Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
It looks like past Woodland City Council candidate, Bobby Harris' reputation moved back to Woodland before he did.
Instead of a welcome home party with cake and someone yelling "Surprise!" this party included nine pounds of unprocessed marijuana, one strange story and two men, neither of them Harris, in jail.
Surprise!
Harris, the one-time candidate for city council, had his run cut short on Feb. 27, 1990 when the Woodland Police department, acting on an anonymous tip, raided his house and found 20 marijuana plants growing in the basement.
Since then, as a self-proclaimed "maverick" fighting on behalf of Proposition 215, California's medical marijuana voter initiative, Harris has been living in Arcata, in Humboldt County, helping the county set up a local system implement the pot law.
After 11 years, with nine cats in residence, very few resources and a head full of righteousness, Harris decided to come back to Woodland, more than anything, as a matter of duty, he said.
He said it's time for Yolo County law enforcement to learn about the state's Prop 215 laws, and most importantly, to stop demonizing medical marijuana patients.
With no car, no place to live in Woodland, nor any money, Harris said friends offered to help him with the move.
He added, "To move nine cats to Woodland is a formidable task."
Bryan Perez, 23, of Woodland, and Christian Johnson, 26, of Woodland, offered their help to bring Harris' belongings from Arcata to Woodland - belongings that included bags upon bags of marijuana.
Before the two left, Harris said he had warned them of the possible consequences of driving with a large quantity of pot, but Harris said he adequately prepared them with written permission from his physician that stated his caretaker, Perez, was transporting marijuana for the needs of a patient.
"(Perez) is my caregiver for my purposes of moving down there," Harris said, adding that he was well aware of the ramifications of sending friends from Arcata to Woodland with a Jeep Grand Cherokee full of pot.
"I knew what was going to happen," Harris said. "I knew you had lower limits down there."
By "lower limits," Harris means that because of Senate Bill 420, sponsored by Sen. John Vasconcellos (D-San Jose), statewide guidelines for how much processed marijuana and how many plants a patient should be allowed have been set. Under the guidelines, patients are allowed up to 6 mature or 12 immature plants and up to one-half pound of dried, processed marijuana, much less than the 9 pounds Harris' accomplices were found with.
As an exception to the guidelines, however, SB 420 allows patients to be exempted from them if they get a physician's statement that they needed more than the half pound.
"My physician expresses himself point-blank," Harris said, adding that written consent from a doctor is all the law required for Perez to transport his pot from point "a" to point "b."
"The document says I can have 2 pounds and 25 plants," Harris said. "I made those preparations and I had them authorized - I'm authorized to have four times the state limit."
At about 2 a.m. on Wednesday, Officer James Spurgeon of the Woodland Police Department stopped an older model Jeep for speeding near County Road 98 and West Main St. Upon approaching the vehicle, Spurgeon noticed a strong smell of marijuana.
A rolled joint was also found in the vehicle, to which Johnson admitted to having recently smoked.
And what the Woodland Police Department call nine pounds of unprocessed marijuana they found in the Jeep, Harris calls "essentially a pound of useable cannabis." The rest, he said, is trash.
Harris maintains that his "pound" of marijuana was well within his legal rights of possession as a patient.
Despite state law that indicates medical marijuana patients and their caretakers are allowed to travel with and use the drug, Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig has another opinion.
Reisig has made it quite clear that he favors federal law over state law when it comes to medical marijuana.
At a recent Yolo County Board of Supervisors meeting regarding medical marijuana ID cards, Reisig said that not prosecuting people in possession of marijuana, patients or not, is a "violation of federal law, period."
The U.S. Supreme Court, Reisig argued, makes it clear that federal law through supremacy makes it binding in California.
"If (Reisig is) going by federal law, he's violating his oaths of office," Harris said. "There's a little understanding on the part of law enforcement."
Staff from the Yolo County District Attorney's office did not return phone calls by press time to comment on Harris' statements.
Perez and Johnson have court cases pending and Harris, while still on his way to Woodland, says he's not sure - and perhaps even a little worried - about what will happen when he gets here. Harris' personal and political issues, it seems, have arrived even before the man could set foot within county lines.
He insisted, however, that he's not coming back to start trouble, only to make sure that justice prevails.
"I cut a pretty wild profile," Harris said. "But I'm a thoughtful person."
News Hawk- User 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: DailyDemocrat.Com
Author: JOSH FERNANDEZ
Contact: Daily Democrat Online - Home
Copyright: DailyDemocrat.Com
Website: Daily Democrat Online - Surprise: Harris says pot was his, and it was legal to transport
Instead of a welcome home party with cake and someone yelling "Surprise!" this party included nine pounds of unprocessed marijuana, one strange story and two men, neither of them Harris, in jail.
Surprise!
Harris, the one-time candidate for city council, had his run cut short on Feb. 27, 1990 when the Woodland Police department, acting on an anonymous tip, raided his house and found 20 marijuana plants growing in the basement.
Since then, as a self-proclaimed "maverick" fighting on behalf of Proposition 215, California's medical marijuana voter initiative, Harris has been living in Arcata, in Humboldt County, helping the county set up a local system implement the pot law.
After 11 years, with nine cats in residence, very few resources and a head full of righteousness, Harris decided to come back to Woodland, more than anything, as a matter of duty, he said.
He said it's time for Yolo County law enforcement to learn about the state's Prop 215 laws, and most importantly, to stop demonizing medical marijuana patients.
With no car, no place to live in Woodland, nor any money, Harris said friends offered to help him with the move.
He added, "To move nine cats to Woodland is a formidable task."
Bryan Perez, 23, of Woodland, and Christian Johnson, 26, of Woodland, offered their help to bring Harris' belongings from Arcata to Woodland - belongings that included bags upon bags of marijuana.
Before the two left, Harris said he had warned them of the possible consequences of driving with a large quantity of pot, but Harris said he adequately prepared them with written permission from his physician that stated his caretaker, Perez, was transporting marijuana for the needs of a patient.
"(Perez) is my caregiver for my purposes of moving down there," Harris said, adding that he was well aware of the ramifications of sending friends from Arcata to Woodland with a Jeep Grand Cherokee full of pot.
"I knew what was going to happen," Harris said. "I knew you had lower limits down there."
By "lower limits," Harris means that because of Senate Bill 420, sponsored by Sen. John Vasconcellos (D-San Jose), statewide guidelines for how much processed marijuana and how many plants a patient should be allowed have been set. Under the guidelines, patients are allowed up to 6 mature or 12 immature plants and up to one-half pound of dried, processed marijuana, much less than the 9 pounds Harris' accomplices were found with.
As an exception to the guidelines, however, SB 420 allows patients to be exempted from them if they get a physician's statement that they needed more than the half pound.
"My physician expresses himself point-blank," Harris said, adding that written consent from a doctor is all the law required for Perez to transport his pot from point "a" to point "b."
"The document says I can have 2 pounds and 25 plants," Harris said. "I made those preparations and I had them authorized - I'm authorized to have four times the state limit."
At about 2 a.m. on Wednesday, Officer James Spurgeon of the Woodland Police Department stopped an older model Jeep for speeding near County Road 98 and West Main St. Upon approaching the vehicle, Spurgeon noticed a strong smell of marijuana.
A rolled joint was also found in the vehicle, to which Johnson admitted to having recently smoked.
And what the Woodland Police Department call nine pounds of unprocessed marijuana they found in the Jeep, Harris calls "essentially a pound of useable cannabis." The rest, he said, is trash.
Harris maintains that his "pound" of marijuana was well within his legal rights of possession as a patient.
Despite state law that indicates medical marijuana patients and their caretakers are allowed to travel with and use the drug, Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig has another opinion.
Reisig has made it quite clear that he favors federal law over state law when it comes to medical marijuana.
At a recent Yolo County Board of Supervisors meeting regarding medical marijuana ID cards, Reisig said that not prosecuting people in possession of marijuana, patients or not, is a "violation of federal law, period."
The U.S. Supreme Court, Reisig argued, makes it clear that federal law through supremacy makes it binding in California.
"If (Reisig is) going by federal law, he's violating his oaths of office," Harris said. "There's a little understanding on the part of law enforcement."
Staff from the Yolo County District Attorney's office did not return phone calls by press time to comment on Harris' statements.
Perez and Johnson have court cases pending and Harris, while still on his way to Woodland, says he's not sure - and perhaps even a little worried - about what will happen when he gets here. Harris' personal and political issues, it seems, have arrived even before the man could set foot within county lines.
He insisted, however, that he's not coming back to start trouble, only to make sure that justice prevails.
"I cut a pretty wild profile," Harris said. "But I'm a thoughtful person."
News Hawk- User 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: DailyDemocrat.Com
Author: JOSH FERNANDEZ
Contact: Daily Democrat Online - Home
Copyright: DailyDemocrat.Com
Website: Daily Democrat Online - Surprise: Harris says pot was his, and it was legal to transport
