year finally passed a law giving state sanction to the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes under a few grotesquely restrictive circumstances ... essentially if you're just about to die from a painful debilitating disease such as AIDS or cancer ways can be seen for minimal compassion. The lead up to this bill included a very public campaign of advocation and education that I was active in for at least a decade, and I was nowhere near the start of the effort.Complete Article: http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051015/RTD/51015003
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 15, 2005 at 16:12:01 PT

We Are Winning
Thank you ACLU!
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