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A jury has been selected and opening arguments will begin today in the federal trial of Merced marijuana activist Dustin Costa, but it is unlikely there will be any debate on the hotly disputed issue of the drug's medicinal value.
Before his arrest, Costa was president of the Merced Patients Group, a private cannabis club that claimed 230 members.
The club helped connect people with doctors who give recommendations for marijuana and those who supply the drug.
Costa, 60, is facing a three-count indictment charging him with with growing more than 100 marijuana plants, equivalent to nearly 9 pounds, in February 2004 with the intent to distribute. Costa also faces a charge of possession of a firearm "in furtherance of drug trafficking crime."
Robert Rainwater, Costa's attorney, had hoped to use medical marijuana as part of Costa's defense strategy, but earlier, U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii ruled that evidence wouldn't be admissable unless brought up by federal prosecutors.
That isn't likely. To Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar, this trial has nothing to do with medical marijuana.
"The law is the law," she said, and Costa broke it.
Because of a prior marijuana cultivation conviction, Costa faces a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence, and the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison if he is convicted on all the charges.
Costa supporters and medical marijuana activists had looked to this trial with great anticipation in the tussle between California and the federal government over the issue of marijuana's medicinal value.
Not only is this the first trial in the nation in three years involving claims of medical marijuana, but also the first since a key U.S. Supreme Court decision on the issue last year, said Kris Hermes, legal campaign director with Americans For Safe Access, a group that advocates for medical marijuana laws.
"It's a pretty big milestone event," he said.
California voters in 1996 approved Proposition 215, which gives ill people the right to use marijuana for medicinal purposes when cleared by a doctor. Ten other states followed California's lead.
In 2002, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stopped the Bush administration from prosecuting Oakland resident Angel Raich — who used marijuana to fight chronic pain — as well as her suppliers. In June 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that decision, and the federal government then cracked down on medical marijuana dispensaries.
Hermes — who is sitting in on Costa's trial — said more than 90 people across the nation in circumstances similar to Costa's are awaiting trial. Some of those, such as Bakersfield resident Joe Fortt, are due to be tried in Fresno.
But in this case, it is unlikely medical marijuana will be an issue, and Hermes said it was "outrageous" that the drug's medicinal uses couldn't be used as a defense.
Escobar disagreed. During jury selection, she questioned a woman who supported medical marijuana, telling her "that is a California law, not a federal law."
Escobar told the woman — who eventually was seated on the jury — that a juror must follow the law whether they agree with it or not, and cultivating and selling marijuana is illegal.
Newshawk: User - 420 Magazine
Source: The Fresno Bee
Pubdate: 15 November 2006
Author: John Ellis
Copyright: 2006 The Fresno Bee
Contact: jellis@fresnobee.com
Website: Article Here
Before his arrest, Costa was president of the Merced Patients Group, a private cannabis club that claimed 230 members.
The club helped connect people with doctors who give recommendations for marijuana and those who supply the drug.
Costa, 60, is facing a three-count indictment charging him with with growing more than 100 marijuana plants, equivalent to nearly 9 pounds, in February 2004 with the intent to distribute. Costa also faces a charge of possession of a firearm "in furtherance of drug trafficking crime."
Robert Rainwater, Costa's attorney, had hoped to use medical marijuana as part of Costa's defense strategy, but earlier, U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii ruled that evidence wouldn't be admissable unless brought up by federal prosecutors.
That isn't likely. To Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar, this trial has nothing to do with medical marijuana.
"The law is the law," she said, and Costa broke it.
Because of a prior marijuana cultivation conviction, Costa faces a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence, and the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison if he is convicted on all the charges.
Costa supporters and medical marijuana activists had looked to this trial with great anticipation in the tussle between California and the federal government over the issue of marijuana's medicinal value.
Not only is this the first trial in the nation in three years involving claims of medical marijuana, but also the first since a key U.S. Supreme Court decision on the issue last year, said Kris Hermes, legal campaign director with Americans For Safe Access, a group that advocates for medical marijuana laws.
"It's a pretty big milestone event," he said.
California voters in 1996 approved Proposition 215, which gives ill people the right to use marijuana for medicinal purposes when cleared by a doctor. Ten other states followed California's lead.
In 2002, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stopped the Bush administration from prosecuting Oakland resident Angel Raich — who used marijuana to fight chronic pain — as well as her suppliers. In June 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that decision, and the federal government then cracked down on medical marijuana dispensaries.
Hermes — who is sitting in on Costa's trial — said more than 90 people across the nation in circumstances similar to Costa's are awaiting trial. Some of those, such as Bakersfield resident Joe Fortt, are due to be tried in Fresno.
But in this case, it is unlikely medical marijuana will be an issue, and Hermes said it was "outrageous" that the drug's medicinal uses couldn't be used as a defense.
Escobar disagreed. During jury selection, she questioned a woman who supported medical marijuana, telling her "that is a California law, not a federal law."
Escobar told the woman — who eventually was seated on the jury — that a juror must follow the law whether they agree with it or not, and cultivating and selling marijuana is illegal.
Newshawk: User - 420 Magazine
Source: The Fresno Bee
Pubdate: 15 November 2006
Author: John Ellis
Copyright: 2006 The Fresno Bee
Contact: jellis@fresnobee.com
Website: Article Here
