cannabisnews.com: Man Moving To Canada Over Pot





Man Moving To Canada Over Pot
Posted by FoM on May 20, 2001 at 10:54:22 PT
By Mike Rappaport, Staff Writer
Source: Daily Bulletin 
His backyard barbecue is rusting and the pool needs maintenance. A sign in the front yard lists the Ontario house for sale. It's something David Fawcett said was an unpleasant but necessary step. "We have lost everything," he said. "We're losing everything we own because of this." "This" is Fawcett's struggle with the law over his right to grow and use marijuana for medical purposes, a right seemingly ensured by the passage of Proposition 215 in November 1996. His struggle will ultimately send him to Canada, where he says he can live and practice his trade as a toolmaker and machinist while still using marijuana to help alleviate the pain from his medical problems.
In a time when Californians - and many Americans in general - have become more tolerant of the medical uses of marijuana, Fawcett, 45, says the country's "drug war" mentality has ruined his life.His problems began in the early '80s when he was diagnosed with shingles, a viral disease that results in periodic blisters along the nerve paths.His doctor at the time prescribed cortisone shots and codeine pills, but the side effects caused other problems."Too many cortisone shots would weaken my bones," Fawcett said. "And when I took the codeine, I couldn't work at my job."Several years later, a doctor told Fawcett he couldn't prescribe anything officially, but suggested that if he had access to marijuana, he should smoke it."It was before (Proposition) 215 had passed, and he took me aside," Fawcett said. "He said, 'If it works, keep doing it, but don't tell anyone I told you.'"It worked, so he kept doing it. He found that it made a significant difference in reducing his pain. When Proposition 215 passed in 1996, he thought of getting a compassionate use certificate from his original doctor. That doctor had moved back to Iraq and was no longer available.It didn't matter until Oct. 15, 1999, when San Bernardino County's special West End Narcotics Enforcement Team, armed with assault rifles and wearing body armor, raided his home. They arrested him for cultivation and possession of marijuana for sale and confiscated the plants he had been growing."They killed my dog too," Fawcett said. "She was 19 years old and no threat, but they sprayed her with pepper spray, and she had a stroke and died."He fought the charges, but was convicted and sentenced to 90 days in jail. He then went through a comedy of errors when he showed up to serve his time with four marijuana cigarettes in his pocket.The bailiff threatened him with arrest for trying to smuggle marijuana into jail, but he presented a certificate he had obtained in January 2000 from a Northern California doctor that said the marijuana was his medication.In the end, the court stayed his sentence rather than let him take drugs into the jail."Ever since the raid, my life has gone to hell," Fawcett said. "I haven't been able to get a job because I'm a convicted felon, and if we aren't able to sell our house soon, we will lose it."He has become something of a crusader for the medical marijuana movement. That's why he was so disappointed Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal law does not allow a "medical necessity" exemption from laws against the distribution of marijuana. The ruling didn't overturn Proposition 215, but it did make it more difficult for so-called "cannabis clubs" to operate under federal law. Writing for the majority, Justice Clarence Thomas said that marijuana has "no currently accepted medical use."The decision does not affect those accused of cultivating marijuana under state law, said Richard Maxwell, San Bernardino County's chief deputy district attorney."We're still in the process of evaluating the decision," Maxwell said. "But anyone growing even one plant is violating the law. In the past, they have been able to use 'medical necessity' as a possible defense. They can still do that in state court, but the feds could turn around and prosecute them under federal law."California law distinguishes between possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use (a misdemeanor with no jail time possible), possession of larger amounts (a regular misdemeanor) and cultivation or possession for sale (a felony)."When law enforcement officials ask us about the law, we tell them that possession of marijuana is still a federal violation," Maxwell said. "But we are not responsible for enforcing federal law."It's the state law against cultivation that got Fawcett into trouble, even though he insists he never sold any and he only grew marijuana for himself and a close friend who also has a doctor's certificate."I had never been arrested in my life," he said. "I never even had a moving violation. I'm very law abiding. I do not break laws. Now all of a sudden, I'm a convicted felon. A felony for gardening? Give me a break."Maxwell's goal in telling his story, he says, is to show that marijuana is more than "Reefer Madness" and Cheech and Chong movies."This is an herb given to man by God that men have been using for 6,000 years," he said. "People need to be educated about how nontoxic marijuana is compared to some of the drugs my doctors were giving me."Despite all that, despite notoriety that has gotten him the attention of pro-cannabis groups such as NORML and the American Medical Marijuana Association, Fawcett has grown weary of the fight.Once his house is sold, he says he and wife, Rosa, will leave California."We're going to move to Canada," he said. "They offer clemency - if you have a skill, they'll take you in. And marijuana is 100 percent legal in British Columbia. They sell it in coffee shops."We have got to get past this drug-war mentality in this country, especially when it comes to marijuana. The so-called 'drug war' has ruined so many people's lives."Mike Rappaport can be reached by e-mail at: m_rappaport dailybulletin.com Source: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (CA)Author: Mike Rappaport, Staff WriterPublished: Sunday, May 20, 2001 Copyright: 2001 Inland Valley Daily BulletinContact: letters dailybulletin.comWebsite: http://www.dailybulletin.com/NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/American Medical Marijuana Associationhttp://americanmarijuana.org/David Fawcett's Ordeal http://www.cannabispatients.com/O.C.B.C. Versus The U.S. Government News http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/mj.htmCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on May 23, 2001 at 08:09:03 PT
News Brief - Marijuana Farm Lands Man in Jail 
Marijuana Farm Lands Man in Jail Source: Los Angeles Times (CA) Published: Wednesday, May 23, 2001 Copyright: 2001 Los Angeles Times Contact: letters latimes.com Website: http://www.latimes.com/ By Staff ReportsNews from Ontario in the Times Community Newspapers An Ontario man who defied authorities by growing marijuana at his home for medical reasons was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of possessing marijuana for sale, police said.   When police searched David Fawcett's home Tuesday they found 38 marijuana plants, Police Det. Mike Macias said.   Fawcett, 45, was on felony probation for the same charge, Macias said.   After police saw a newspaper article and accompanying photographs of Fawcett with his marijuana plants, they decided to search his home.   When officers came to his house, Fawcett presented a "doctor's note," which said that he was allowed to have the marijuana for treatment of his shingles, Macias said.   The note appeared to be a fill-in-the-blanks form from High Times magazine, and the blank for the illness was not filled in, Macias said. The doctor who supposedly signed the note lived in Cool, Calif., Macias said.   Police seized Fawcett's marijuana plants, Macias said. He was held at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on $10,000 bail.   "If you're going to be the point man on a cause, you should talk to your attorney first," Macias said. "Especially if you're on felony probation."
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Comment #2 posted by vic vancouver on May 20, 2001 at 18:40:59 PT
mad about reefer
"We're going to move to Canada," he said. "They offer clemency - if you have a skill, they'll take you in. And marijuana is 100 percent legal in British Columbia. They sell it in coffee shops.yikes!he is in for a big surprise when he gets to bc...pot is 100% ILLEGAL and we don't offer clemency and pot is not sold in coffee shops and police swat teams busted over 100 grow ops in vancouver every year.
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Comment #1 posted by Charlie on May 20, 2001 at 11:36:45 PT
Reefer Madness
Is alive and will however the shoe is on the other foot and its now the government that suffers from it and not those that use it either medicinally or recreationally. Think it was Timothy Leary who said, marijuana makes people insane...those that don't smoke it.Can't wait for the MPs of Canada to begin their upcoming discussions on mj...it's time to be bold...
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