cannabisnews.com: Medical Pot Backers Target Marin DA Medical Pot Backers Target Marin DA Posted by FoM on May 21, 2001 at 09:13:03 PT By Herbert A. Sample, Bee San Francisco Bureau Source: Sacramento Bee At first glance, Paula Kamena would seem to be a friend of medical marijuana supporters. As the district attorney of pot-friendly Marin County, she established guidelines that shy away from prosecutions of people who grow or possess sizeable amounts of the illegal drug for use as a treatment for illnesses such as cancer or AIDS. But, with medical marijuana advocates leading the charge, Kamena faces a serious effort to oust her from office in a recall election Tuesday. Her detractors say she essentially is undermining California's medical marijuana law, Proposition 215, by condoning the arrests of cannabis patients who ultimately are not prosecuted but whose pot is confiscated nevertheless. "That's a terrible thing to do to patients," said the Rev. Lynnette Shaw, Kamena's chief antagonist and the operator of the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, a cannabis club in the county. "That means that (Proposition) 215 is subverted in every instance, because no matter what, the plants are dead and they lose their marijuana." The seizures led to a spike in her sales, Shaw added, fed by patients whose supplies had been hauled away. But Kamena says she cannot force the police to return marijuana in cases that are not prosecuted, even if 73 percent of Marin voters endorsed Proposition 215, the second-highest percentage in the state. Of particular concern, she said, is that federal law does not recognize the legality of marijuana for medicinal use. "People think the DA is in charge of everything," she said. "Law enforcement, they're the ones on the street. They're the ones that have to make the judgment call." Just last week, the U.S. Supreme Court barred cannabis distributors such as Shaw from using a medical necessity defense to shield themselves from prosecution on federal marijuana charges. Proposition 215 remains in effect, though, granting users with legitimate medical needs a legal defense if they are prosecuted in state courts. Kamena describes her policy on medical marijuana as one of the most progressive in the state. In cases where a person possesses no more than 12 immature and six mature marijuana plants, a half-pound of dry cannabis and legitimate evidence of medicinal need, and if there is no indication of illegal sales, "you can be kinda darn sure that we will not prosecute," she said. Out of 815 criminal cases involving marijuana that were filed in Marin from 1998 through 2000, 73 defendants employed the medical marijuana defense, Kamena said. Charges against half of those defendants were dropped after a legitimate medical need was established. Most of the other half pleaded guilty and one went to trial, she added. "I don't think we have ever gotten a case from police where someone had AIDS or cancer," said Kamena, who was first elected in 1998. "The kind of cases we (pursued) was the person who had an arthritic knee and wanted to ski better … or a longtime junkie." The problem in Marin County, Shaw and her allies charge, is that in those cases where an arrest occurred but there is no prosecution, the marijuana of sick people almost never was returned. Kamena, therefore, should pressure local police to give it back, they say. "There's an oversight responsibility on the part of the district attorney and City Council to rein in police practices that are illegal," said Jay Cavanaugh, head of the American Medical Marijuana Association. If they win the recall election against Kamena, medical marijuana proponents are likely to train their sights on other top county prosecutors around the state, most notably Placer County's Bradford Fenocchio. Fenocchio angered medical marijuana advocates with his prosecution of the 1998 Libertarian Party candidate for governor, Steve Kubby. Kubby's case ended in March when a judge dismissed pot possession and cultivation counts against him, saying he needed the marijuana to treat a rare form of cancer. While the recall campaign against Kamena clearly is being organized now by medical marijuana advocates, it grew out of a Sonoma County woman's custody battle. Carol Mardeusz fought for several years to gain custody of her daughter from the girl's father through courts in a number of counties, including Marin. When that proved unsuccessful, she and supporters began recall efforts last year against, first, judges who had overseen her case, and then against Kamena. The petition against Kamena accused her of failing to prosecute persons involved in Mardeusz's custody case, as well as a county supervisor who ran up thousands of dollars in personal purchases on her county credit card. It made no mention of marijuana, medicinal or otherwise. The petition signature-gathering effort was faltering when Shaw and her allies joined, pumping in almost $10,000 to hire signature gatherers who collected far more than the necessary 14,000 names. Since then, Kamena has labeled her foes obliquely as drug dealers and, more explicitly, as "thuggish." She also has pummeled her lone opponent, Tom Van Zandt, calling him unqualified for the district attorney's job because he has been a lawyer for only three years and his specialty is patent law. Van Zandt, who did not respond to requests for an interview, is Mardeusz's brother. Kamena's critics have returned the favor, charging she has done backflips to aid the politically powerful. At a recent debate, Van Zandt cited Kamena's decision not to prosecute state Supreme Court Justice Joyce Kennard after she was arrested in 1999 near Sausalito on suspicion of drunken driving. Kennard's blood alcohol level was below the legal limit, Kamena has said. If Kamena is recalled, Van Zandt needs only one vote to replace her. Complete Title: Medical Pot Backers Target Marin DA: A Cannabis Club is Pushing for Recall Tuesday Because Seized Weed is Not ReturnedSource: Sacramento Bee (CA)Author: Herbert A. Sample, Bee San Francisco BureauPublished: May 21, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Sacramento BeeContact: opinion sacbee.comWebsite: http://www.sacbee.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:The Kubby Fileshttp://www.kubby.org/Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana http://www.cbcmarin.com/American Medical Marijuana Associationhttp://www.americanmarijuana.org/OCBS Versus US Governemt Newshttp://www.freedomtoexhale.com/mj.htmDrive To Recall Marin D.A. Undaunted By Pot Ruling http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9746.shtmlMedical Marijuana Backers Put On Public Pressure http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9563.shtml END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #9 posted by FoM on May 22, 2001 at 21:03:42 PT The answer about the missing comments Hi m segesta,I just saw your question. Dan made a mistake and we talked about me fixing it and then I deleted the threads after it was fixed. I hope this helps! [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by m segesta on May 22, 2001 at 04:27:53 PT: odd numbering....................? why the odd numbering...commmens go from no. 1 to no. 5 to no. 7? am i missing some of this page? [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Monvor on May 21, 2001 at 16:39:14 PT Tar and Feathers The tar is nice and hot. Who is bringing the feathers? [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Pontifex on May 21, 2001 at 14:05:30 PT: "Send a message" by recalling Kamena When 215 passed, Barry McCaffrey was quick to threaten any California doctors who dared even verbally to recommend marijuana. This was widely condemned for its chilling effect.Now it's time for the people to chill law enforcement.For all I know, Kamena may be one of the most liberal DAs in California. She may even be "kinda darn sure" that police won't seize your grandmother's medicine.Nevertheless, she needs to be tarred, feathered and run out of office, as an example to law enforcement throughout the state -- the risks of arresting, robbing and prosecuting herbalists now far outweigh the benefits.It should only take a few angry recalls to "send a message" to law enforcement in CA. If Californians have the spine to take down any DA who allows her minions to confiscate marijuana, pretty soon law enforcement throughout the state will do their best to avoid marijuana cases.If you're lucky enough to cast a vote in Kamena's recall election, punch your chad with pride. By making an example of Kamena, you'll be sending a clear message to California law enforcement -- keep your hands off our herbs, or forfeit your career. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Dan B on May 21, 2001 at 10:47:14 PT: Kinda Darn Sure In cases where a person possesses no more than 12 immature and six mature marijuana plants, a half-pound of dry cannabis and legitimate evidence of medicinal need, and if there is no indication of illegal sales, "you can be kinda darn sure that we will not prosecute," she said."Kinda darn sure," huh? I'm sure the medical marijuana patients in Marin county are glad to know that they can be "kinda darn sure" that they won't be prosecuted, even if they are arrested, strip searched, and have their medicine seized. Yep. And I'm "kinda darn sure" that Kamena won't be facing a recall election this year. What's that? You say she's already facing a recall election?Well, I did say "kinda darn sure," didn't I?Dan B [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: