Email I got today

tcccfriends · 10-04-2007, 01:18 AM

Hi,

At the Drug Free Community Coalition meeting this evening, I was
arrested
for, get this, battery. Here’s the story.

In the past few emails I have written about a new group formed to fight
medical marijuana dispensaries. Made up mainly of current and former law
enforcement folks, they have wrapped themselves in the mantle of
protecting
our children from drugs to mask their main goal of developing public
opposition to medical marijuana. This is seen in the recent oped column
(http://www.dailybulletin.com/opinions/ci_7021530) written by their
chief
organizer Brenda Chabot who authored a vitriolic column attacking
medical
marijuana as “decoy for drug legalization.”

These people are seeking federal grants (i.e. your tax dollars) to pay
themselves and their expenses to destroy the medical marijuana movement.
I
have always believed in “know your enemy,” so I decided to go the
meeting
and find out just who these people were and what they were all about.
Although it was not necessary, they did request that people coming to
the
meeting RSVP so they would have some idea how many folks would be there.
I
did send them an email RSVP and was sent an email back stating that they
hoped “you can make the event.”

When I got to the meeting at the James Bulte Senior Center in Rancho
Cucamonga, I went to the room where the meeting was to be held. In front
was
a table where they asked that you sign an attendance sheet. While
signing
the sheet, I was accosted by Paul Chabot, the organizer of the event,
whom I
think was aware that some supporters of medical marijuana might attend.
He
asked what was in the small box I was carrying. I said there was
information
about medical marijuana in the box. Standing by was an aide to former
San
Bernardino Supervisor and now Assessor Bill Postmus who recognized me
from
watching videos of our TV show on You Tube and informed everyone there
of
that fact.

At that point, the impeccably dressed, coifurred and I might venture to
add
really cute Mr.Chabot, informed me that I was not an invited guest and I
would have to leave. I informed him that indeed I was an invited guest
having received an email response invite to my RSVP. I asked him why he
was
afraid to have me attend the meeting and he said he just didn’t want
people
like me in there. I told him I had received an invite and I had driven
all
the way from Palm Springs because I wanted to know what this group was
all
about.

At that point I walked around the table and past Mr. Chabot who was
standing
in front of the door. As I walked inside and looked around to see what
kind
of crowd there was, I asked if there was reporter there as I felt Mr.
Chabot
’s paranoid fear of me might be of interest. I had been led to believe
that
a reporter from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin was going to cover this
meeting due to that paper’s coverage of this organization in recent
editions
of the paper. There were not very many people there – I counted 26,
seven of
whom where medical marijuana advocates who had come to see what this
group
was all about as well.

Mr. Chabot followed me in and informed me and everyone else in the room,
that I was not invited and that I would have to leave. I repeated that I
had
received an invitation and then announced to them that I was director of
a
medical marijuana patient support group and that they did not want me
there
for that reason. One woman turned to me and said in a genuinely
surprised
tone of voice “medical marijuana?” I said yes and handed her a pamphlet
out
of the box. I then handed out some pamphlets and took my seat in the
back
row.

At this point a very visibly agitated Mr. Chabot informed me that if I
did
not leave, he would call the police. At this point a lady from the
Senior
Center came up to me and said I would have to leave. I asked her why and
she
said I was disrupting the meeting. I said I was invited and I intend to
stay
and listen. She asked me if that was all I was going to do and I said
yes, I
wanted to learn about these people She said “okay, then you can stay if
you’
re not going to disrupt the meeting.” I said I had no intention of doing
anything of the kind and she started to walk away, but Mr. Chabot went
up to
her and said he didn’t want me there so she then asked me to leave. I
said
no, I am invited guest, I drove all the way from Palm Springs and I am
here
to learn what these people are up to. She walked away.

Everything seems to settle down and the meeting began. The first speaker
was
Brenda Chabot, the author of the medical marijuana hit piece in the
Inland
Valley Daily Bulletin. She explained about the organization. After about
ten
minutes she was getting ready to introduce the main speaker, Paul
Chabot,
when in walked a Rancho Cucamonga police officer and asked me and three
others of us to step out into the hallway.

In the hallway, he asked why we were there and I told him that we wanted
to
find out who these people were because they were going to use federal
money
to attack and undermine California’s medical marijuana laws. He said
that
they wanted us to leave because we were not invited. I explained that I
had
received an email inviting me to attend. He then asked to speak to me
privately and I said whatever it is he wanted to talk to me about, he
could
do it front of the other people.

He then informed me that Mr. Chabot was having him arrest me for assault
and
battery because Mr. Chabot claimed that I pushed him when I walked past
him
into the meeting room. He had me put my arms behind my back and then
very
tightly handcuffed me and marched me out of the hall and into his
waiting
police car.

After about an hour of sitting in the car while the police questioned
some
of the people and ran background checks on the four of us who were there
and
questioned me as well, the officer issued me a citation citing me for
battery. They informed me that they were not doing this because they had
seen anything but doing it because Mr. Chabot was pressing charges
against
me. They were very courteous the entire time and I suspect that they
felt
this was all a crock, but, if I understood them correctly, they had no
choice but to arrest me because Mr. Chabot was adamant in filing charges
.

During my 90 minutes spent in handcuffs I did have some interesting
conversations with the police officers – yes, police officers. The four
of
us were such dangerous felons that the Rancho Cucamonga Police felt it
necessary to have three police cars and four police officers there.

They informed me that San Bernardino County doesn’t recognize the ID
card
and I informed that they are required to recognize the card because
state
law says they have to. Then they came up with the old stick about
federal
law and I explained to them about Sec. 3.5 of the California
Constitution.

What was really interesting to me was that they knew about the ID card
and
they knew about the federal/state nonsense, so this issue is obviously
of
some concern that ordinary routine officers were aware of the issues.
But I
realized their awareness was only what they had been told by law
enforcement
and that they had not been exposed to either the legal issues on our
side or
the importance of marijuana for the health and welfare of so many
members of
the community.

One of the officers said he would never smoke it. I asked him why and he
replied because it’s illegal. This is so typical – the reason for
abstaining
has nothing to do with it’s being bad for you or makes you do crazy
things,
but just because it’s illegal. Denying himself and his community the
benefits of this ancient herb has absolutely nothing to do with
marijuana
and everything to do with marijuana prohibition.

He even seems to recognize that marijuana is not a problem as he glanced
up
with a slight nod when I stated I bet you have a lot more problems with
people drunk on alcohol than you do stoned on pot.

It was around then that the handcuffs were taken off and a citation was
handed to me charging me with battery. They asked then asked if I would
give
them some of the pamphlets I handed out at the meeting. I knew it was
for
some kind of evidence but I always relish giving out information on
marijuana. I said sure and got out enough pamphlets for every officer
there.

I gave them each a set and, this is so bizarre, they stood there for at
least five minutes as I gave them the pamphlets and explained to them
what
each one was about. I explained about Russo’s Long Term Use Study and
Tashkin’s lung cancer study and then gave them copies of the Press
Enterprise article that ran last Saturday and explained how effective
marijuana is relieving pain.

I then invited them to come to one of our meetings and learn about the
health and medical benefits and meet some patients and talk to them. I
don’t
really know if they were just being polite and courteous or if they were
hoping I would say something incriminating or if they were genuinely
interested, but they heard me out.

What we sometimes forget, is that a lot of police are on our side. 70%
of
the country supports medical marijuana and although I am sure the
percentage
is lower among police due to their indoctrination and fear of losing
some
jobs, police officers are not going to be that out of line with the
general
publics attitudes on this or other issues. LEAP (Law Enforcement Against
Prohibition) is an organization of active and retired police who are
working
openly and effectively to end this country’s insane, ineffective and
inhumane prohibition laws. But LEAP cannot be everywhere and do
everything –
mmj activists and patients need to educate police in their local
communities. Of course how best to do that is something I am short on
ideas
right now, but if anybody out there has any suggestions I would very
much
like to hear them.

As for Mr. and Mrs. Chabot and the hundreds of thousands of folks whose
livelihood and financial security are directly tied to prohibition and
the
million plus Americans imprisoned because of it, I doubt if you could
ever
reason with them.

Getting back to the “incident,” I am scheduled to appear in court on
Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 8 a.m. at the Rancho Cucamonga Superior Court. I
have
no idea how this works when the police arrest you because someone else
files
charges against you. I intend to find out and defend myself as best I
can.
If I get the charges .dismissed or I am found not guilty, I intend to
sue
Mr. Chabot for false arrest as I did not push him or even come into
bodily
contact.

As a former police officer, Mr. Chabot used his knowledge to have me
arrested in retaliation for my presence there and my challenge to his
position on medical marijuana dispensaries. Mr. Chabot is a professional
speaker who now earns his living doing this kind of thing and I imagine
no
one has ever challenged him on any of this. Not only do I threaten his
professional integrity but also their paranoid fear of legalized
marijuana
threatens his and his wife’s financial integrity. His hotheaded reaction
to
these perceived threats and my subsequent arrest would, if my lawsuit is
successful against him, seriously deplete whatever nest egg he has set
aside
for a rainy day.

No matter what happens, the Chabots and their Drug Free Community
Coalition
better get used to seeing us if they are going to operate in the Inland
Empire and continue their attacks on California’s medical marijuana
laws.
The article his wife authored claims medical marijuana is a decoy for
drug
legalization. We are not going to let them to get away with this tactic
of
not having to discuss the merits of medical marijuana by changing the
subject to drug legalization. We are not going to let this group of
interlopers try to take us back to the time when any medical use of
marijuana was illegal.

Riverside County has made great strides especially in the light of where
this county was five years ago. San Bernardino County is somewhat where
Riverside County was five years ago but there are two cities, Claremont
and
Diamond Bar in SB County that allow dispensaries. We have come to far
and
achieved too much to let anyone stop us now. We will do what we can to
see
to it that patients in the Inland Empire continue to have access to
sources
of medicinal marijuana and that laws of the state of California are
respected by all.

Lanny

Respect · 10-04-2007, 01:59 AM

Just try to get one of the other people escorted out along with you to testify that you didn't shove Mr. Chabbot. If you can get that, or possible security camera footage I would hope you would be clean.