cannabisnews.com: Activists Plead Guilty to Drug Charges Activists Plead Guilty to Drug Charges Posted by FoM on November 20, 1999 at 07:23:59 PT By Davis Rosenzweig, Times Staff Writer Source: LA Times Barred from using medical necessity as a defense, two prominent marijuana advocates pleaded guilty to reduced drug charges Friday in Los Angeles federal court. The pleas by Todd McCormick and Peter McWilliams followed a judge's ruling earlier this month that the pair could not refer to California's medical marijuana initiative or to their own medical conditions in their upcoming trial. McCormick, 29, suffers from bone cancer, and McWilliams, 50, a self-help book publisher, is a wheelchair-bound AIDS patient. They were accused of growing more than 4,100 marijuana plants at a rented Bel-Air mansion and trying to sell their crop to the Los Angeles Cannabis Buyer's Club, which has dispensed the drug since California voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996. The federal government does not recognize the state initiative as binding. Nor did U.S. District Court Judge George H. King in a Nov. 5 opinion that devastated the defendants. McWilliams' lawyer, Tom Ballanco, said Friday that King's ruling "took away every defense we had," leaving McWilliams facing certain conviction and at least 10 years behind bars. "He couldn't survive a sentence like that," he said. McCormick, whose legal bills are paid by actor Woody Harrelson, said that pleading guilty will give him a chance to remain free on bail while his lawyers appeal King's ruling on a medical necessity defense. "If I would have been found guilty at trial, I would have been remanded into custody and not allowed an appeal bond," he said. "I felt this was the smartest way to protect my health and my well-being and my rights in an appellate process." After issuing his earlier ruling, King pressed both sides to negotiate a plea agreement rather than go to trial. In the end, the prosecution dropped marijuana manufacturing charges carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. McWilliams and McCormick were allowed to plead guilty instead to conspiring to grow and distribute marijuana, punishable by a maximum five years imprisonment. McCormick agreed to a flat five-year prison term and McWilliams faces a term of up to five years when they are sentenced on Feb. 28. Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, called the pleas a victory for the prosecution. "This is the first time that these defendants have acknowledged they were producing marijuana for commercial gain," he said. Indeed, the agreements they signed make no mention of growing marijuana for medical use. McWilliams, owner of Prelude Press, admitted financing the marijuana growing operation and paying McCormick more than $120,000 in one year. According to court documents, McWilliams hoped to strike it rich as a marijuana grower and compared himself to Microsoft founder Bill Gates. In a letter to McWilliams memorializing their partnership, McCormick wrote that the deal entailed "us splitting the harvest three ways, you receiving two thirds for providing space and equipment and me receiving one third for labor and expertise." Both men were arrested after agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration raided the mansion on Bel-Air's Stone Canyon Drive, confiscating 4,116 marijuana plants. Alan Isaacman and David Michael, McCormick's lawyers, said Friday they cannot appeal King's ruling barring a medical necessity defense until after the scheduled Feb. 28 sentencing. McWilliams, meanwhile, said he hoped the judge would "consider my situation. This has been a terrible ordeal. I've lost my health, I've lost my business and I'm about to go into bankruptcy. I'm just exhausted." Published: Saturday, November 20, 1999 Copyright 1999 Los Angeles Times Related Articles & Web Sites:Medical Marijuana Activists Plead Guilty - 11/19/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3733.shtmlCounty Again Urged to 'Uphold Law' Allowing MMJ - 11/14/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3664.shtmlLA Drug Case Bars Medical Marijuana Defense - 11/07/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3585.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by Jeaneous on November 20, 1999 at 10:06:45 PT: Profit I'm taken aback by riverrat's comment. Is the death of Peter McWilliams a valid punishment for growing marijuana for medicinal users?After Proposition 215 was voted into law, these men were pursuing a valid business. Todd doing the research and Peter helping to support the research. They were trying to find strains of marijuana that worked differently on different symptoms.I still belive these men were trying to assist other medicinal patients.. and to me that is no crime. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Tom Paine on November 20, 1999 at 09:46:56 PT Judge Judy, feds, cannabis, genocidal drug war. The federal courts this week again sanctioned the death by medical neglect of some more medical cannabis users with AIDS and cancer. I heard once that the definition of genocide is the continuous systematic extermination of many people. Section 6 of this week's DRCNet weekly ezine concerns Judge Judy's recent remark "Give em dirty needles and let 'em die." That section is linked to below. There is further info on needle exchange, the medical cannabis federal cases, etc. in this week's DRCNet ezine at the link just below. And river-rat, don't believe anything people are forced to sign in a plea bargain. And river-rat... as to whether Peter and Todd were going to sell the cannabis to medical cannabis users and clubs... If they were, then they were doing no differently than many other people selling to cannabis clubs right now. And who knows whether they would have sold for a profit or just for cost. But consider the consequences of Peter's efforts in determining what would be a fair price. Peter's HIV viral load was low before the feds forced him to stop using medical cannabis (to keep his pills and food down). Now Peter has lost weight, can't keep all his AIDS anti-viral meds down, and his HIV viral count is high, and his condition is precarious at best. So any price they would have charged would have been justified in my mind, river-rat. Why don't you grow large quantities for others after reading all this, and then decide what would be a fair price for risking your life. 6. "Judge Judy" on Drug Users and Their Families: "Let 'Em Die" http://www.drcnet.org/wol/116.html#judgejudy [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by riverrat on November 20, 1999 at 07:45:30 PT just what the government wanted makes me wonder after reading about the letter concerning the partnership on growing. after all this time reading about your cases i'm wondering if it was for medical use or profit. i'm a medical user and would never grow one bud for profit. it really bothers me, guys that you might have been bullshitting on the medical issues. i sincerely hope that i'm dead wrong. i really feel that no medical users should go to jail for trying to protect their health. but if you were trying to make a profit, then do your time and don't snivel about it. harsh words i know but i feel taken in by your pleas and the info in the above post. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: