cannabisnews.com: Prosecutor's Welcome Decision 





Prosecutor's Welcome Decision 
Posted by FoM on March 04, 2001 at 10:42:55 PT
By Patrick McCartney, Journal City Editor 
Source: Auburn Journal
You've probably heard already. Placer County District Attorney Brad Fenocchio threw in the towel against Steve Kubby Friday, ending the county's two-year drugs-for-sale prosecution of the former Libertarian candidate for governor and his wife, Michele.Better yet, Fenocchio also made the sensible decision to drop charges against former Rocklin dentist Michael Baldwin and his wife, Georgia. The Baldwins faced a retrial this month on cultivation-for-sale charges, after a jury deadlocked last year on the question of their innocence.
Facing a recall petition by critics of the county's arrest-first policy toward medical marijuana, Fenocchio offered an olive branch in the motion to dismiss, promising "to work with law enforcement, citizens and health-care providers … to establish guidelines" for the number of allowable plants.If that effort leads to a policy all sides can abide by, then Placer County will have taken a giant step toward implementing the will of voters who approved Proposition 215, or the Compassionate Use Act, in 1996.But before any such happy ending is possible, Placer prosecutors and law enforcement will go through a rocky year or more, as those who were prosecuted unfairly and others who were targets of ill-advised raids by a sheriff's anti-pot team seek retribution in court.At this moment, seven lawsuits are working their way through the court system, with additional suits by Kubby and Baldwin all but a certainty.As reported by Journal Staff Writer Gus Thomson on today's front page, Judge John L. Cosgrove reduced the two Steve Kubby's felony convictions – for a mushroom stem and peyote buttons – to misdemeanors.In overruling the objections of stalwart Deputy District Attorney Christopher Cattran, Cosgrove called Steve Kubby's felony conviction for possession of the peyote buttons "a little strange," since cultivation of the hallucinogenic cactus – arguably the more serious offense – is now a misdemeanor. (Cattran's response: "Yeah, it does seem peculiar, but there are lots of laws in these [statute] books that seem peculiar.")Cosgrove cited Kubby's hitherto spotless criminal record and lack of aggravating circumstances to reduce the psilocybin mushroom charge to a misdemeanor as well, calling it a "common-sense interpretation" of the "wobbler" law against the psychedelic mushroom that allows the charge to be either a felony or a less-serious misdemeanor.With his ruling, Cosgrove restored Steve Kubby's political career. And Kubby, who used marijuana to control blood-pressure symptoms from a rare adrenal cancer, has ideas about running for office again.Kubby was instrumental in placing Prop. 215 on the ballot, then became an outspoken defender of the medical-marijuana initiative once it came under attack by local police and prosecutors. He finished fourth in California's 1998 race for governor, during which an anonymous letter was sent to Lake Tahoe police claiming that Kubby was financing his political campaign by selling marijuana.Too bad the drug task force didn't look for evidence of illegal sales first before turning the lives of the Kubbys upside down in search of clues of possible wrongdoing. The mere confirmation that Kubby was growing marijuana should not have justified police entering their home on a fishing expedition.That is a hard lesson for police and prosecutors to learn.Take, for example, the astonishing dragnet for possible marijuana growers conducted by the Placer County Sheriff's Office anti-marijuana team.As reported by Wally Reemelin in the League of Placer County Taxpayers' bulletin, the team jotted down hundreds of license plates of customers of a Sacramento County nursery supply company, Green Fire. The deputies then obtained the customer addresses through DMV checks, acquired their utility bills from PG&E, SMUD and Roseville Electric, then sought search warrants for the residences of those customers with higher-than-expected electricity consumption.The scores of raids resulted in dozens of arrests and, now, seven lawsuits.I've heard that supervisors ordered a halt to the raids during a closed-door meeting last year, although no county official has made that news public. But one thing is certain: the raids did come to a stop.Yet, the supervisors' direction may have come too late to spare the county millions of dollars in potential settlements. Or to spare Fenocchio the anxiety of a possible recall election. (A signature drive is currently under way.)But it is a bitter pill for many in law enforcement to swallow. After prosecutors attempted to deny him access to marijuana while serving his probation, Steve Kubby called the request "extreme bad faith.""If I can't qualify for medical marijuana, who the hell can?" Kubby asked.That's a question best answered, not by law enforcement and prosecutors, but by physicians, scientists and the California Legislature.Pat McCartney is the Journal's City Editor. He can be reached at 885-6585, ext. 143, or by e-mail at: elpatricio aol.comComplete Title: Prosecutor's Welcome Decision First Step in Long Journey Source: Auburn Journal (CA)Author: Patrick McCartney, Journal City EditorPublished: March 4, 2001Copyright: 2001 Auburn JournalAddress: 1030 High St., Auburn, CA 95603Contact: ajournal foothill.netWebsite: http://www.auburnjournal.com/The Kubby Fileshttp://www.kubby.org/Libertarians Hail Outcome of Kubby Sentencing http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8877.shtmlMarijuana Activist's Convictions Slashedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8867.shtmlCannabisNews Articles - Steve Kubbyhttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=kubby 
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Comment #3 posted by dddd on March 05, 2001 at 03:56:25 PT
I third the notion
The Kaptain once again brings up an excellent insight,in the typical Nemo tradition.The significance of the unmentioned is monstrously relevant....I have often thought that perhaps Admiralnemo,would be a more appropriate nom de plume....dddd 
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Comment #2 posted by jAHn on March 04, 2001 at 15:06:37 PT
I 2nd Kaptinemo's Proclamation !
 The fact that these Recall Elections pose a SERIOUS threat to State officials begets these Anti's ability to fight fire with water. They're highly aware that the BigMedia news tries to fudge the stats that go reported. Yet, none of their methodology even matters when they're about to come face to face with THOUSANDS of people who support certain beliefs- other than their own biased ones! Activists everywhere have to keep this motion in mind, for it may be the pen that has just enough ink to "write out" their "mighty pen!" Especially California. If you have despised anyone that supports anything you believe, remember, we still do have SOME rights left to argue with. Don't fall back. Lastly, the Governor's election of N.J. is coming up. NewJersey could REALLY use someone of Liberal Magnitude to press the issues,continually outstanding, upon the Unequal balance of Conservative Caucasian people to minorities that make up its' Society: i.e. Convenient Stores, Local News Broadcasts, Sports Arenas, Correctional Facilities, Newspaper Presses, especially, The Local & State "POLICE!" Anyone know which NJ papers Amherst Press is responsible for contracting? If not, it's no surprise, The Anti-Choice Mongruls have a knack for hiding the names and actions of their dealers. This, to me, is a.k.a. Subliminal Dictatorship!  They know that they couldn't enforce their Ideology with "natural, full-culture-scale Debate" without using a Trojan-Case-Operation, thus leading to Cultural Domination and the knowledge of "Right and Wrong" in the playing field/stage that US poor people have to accept as "Author-ity." (which, by the way, is a false truth.) (knowbody knows it all?) If it comes to you as a surprise that all of the people around you are dressing like the Suits on the boob toob, then you need to read The Emperor Wears No Clothes! http://www.jackherer.com There, you'll find out why, 70-75 years ago, the "Business Suit" was predestined to be the "World's Sharpest Look." Because of the competition that Hemp (and the beautiful Hemp Hippie would have created), someone had to come up with a statement that would Demonize Cannabis for MANY years to come. It's been done alright. How much do YOU like to wear suits? I can't stand Dupont, or the race-car drivers who cry to them for sponsorship, do you? Know where culture is coming from. Know where it's headed.How about a "Total Recall?" P.S. check out the HempCar that's about to debut shortly! They need farmers to help! Check out the Route Map! http://www.hempcar.org'Tis gonna be a HOT summer!!!!! And I can't wait to see amerika's reaction! Move over you Confederate Twerps!  Papa's got a brand new bag!!! yeah, dood!yeah, dood!
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Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on March 04, 2001 at 12:07:51 PT:
The part that wasn't mentioned.
Mainly, the part about the recall effort underway in California.Isn't it interesting that at about the same time as this surprise event (they thought they had the Kubby's by the you-know-whats, and now they have nothing) is taking place, DA Kamena is facing a recall effort that is showing a surprising degree of support? Purely a coincidence, antis will tell you; there's no correllation.Uh huh. And the Pope isn't really Catholic, either.The antis have received a major "OOPS-upside-the-head" and have been brought up hard and fast. Between the masterful job that the Kubby's lawyers performed in their defense, and the recall effort swatting the Law on it's porcine snout for sticking it where it had no business, the antis have been rocked back on their heels. IMHO, were I a California activist, I would continue the recall effort, and take out the worst anti-Prop215 offenders as a warning to the rest to either support State law...or dust off their resumes.As I said before in an earlier posting, the antis are very fond of sending messages. The murder-by-judicial-decree of Peter McWilliams was one such message. It's long past time to send some messages of our own.
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