cannabisnews.com: 2 Acquitted in Medical Marijuana Case 





2 Acquitted in Medical Marijuana Case 
Posted by FoM on April 19, 2001 at 07:34:00 PT
By Clark Mason, The Press Democrat
Source: Press Democrat
A Sonoma County jury on Wednesday acquitted two men of all charges in a medical marijuana trial, the second time this year that county prosecutors have lost a high-profile pot case. After a seven-week trial, the jury took less than five hours to determine that Kenneth E. Hayes and Michael S. Foley were not drug dealers but were legitimately providing marijuana to a San Francisco buyers club.As the verdict was announced, they wiped away tears and hugged their attorneys.
"It's been a long fight, a long battle, almost two years old," Hayes said outside the courtroom. "Hopefully this will have a long-lasting effect, from Oregon to Mexico, from the Pacific Ocean all the way to Nevada. The bottom line is patients should have access to their medicine."Hayes, 33, and his former roommate, Foley, 35, were charged with marijuana cultivation, possessing concentrated cannabis and possession for sale after sheriff's deputies seized more than 15 pounds of marijuana, a pound of hashish and 899 marijuana plants from Hayes' Petaluma home in May 1999.Hayes said he was growing marijuana for the 1,280-member buyers club, but prosecutors contended he was dealing drugs, presenting jurors with transaction records seized from the house.The politically charged case pitted District Attorney Mike Mullins against his San Francisco counterpart, Terence Hallinan, who testified on behalf of the defendants.Hallinan was a supporter of the 1996 initiative that allowed medical use of marijuana with a doctor's approval. He also is a supporter of the San Francisco buyers club where Hayes and Foley worked.He criticized Mullins for pursuing charges against the men.Mullins contends the law is vague and leaves important issues unsettled, including how much marijuana users are allowed to possess. He also believes the law doesn't allow for clubs like Hayes' that sell marijuana to medical users, an issue now pending in the U.S. Supreme Court.After the verdict was returned Wednesday, Mullins said, "The jury has spoken and what we need to do is listen," but he did not apologize for prosecuting the case, which some jurors called a waste of taxpayer dollars."The only way to attain clarity is to take cases to jury trial. Is it expensive and wasteful? I wouldn't say it's wasteful. It's expensive," Mullins said.He said the verdict underscores his belief that there needs to be some clarification from the Legislature on the "vague and ambiguous" law that allowed the use of medical marijuana."A host of issues need to be addressed if law enforcement is going to assist in regulating this activity," he said.Hayes and his attorney, William Panzer, a co-author of Proposition 215, remained critical of Mullins and his stance prosecuting medical marijuana cases."This jury did what the people intended when they passed Prop. 215," Panzer said. "Once they determined no one was getting rich and it was going to sick and dying people, it was an easy decision."A central question for the jury was whether Hayes could be considered a caregiver to the 1,280 members of the San Francisco club, as defined under the law allowing medical marijuana.Juror Chris Walton, like other jurors, said she was able to accept the concept that Hayes could be a caregiver to that many people, just as a doctor or dentist can have more than 1,000 patients."You guys are really serving a need and the laws have to change," she told Hayes and Foley after emerging from the jury room and putting on a marijuana leaf lapel pin they handed her.Hayes said the verdict reinforces the effort to remove prosecutors who are seen as too harsh on medical marijuana cases, such as Marin County District Attorney Paula Kamena, who faces a recall election next month."Unless Mullins changes the politics in Sonoma County he will be bye-bye," Hayes said.Hayes said that because the state and federal government haven't implemented a distribution scheme for medical marijuana users, "unfortunately it's up to individuals like myself to implement what voters passed five years ago."Hayes denied he made any profit by furnishing marijuana to the club."My true desire is to help people," he said. "I don't care if I'm paid in chicken eggs, or with the satisfaction of making someone smile."Medical marijuana advocates said the verdict sends a message to police and prosecutors that they need to be more tolerant."Law enforcement in Sonoma County needs to get with the program," said Ernest "Doc" Knapp, a spokesman for the Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana. "They've gotten four years of every message they can get."In January, a Santa Rosa man was acquitted in another high-profile case after a jury determined 109 marijuana plants he was growing were not too many for his medical needs.The trial that ended Wednesday was contentious and at times the acrimony between attorneys carried outside the courtroom.Mullins acknowledged Wednesday that midway through the trial, prosecutor Carla Claeys went to a shooting range and fired at silhouette targets with the names of defense attorneys Panzer and Nicole DeFever written on them.Mullins said Claeys described it as a joke that started when an investigator from the District Attorney's Office wrote the names of the lawyers on the targets and she shot at them.During the trial, Judge Robert Boyd imposed a gag order prohibiting attorneys from discussing the incident, which he described as "an unfounded rumor."He said he feared the information would get back to jurors.Panzer was still upset about the target-shooting incident Wednesday, saying it frightened him and verged on prosecutorial misconduct.Claeys could not be reached for comment, and Mullins declined to say if she will be subject to any discipline. "It's a personnel matter," he said.Note: County jury supports growing of pot for SF buyers club; second defeat for prosecutors.Source: Press Democrat, The (CA) Author: Clark Mason, The Press DemocratPublished: April 19, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Press Democrat Contact: letters pressdemo.com Website: http://www.pressdemo.com/ Related Articles & Web Site:C.H.A.M.P.http://www.champsf.org/Sonoma County Jury Acquits Medical Pot Farmers http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9406.shtmlMen Arrested for Growing Pot Plants Acquitted http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9401.shtml
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