T
The420Guy
Guest
We left the courthouse on Friday afternoon after renowned Sickle Cell
disease patient/activist Sister Somaya's court-appointed attorney had just
begun his closing argument. The court reporter's hands were tired, and the
judge had warned that he had to end the day at 4:30 no matter what. Somaya,
had had her day in court. Southern California activists had been coming to
the trial from the beginning and lending their support to Somaya and her
attorney, Robert Welbourn. They were giving him quick lessons on the issues
of hemp and cannabis.
On Monday, March 18, 2002, Sister Somaya Kambui was found "not guilty" of
all charges in the Los Angeles County Court. This is a big win for medical
marijuana proponents in many ways. She was facing 5 felony counts: 1)
Cultivation of marijuana, 2) Possession of marijuana for sale, 3)
Manufacturing a controlled substance (hash oil, based on trace amounts of
THC found in her hand-pressed hempseed oil), 4) Maintaining a place for
distribution of a controlled substance, and 5) Sale or transportation of
marijuana. If she had been found not guilty of these charges, the jury could
still have convicted her of the lesser misdemeanor offenses of possession of
concentrated cannabis or possession of over an ounce of marijuana.
I observed the trial from Wednesday through Friday of last week, and I'd
like to share some of my impressions with you. We weren't sure how it went
when court was adjourned for the weekend. Things were said through the
course of the trial by witnesses, both hostile and friendly, that sounded
like Sister Somaya had "supplied" others with marijuana, even sent it
through the mail to Sickle Cell patients aligned with the Crescent Alliance
for Self Help for Sickle Cell patients in other states. Police claimed to
have seized 200 lbs of "wet" marijuana at her home in South Central LA. Sure
they included stems, branches, roots, and dirt, but it still could have
yielded a lot of marijuana for one person. Somaya stood it alone; she
insisted on taking full responsibility for the cannabis, though she said she
had a lot of help with the garden. She did not claim to be anyone's
caregiver, though some testimony referred to her as such. She claimed to be
the founder of this alliance of patients suffering from an extremely painful
condition, Sickle Cell Disease. Only about half the diagnosed patients she
was said to have helped had doctor's recommendations for cannabis. She kept
the Crescent Alliance for Self Help cannabis center at her home, where she
doled out hempseed oil and information, while growing her medical marijuana
- -- Nigretian Kif, she called it -- to be eaten or made into teas, tonics or
tinctures. Some would be smoked in a crisis situation, but generally it was
meant to be ingested.
We got to the trial on Wednesday afternoon. We missed most of the
prosecution's case. We didn't hear the police describe how they found lots
of marijuana at Somaya's house, so I can't report on what they said. Writer,
researcher and activist Judy Osburn had been advising Welbourn on some of
the issues when she could get a note passed by the bailiff. She was
concerned that he was a competent attorney, but not very experienced when it
came to medical marijuana cases. We arrived in time to hear a "co-founder"
of the alliance, subpoenaed by the prosecution, testify against Somaya. That
was sad. The witness, Anthony Wafer, obviously had a lot of love and respect
for Somaya, but he reluctantly testified that he had helped her provide
marijuana to Sickle Cell sufferers at times over the last 20 years. That
testimony was not helpful, but it did start the information flowing about
this debilitating disease and the constituency who benefited from Somaya's
help. Most were poor and had no money for marijuana. The Alliance accepted
donations from whoever would help.
The defense put forth two credible physicians, Dr. Lichtenstein from the
Veterans Administration, and Dr. Eidelmann, a specialist in alternative
medicine. They both were confident in their recommendations of marijuana for
Somaya's Sickle Cell condition. Somaya got much more relief from marijuana
than from morphine and Demerol, the two drugs most prescribed for her
symptoms. The graphic descriptions of the disease was heart-wrenching. She
was a bona fide patient. No question about that.
Scott Imler testified as an expert, as he runs the Los Angeles Cannabis
Resource Center. He had written a declaration that he was called on to
explain. He knew Somaya, he knew that it helped Sickle Cell patients, and he
knew that she had grown marijuana. Meanwhile, Elvy Musikka waited in the
hall, ready to testify on the Federal IND program and the amount of
marijuana that the government gives to her and only six other patients in
this country. She was never called.
Then court-qualified cannabis expert Chris Conrad showed up and was able to
help the attorney draft a line of questioning to better establish the facts
of the case: Somaya used very large amounts of cannabis in a variety of
unorthodox ways, but it was beneficial for her and really was intended for
personal use. On Thursday, before he could testify, Somaya attempted to fire
her attorney and represent herself. She asked the judge to recuse himself,
too. These motions were denied. Judge Michael Johnson tried to quiet her,
telling her that she would have her opportunity to speak later and began to
warn her that she would be removed if she didn't be quiet. Somaya took her
scarf and gagged herself, so she would be able to be present at her own
trial. She was very frustrated on how it had been going up to this point.
Then Chris Conrad took the stand and presented an authoritative analysis of
Somaya's garden, her use, and facts in evidence. He was able to explain the
difference between marijuana and hempseed oil, analyzed that she would get
between 11 to 25 lbs of usable marijuana (buds alone or bud plus leaf) from
her garden, that there was a long history and tradition of cannabis use in
many of the same ways she used it. He said that leaf is much less potent
than bud and that ingested cannabis requires four times as much as smoked.
He noted that indicia supported personal use, not sales, and helped
establish reasonable doubt for the case against her. The prosecutor
challenged him, but afterwards in the hallway he complimented Chris, telling
him that he was a good expert, a straight shooter, and apologizing for the
negative tone of his interrogation.
I must note at this point that the prosecutor, Sean Carney, did not seem to
have his heart in this trial. He was very competent, and followed the lines
of questioning that he had to, but he was not overly aggressive. He was very
friendly to the audience of medical marijuana supporters, greeting them as
he arrived and left. He seemed to sense the community support and
sympathetic circumstances of the case. In addition, the judge seemed very
fair-minded and allowed the jury to hear as much of the truth as possible.
Another patient said that Somaya had been a caregiver to him in the past and
he hadn't seen her in a year, so he was able to represent the constituency
that she has helped. Many of these patients suffer greatly, and Somaya
provided them with information related to cannabis use, preparations, and
cannabis products -- mostly hempseed oil.
Richard Davis of the Hemp Museum took the stand and testified that he and
Somaya were caregivers for each other. He had been there, seen how she
suffered and helped her when he could. He had hoped to show that the police
were harassing her. In June prior to the October raid and arrest, police had
raided Somaya's garden and uprooted all her plants. She wasn't charged that
time. But, he witnessed the police last June saying that (due to the recent
Supreme Court ruling on the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative) California
law does not apply, as the federal government does not allow it. He was not
asked about that, however. When he got off the stand, Welbourn, at Somaya's
request, asked the judge to enter into evidence the video, "The Emperor of
Hemp", seeking to allow the jury to view it for hemp info. The judge
respectfully took the video home, but Friday morning he stated that it was
irrelevant to the case at hand. No surprise there.
On Friday, Somaya took the stand and explained what she was doing. She said
that she wasn't growing marijuana, that she was growing Nigretian Kif. She
said that prior to being called "Africa", her people referred to her land as
Nigretia. She viewed it as a sacred and healing herb. She spoke of her
Sickle Cell disease and her center, how she instructed many people on how to
use it, through ingesting it, putting it on topically, bathing in it, using
leaf, bud, seed oil and so on. "They're all mine," she said, taking
responsibility for her garden, trying to leave others out of the path of the
criminal justice system. She denied providing it, as she didn't have enough
for herself and the police keep coming and taking it away. The people she
was helping were poor, and they were doing their best to help themselves and
not rely on the government for their health needs. The former Black Panther
spoke of the war on her people that has lasted 500 years already, and the
Drug War that is also a war on us. She was wonderful on the stand, and she
presented herself as a dignified woman who was doing what she could to help
herself and others deal with a terrible disease.
On Monday, the attorneys finished their arguments and the jury received
their final instructions. If the facts supported it, the jury was instructed
to convict her. If they found that she was a bona fide patient, they would
drop counts 1,3, 4 and 5 but still find her guilty of count 2. They could
also find her guilty of the lesser counts mentioned earlier.
It took this diverse jury of her peers just three hours to deliberate. When
they returned with their verdict, the judge commended the audience for their
comportment during the trial, and asked them to refrain from reacting to
what they were about to hear. Then the charges were listed. Fifteen times,
the forewoman repeated the words, "Not guilty." Sister Somaya was acquitted
on all counts. The audience restrained themselves from cheering until they
got outside. Chris and I heard the news from a phone call. We were ecstatic
that the jury understood the intent of the Compassionate Use Act (Prop.
215), that was to allow patients to use marijuana as medicine. Compassion
and justice had ruled the day.
Welbourn told Chris and me that the jury believed that they heard only one
real expert testify -- Chris Conrad. The police had had no credibility. The
jurors thought Sister Somaya was a fantastic woman. They admired her for
standing up for California's medical marijuana law, and they agreed with
what she was doing for the patients at her center. They were not concerned
with the amount as much as with her intentions. Some questioned why the
government was wasting taxpayers' dollars on these kinds of prosecutions.
Welbourn estimated that the court costs alone were about $125,000, not
including the surveillance, raid and Somayah's 60-day incarceration after
her arrest.
The DA stated in an LA Times article that Somaya was a sympathetic defendant
and noted that this seemed to be a case of jury nullification. Somaya
intends to get an injunction against the police to leave her alone. She
plans on suing to get her property back and to hold the government
accountable for the harassment she has endured over the last few years.
This trial was a significant victory for medical marijuana. It showed that
the people understand and believe in the intent of California's medical
marijuana statute -- to leave patients alone and allow them to do what they
need to help themselves and others live better lives. It is major in that it
showed that the people are less concerned about the letter of the law and
more concerned that justice and compassion prevail. It sends a big message
to Los Angeles county and the rest of California that it's time to stop the
prosecutions of patients in the name of the people, because "the people"
support the rights of patients to cultivate, process, use, and acquire
marijuana for their medical use.
It turned out that it wasn't the "People vs. Sister Somaya Kambui" after
all, but the people standing with her in the interests of justice,
compassion, and freedom.
- -- Mikki Norris
A Report by Mikki Norris
disease patient/activist Sister Somaya's court-appointed attorney had just
begun his closing argument. The court reporter's hands were tired, and the
judge had warned that he had to end the day at 4:30 no matter what. Somaya,
had had her day in court. Southern California activists had been coming to
the trial from the beginning and lending their support to Somaya and her
attorney, Robert Welbourn. They were giving him quick lessons on the issues
of hemp and cannabis.
On Monday, March 18, 2002, Sister Somaya Kambui was found "not guilty" of
all charges in the Los Angeles County Court. This is a big win for medical
marijuana proponents in many ways. She was facing 5 felony counts: 1)
Cultivation of marijuana, 2) Possession of marijuana for sale, 3)
Manufacturing a controlled substance (hash oil, based on trace amounts of
THC found in her hand-pressed hempseed oil), 4) Maintaining a place for
distribution of a controlled substance, and 5) Sale or transportation of
marijuana. If she had been found not guilty of these charges, the jury could
still have convicted her of the lesser misdemeanor offenses of possession of
concentrated cannabis or possession of over an ounce of marijuana.
I observed the trial from Wednesday through Friday of last week, and I'd
like to share some of my impressions with you. We weren't sure how it went
when court was adjourned for the weekend. Things were said through the
course of the trial by witnesses, both hostile and friendly, that sounded
like Sister Somaya had "supplied" others with marijuana, even sent it
through the mail to Sickle Cell patients aligned with the Crescent Alliance
for Self Help for Sickle Cell patients in other states. Police claimed to
have seized 200 lbs of "wet" marijuana at her home in South Central LA. Sure
they included stems, branches, roots, and dirt, but it still could have
yielded a lot of marijuana for one person. Somaya stood it alone; she
insisted on taking full responsibility for the cannabis, though she said she
had a lot of help with the garden. She did not claim to be anyone's
caregiver, though some testimony referred to her as such. She claimed to be
the founder of this alliance of patients suffering from an extremely painful
condition, Sickle Cell Disease. Only about half the diagnosed patients she
was said to have helped had doctor's recommendations for cannabis. She kept
the Crescent Alliance for Self Help cannabis center at her home, where she
doled out hempseed oil and information, while growing her medical marijuana
- -- Nigretian Kif, she called it -- to be eaten or made into teas, tonics or
tinctures. Some would be smoked in a crisis situation, but generally it was
meant to be ingested.
We got to the trial on Wednesday afternoon. We missed most of the
prosecution's case. We didn't hear the police describe how they found lots
of marijuana at Somaya's house, so I can't report on what they said. Writer,
researcher and activist Judy Osburn had been advising Welbourn on some of
the issues when she could get a note passed by the bailiff. She was
concerned that he was a competent attorney, but not very experienced when it
came to medical marijuana cases. We arrived in time to hear a "co-founder"
of the alliance, subpoenaed by the prosecution, testify against Somaya. That
was sad. The witness, Anthony Wafer, obviously had a lot of love and respect
for Somaya, but he reluctantly testified that he had helped her provide
marijuana to Sickle Cell sufferers at times over the last 20 years. That
testimony was not helpful, but it did start the information flowing about
this debilitating disease and the constituency who benefited from Somaya's
help. Most were poor and had no money for marijuana. The Alliance accepted
donations from whoever would help.
The defense put forth two credible physicians, Dr. Lichtenstein from the
Veterans Administration, and Dr. Eidelmann, a specialist in alternative
medicine. They both were confident in their recommendations of marijuana for
Somaya's Sickle Cell condition. Somaya got much more relief from marijuana
than from morphine and Demerol, the two drugs most prescribed for her
symptoms. The graphic descriptions of the disease was heart-wrenching. She
was a bona fide patient. No question about that.
Scott Imler testified as an expert, as he runs the Los Angeles Cannabis
Resource Center. He had written a declaration that he was called on to
explain. He knew Somaya, he knew that it helped Sickle Cell patients, and he
knew that she had grown marijuana. Meanwhile, Elvy Musikka waited in the
hall, ready to testify on the Federal IND program and the amount of
marijuana that the government gives to her and only six other patients in
this country. She was never called.
Then court-qualified cannabis expert Chris Conrad showed up and was able to
help the attorney draft a line of questioning to better establish the facts
of the case: Somaya used very large amounts of cannabis in a variety of
unorthodox ways, but it was beneficial for her and really was intended for
personal use. On Thursday, before he could testify, Somaya attempted to fire
her attorney and represent herself. She asked the judge to recuse himself,
too. These motions were denied. Judge Michael Johnson tried to quiet her,
telling her that she would have her opportunity to speak later and began to
warn her that she would be removed if she didn't be quiet. Somaya took her
scarf and gagged herself, so she would be able to be present at her own
trial. She was very frustrated on how it had been going up to this point.
Then Chris Conrad took the stand and presented an authoritative analysis of
Somaya's garden, her use, and facts in evidence. He was able to explain the
difference between marijuana and hempseed oil, analyzed that she would get
between 11 to 25 lbs of usable marijuana (buds alone or bud plus leaf) from
her garden, that there was a long history and tradition of cannabis use in
many of the same ways she used it. He said that leaf is much less potent
than bud and that ingested cannabis requires four times as much as smoked.
He noted that indicia supported personal use, not sales, and helped
establish reasonable doubt for the case against her. The prosecutor
challenged him, but afterwards in the hallway he complimented Chris, telling
him that he was a good expert, a straight shooter, and apologizing for the
negative tone of his interrogation.
I must note at this point that the prosecutor, Sean Carney, did not seem to
have his heart in this trial. He was very competent, and followed the lines
of questioning that he had to, but he was not overly aggressive. He was very
friendly to the audience of medical marijuana supporters, greeting them as
he arrived and left. He seemed to sense the community support and
sympathetic circumstances of the case. In addition, the judge seemed very
fair-minded and allowed the jury to hear as much of the truth as possible.
Another patient said that Somaya had been a caregiver to him in the past and
he hadn't seen her in a year, so he was able to represent the constituency
that she has helped. Many of these patients suffer greatly, and Somaya
provided them with information related to cannabis use, preparations, and
cannabis products -- mostly hempseed oil.
Richard Davis of the Hemp Museum took the stand and testified that he and
Somaya were caregivers for each other. He had been there, seen how she
suffered and helped her when he could. He had hoped to show that the police
were harassing her. In June prior to the October raid and arrest, police had
raided Somaya's garden and uprooted all her plants. She wasn't charged that
time. But, he witnessed the police last June saying that (due to the recent
Supreme Court ruling on the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative) California
law does not apply, as the federal government does not allow it. He was not
asked about that, however. When he got off the stand, Welbourn, at Somaya's
request, asked the judge to enter into evidence the video, "The Emperor of
Hemp", seeking to allow the jury to view it for hemp info. The judge
respectfully took the video home, but Friday morning he stated that it was
irrelevant to the case at hand. No surprise there.
On Friday, Somaya took the stand and explained what she was doing. She said
that she wasn't growing marijuana, that she was growing Nigretian Kif. She
said that prior to being called "Africa", her people referred to her land as
Nigretia. She viewed it as a sacred and healing herb. She spoke of her
Sickle Cell disease and her center, how she instructed many people on how to
use it, through ingesting it, putting it on topically, bathing in it, using
leaf, bud, seed oil and so on. "They're all mine," she said, taking
responsibility for her garden, trying to leave others out of the path of the
criminal justice system. She denied providing it, as she didn't have enough
for herself and the police keep coming and taking it away. The people she
was helping were poor, and they were doing their best to help themselves and
not rely on the government for their health needs. The former Black Panther
spoke of the war on her people that has lasted 500 years already, and the
Drug War that is also a war on us. She was wonderful on the stand, and she
presented herself as a dignified woman who was doing what she could to help
herself and others deal with a terrible disease.
On Monday, the attorneys finished their arguments and the jury received
their final instructions. If the facts supported it, the jury was instructed
to convict her. If they found that she was a bona fide patient, they would
drop counts 1,3, 4 and 5 but still find her guilty of count 2. They could
also find her guilty of the lesser counts mentioned earlier.
It took this diverse jury of her peers just three hours to deliberate. When
they returned with their verdict, the judge commended the audience for their
comportment during the trial, and asked them to refrain from reacting to
what they were about to hear. Then the charges were listed. Fifteen times,
the forewoman repeated the words, "Not guilty." Sister Somaya was acquitted
on all counts. The audience restrained themselves from cheering until they
got outside. Chris and I heard the news from a phone call. We were ecstatic
that the jury understood the intent of the Compassionate Use Act (Prop.
215), that was to allow patients to use marijuana as medicine. Compassion
and justice had ruled the day.
Welbourn told Chris and me that the jury believed that they heard only one
real expert testify -- Chris Conrad. The police had had no credibility. The
jurors thought Sister Somaya was a fantastic woman. They admired her for
standing up for California's medical marijuana law, and they agreed with
what she was doing for the patients at her center. They were not concerned
with the amount as much as with her intentions. Some questioned why the
government was wasting taxpayers' dollars on these kinds of prosecutions.
Welbourn estimated that the court costs alone were about $125,000, not
including the surveillance, raid and Somayah's 60-day incarceration after
her arrest.
The DA stated in an LA Times article that Somaya was a sympathetic defendant
and noted that this seemed to be a case of jury nullification. Somaya
intends to get an injunction against the police to leave her alone. She
plans on suing to get her property back and to hold the government
accountable for the harassment she has endured over the last few years.
This trial was a significant victory for medical marijuana. It showed that
the people understand and believe in the intent of California's medical
marijuana statute -- to leave patients alone and allow them to do what they
need to help themselves and others live better lives. It is major in that it
showed that the people are less concerned about the letter of the law and
more concerned that justice and compassion prevail. It sends a big message
to Los Angeles county and the rest of California that it's time to stop the
prosecutions of patients in the name of the people, because "the people"
support the rights of patients to cultivate, process, use, and acquire
marijuana for their medical use.
It turned out that it wasn't the "People vs. Sister Somaya Kambui" after
all, but the people standing with her in the interests of justice,
compassion, and freedom.
- -- Mikki Norris
A Report by Mikki Norris
