LOCAL POT ADVOCATE'S HOME RAIDED

SAN DIEGO -- Federal agents have raided a home where medical marijuana has been available by state law since 1996, 10News reported.

Federal agents stormed the North Park home of advocate Steve McWilliams Tuesday.
What led up to the raid goes back to last week, when members of medical
marijuana advocacy group Shelter From The Storm distributed marijuana in
front of San Diego City Hall. McWilliams serves as head of Shelter From The
Storm.

The move was similar to one that took place in San Jose. In both cases,
marijuana was only distributed to patients with a doctor's approval.

The headline grabbing stunt apparently grabbed the attention of the wrong
people -- the feds. Although Proposition 215 allows medical marijuana use
in California, it remains against federal law.

McWilliams has a state permit to grow and distribute medical marijuana, but
the federal government has chosen to overstep state law, 10News reported.

Federal agents collected evidence and confiscated all the cannabis plants
they could find at McWilliams' home, 10News reported.

"Apparently, all of our medicine is being destroyed," McWilliams said.

"We are just enforcing the law," an unnamed federal agent told 10News.

However, McWilliams said that there were fewer plants to confiscate, since
the raid has been anticipated for several days.

An agent from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration approached
McWilliams on the street Thursday and hand-delivered a letter warning him
to stop growing marijuana or face arrest, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The letter, signed by U.S. Attorney Carol C. Lam, advised McWilliams that
he is not protected by a state law that allows chronically ill patients to
use and grow the drug, the newspaper reported.

Over the weekend, Shelter From The Storm members purposely cut down some of
its plants, so its patients could stock up.

Some patients, like Summer Bello, said the drug is what keeps them alive.

"I'm a manic depressive. I tried to kill myself. Then I discovered medical
marijuana ... it prevents me from trying to kill myself, basically," Bello
said.

An attorney representing Shelter From The Storm said he feels the group's
constitutional rights were violated, and he will file a motion to have
their property -- or marijuana plants returned.

Meanwhile, federal agents are reviewing the evidence and will forward the
case to the U.S. Attorney, who will decide whether or not to prosecute.

Posted: 4:14 p.m. PDT September 24, 2002
Updated: 4:29 p.m. PDT September 24, 2002