cannabisnews.com: Drive To Recall Marin D.A. Undaunted by Pot Ruling





Drive To Recall Marin D.A. Undaunted by Pot Ruling
Posted by FoM on May 16, 2001 at 08:13:21 PT
By Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer
Source: San Francisco Chronicle 
Defiant medical pot users vowed yesterday to plow ahead with the recall of Marin County District Attorney Paula Kamena despite the U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming the federal prohibition against all pot. Kamena, who faces a recall election on Tuesday, is one of six district attorneys throughout the state who have been made targets for taking what marijuana advocates say is a hard line against the use of the weed as medicine. "It is imperative that the voters replace policymakers who are nonresponsive or have hidden agendas, with people who will carry the medicinal marijuana bill to Congress," Lynnette Shaw, founding director of the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, said in the wake of Monday's high court decision. 
"We are supporting replacement of our district attorney with someone who will uphold the law and protect the patients and prevent them from being arrested." The Kamena recall is serving as a kind of test case in a statewide effort to force prosecutors to honor Proposition 215, the 1996 state initiative allowing the cultivation and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. She is the first district attorney to face a vote of the people -- despite what she and her supporters say is a relatively progressive stance on medical marijuana. Kamena, 55, is one of 15 district attorneys who have set guidelines for marijuana prosecutions. Her policy exempts people with fewer than seven mature plants, 12 immature plants and a half-pound of dried cannabis. Marijuana advocates insist that Kamena's guidelines do not prevent the arrest of patients, suppliers or the confiscation of their plants. Besides, they say, suppliers of medical marijuana typically need to stock more pot than her policy allows. Nobody knows what affect the Supreme Court ruling will have on Proposition 215, let alone county policies. There is no doubt, however, that Kamena and other prosecutors are caught between state policies that are open for interpretation and a hard-line federal law. Kamena said the federal ruling should strengthen her position against those who want a more liberal interpretation of the state law, but she does not plan to change her guidelines even if she wins the recall. "Our policy is to respect people's rights to use medicinal marijuana," Kamena said, "so unless there is some more definitive information or some action against Proposition 215, we will continue to follow the spirit of the law." Since being elected in 1998, Kamena has expanded programs that assist victims of child abuse, sexual assault and domestic violence, and her office has won convictions in 97 percent of the felony cases it has prosecuted in Superior Court. Her plight now is the result of a strange confluence of events. It all started with the attempted recall of several judges who, at one time or another, handled a case involving Carol Mardeusz. Mardeusz lost custody of her daughter in Sonoma County in 1995 after a bitter court battle with the father. She was denied visitation a year later when she did not get a court-ordered psychological evaluation. Mardeusz has been peppering the courts with legal challenges, including allegations that the father molested the child. She was declared a vexatious litigant in Sonoma County, and prosecutors in Sonoma and Marin concluded that the allegations against the father were at best unprovable. A jury in Marin County found her guilty last year of falsifying a court order and perjuring herself in an attempt to steal custody of her daughter. A subsequent psychological evaluation found her to be delusional. Mardeusz, however, became a cause celebre for a large group of divorced parents unhappy with the outcome of their child custody cases. Citing a vast conspiracy, the group attempted to recall the judges -- and when that failed, they enlisted the help of the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana to get Kamena. The alliance gathered enough signatures to put the recall on the ballot, despite allegations by the Marin County League of Women Voters that the public was tricked into believing medical marijuana was the issue when the petition mentioned only the family law matter. The only replacement candidate for Kamena's job is Tom Van Zandt, who is Mardeusz's brother. A patent lawyer, he has never held an administrative job in a district attorney's office or even prosecuted a criminal case. If the recall is successful he would need only one vote to become the top prosecutor in Marin County. "I think it's a travesty that if I am recalled, the brother of the woman who started all this would be the D.A.," Kamena said. "Politicizing the district attorney's office is a major step toward injustice." Van Zandt, who did not return repeated phone calls, has said in various public forums that his lack of a background in criminal law will not be a detriment. When asked why her cannabis club did not put up their own candidate, Shaw said Van Zandt has promised to dismantle Kamena's policy and replace it with one that is more in step with the spirit of Proposition 215. The Marin Alliance Legal Defense Fund Committee has raised $9,870, compared with the $79,628 in Kamena's campaign fund. Van Zandt put $40,000 into his own campaign. Kamena has won the support of almost every politician in the region -- including state Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, a longtime advocate of legislation allowing the use of medical marijuana. The Marin policy is relatively standard when compared with the other 14 counties that spelled it out. Mendocino County, which pot aficionados hold up as an example of a program that works, has the same rules as Marin, except it allows up to two pounds of "processed marijuana." Note: Paula Kamena is one of 6 statewide targets. Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff WriterPublished: Wednesday, May 16, 2001 Copyright: 2001 San Francisco Chronicle  Page A - 15 Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/Related Articles & Web Site:Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana http://www.cbcmarin.com/Medical Marijuana Backers Put On Public Pressure http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9563.shtmlDistrict Attorney Recall Effort Moves Forward http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9269.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
END SNIP -->
Snipped
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #2 posted by FoM on May 18, 2001 at 07:19:37 PT
Update On Marin Recall
Strange Marin Recall Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Published: May 18, 2001 Copyright: 2001 San Francisco Chronicle Page A - 22 Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/Marin County District Attorney Paula Kamena is facing a bizarre recall election next Tuesday, and deserves voter support to remain in office. The recall has been tainted by distorted claims of medical marijuana zealots, who say Kamena should be kicked out of office because she is too tough on pot users. But that is a phony issue seized on by the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, a group that resents Kamena's fair and reasonable policy on medical pot. Kamena doesn't prosecute cases involving fewer than seven mature marijuana plants, 12 immature plants and a half-pound of dried pot. She says the policy will continue. The recall began as an effort to oust three family court judges and Kamena after a bitter child custody case. When the campaign against the judges failed, the pot advocates refocused the recall on Kamena. Elected in 1998, Kamena has been an effective DA, with a humane approach to the law. Her office has won 97 percent of its cases in Superior Court. She has expanded programs for victims of child abuse, sexual assault and domestic violence. Marin County voters should reject the misleading campaign against Kamena and vote no on the ballot to recall her. 
Medical Marijuana Information
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by Imprint on May 16, 2001 at 21:05:41 PT
See Ya Kamena
I this is a great move. Replace the DA with someone that will do the job right. I hope it will be successful. Either way I’m real pleased that Marin County will have to spend money for the recall election. Elected officials will get the message, tow the line or you my get ousted. And citizens will not like seeing tax dollars spent on this stuff. 
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: