cannabisnews.com: Court Charges Pot Grower Court Charges Pot Grower Posted by FoM on September 12, 2000 at 10:42:43 PT By Wendy Thomas Russell, Staff Writer Source: Long Beach Press-Telegram A 55-year-old medicinal marijuana activist from Long Beach was arraigned Monday on three felony drug counts. David Zink pleaded not guilty in Long Beach Superior Court to cultivating marijuana, possessing marijuana for sale and manufacturing hashish, a controlled substance. Long Beach Superior Court Judge James Wright dropped the cultivation charge at a preliminary hearing Aug. 28, but prosecutor John Harlan refiled the count. Zink's attorney, J. David Nick, is expected to bring a motion to dismiss the count at an Oct. 11 pretrial hearing in Judge James Pierce's courtroom. "I feel like I'm being harassed at this point," Zink said after Monday's arraignment.Police raided Zink's home Aug. 10 and dug up 30 marijuana plants from his back yard. Zink told police that two friends and he, all of whom had doctors' notes permitting marijuana use, were growing the plants for personal use.The District Attorney's Office has alleged that Zink is responsible for all the plants. Prosecutors said he possessed equipment used to make hashish, as well as a scale and baggies, items sometimes used to sell pot.Proposition 215, passed in 1996, allows patients and patients' primary caregivers to possess or cultivate marijuana "for the personal medical purposes of the patient upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician." Published: Tuesday, September 12, 2000 Source: Long Beach Press-Telegram (CA)Copyright: 2000 Press-Telegram.Contact: crutch ptconnect.infi.netWebsite: http://www.ptconnect.com/Marijuana Grower To Stand Trial http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6867.shtmlActivist Fighting Felony Drug Charges http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6854.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by observer on September 12, 2000 at 17:22:59 PT Medicinal Marijuana Activist A 55-year-old medicinal marijuana activist from Long Beach was arraigned Monday on three felony drug counts.In addition to private boycott, government restrictions on free speech are growing. A classic subterfuge is to bring criminal charges against someone who speaks out against the drug war. As some of President Clinton's cabinet choices discovered, upstanding citizens can easily be in violation of some law. In 1993 the U.S. Attorney in St. Louis issued a press release about a guilty plea in a marijuana case. The amount of marijuana was so small that observers could scarcely believe the offense merited federal action, let alone a press release publicizing it. The press release incorrectly claimed the accused person was St. Louis coordinator for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)6. Skeptics suggested that prosecution of the hapless defendant was intended to cripple NORML's St. Louis activity and damage NORML by implying that it is a criminal organization. A letter to the editor questioning antimarijuana laws irked an Idaho drug squad, which went to the letter writer's residence, searched the writer's trash, and arrested the writer when marijuana stems were found. A police spokesman explained that only a person who is a law violator would seek change in the law7 (an interesting attitude, considering that police and prosecutors continually seek changes in law). Although the official charge was marijuana possession, the Idaho writer was punished for his speech. Similar thinking was seen in 1935 when the SS journal Das Schwarze Korps and the Ministry of Justice journal Die Deutsche Justiz called for punishment of Jews who complained about a boycott action against Jewish businesses.8 Punishment not for thwarting the boycott, but just for complaining about it. Prosecution of an Aryan for a 10-pfennig purchase violating the boycott occurred in part because he questioned the policy of zero tolerance for commerce with Jews.9 When using criminal violations as a subterfuge to punish Americans for questioning the drug war, police follow a well-established model.(Richard L Miller, Drug Warriors and their Prey, 1996, pg.38)http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0275950425/Cannabisnews/ [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: