SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Several dozen activists and community leaders gathered in protest at the Phillip Burton Federal Building yesterday to speak out on the surrender of a medical marijuana patient to federal custody.
These high-profile speakers powerfully voiced their support for Stephanie Landa, a physically disabled woman who yesterday began a 41-month prison sentence for cultivating medical cannabis.
In spite of a late-morning rainstorm, the rally participants crowded the dampened plaza as the grey skies slowly began to clear. "The raindrops this morning are nothing less than the tears of injustice," Supervisor Chris Daly proclaimed to the
Supervisor Chris Daly
attentive group, before going on to pledge his intentions with the vow, "I will be back anytime the federal government enacts its injustice!"
The injustices of the federal government were also the focus of Supervisor Tom Ammiano when he made his own animated speech before the crowd. In fact, Ammiano's words addressed a central issue in medical marijuana politics -- the conflict between state and federal laws. Although California permits the use of marijuana when recommended by a licensed physician, the federal government considers cannabis to be an unambiguously illegal substance. It's a sharp contradiction which has left scores of medical marijuana patients facing unexpected federal charges.
"Our constituency, the electorate, is with us...but the feds just don't get the message," Ammiano said with flair before going on to criticize agents of the federal government. "They go after the helpless. They go after someone they make vulnerable through their own arbitrary laws."
Supervisor Tom Ammiano
Other speakers went on to bemoan not only the cruelty but also the wastefulness of prosecuting and incarcerating defendants like Landa.
"I can't believe we are spending our resources locking up a 60 year old medical marijuana patient," San Francisco Police Commissioner David Campos declared with exasperation. "We had over 80 homicides last year. Why aren't we spending our resources fighting crime?"
It's a resonant point, especially in light of the fact that nearly a hundred medical marijuana patients in California are currently preparing to go to trial on federal charges. Many of these defendants are enduring long court battles that are extremely expensive and exhausting, and which would arguably be unmerited were it not for the current conflict between state and federal laws.
Landa's prosecution, similarly, has been a lengthy legal struggle full of frustration and delay. In fact, her scheduled surrender date came only after several years of postponement between sentencing and incarceration.
Back in 2003, Landa and her ex-husband Tom Kikuchi pled guilty to federal charges of "maintaining a place for the manufacture" of marijuana. Landa accepted the plea deal, she says, because her drug-related priors made her eligible for a sentence of life imprisonment if convicted on the charges. Following a series of occurrences that left her claiming ineffective counsel and filing an appeal, Landa was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison.
After the sentencing, however, Landa was able to make alternative arrangements for going into custody. Due to special circumstances regarding care for their minor son, she and her ex-husband were allowed to serve staggered sentences. By the terms of this agreement, Kikuchi would serve his prison term first, and upon his release Landa would go into federal custody to begin serving her sentence.
Due to a procedural failure, however, the sequence of events didn't play out as intended.
According to Judge William Alsup, who presided over the matter in federal district court, the conclusion of Kikuchi's prison term should have triggered the scheduling of Landa's turn-in date on the court calendar. However, Kikuchi's release from custody in August 2005 came and went without Ms. Landa being called to court.
It was only a month ago, as a result of a check-up performed by federal prosecutor George Bevan, that Landa was brought back into court to schedule a surrender date. She faced an irritated Judge Alsup, who had heavy words about the oversight that delayed Landa's incarceration. "I'm upset, and the next time someone asks for something like this, I will remember the frailties of the system," he said reproachfully.
Defense attorney Allison Margolin
This sentiment created what was perhaps an inhospitable environment for the reception of further legal motions submitted by the defense. True to his word, Judge Alsup has indeed been acting with supreme caution. In spite of the best efforts of Allison Margolin, Landa's attorney, the judge has refused to grant the bail motions that would have allowed Landa to remain free while her case was on appeal.
During yesterday's rally, Margolin spoke out about her client's claims of entrapment by local police. Landa has long maintained that SFPD Lieutenant Martin Halloran personally gave her the green light to grow medical marijuana for area dispensaries, only to conduct a raid on her garden a few months later and then hand the case to federal prosecutors. "The local governments are asking people to do this openly," Margolin said of medical marijuana cultivation, "and then turning around and prosecuting them."
Landa herself fleshed out a similar sense of betrayal. "I'm really sad, confused, amazed," she told her supporters. "I genuinely thought I was following California law."
A brave Stephanie Landa turns herself in to federal authorities
Landa's statements were followed by emotional embraces from friends and allies, who pinned flowers to her clothing in a farewell gesture of hope. Then, with a tearful smile and a bevy of well-wishers to escort her, she entered the building and took the elevator up to the Marshal's Office. The calm surrender at the end of her ascent marked the first steps towards serving her prison sentence.
The next part of Landa's journey will be spent in a county jail, where she will be held for up to six months until she is
Doorway of the federal court building
designated to a federal prison. Still, she remains optimistic about her prospects. "I'm hoping to be pardoned," Landa said, shrugging endearingly. "I'm just a regular person."
In the event that no pardon is granted, however, Landa appears able to face the hardship. She maintains her courage and upbeat spirit even while acknowledging the very real possibility of years of incarceration. "I am positive," she concluded. "I feel like I have enough support to do this, and hopefully a lot of people will change from meeting me."
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