"Mr. Keyes has a doctor's recommendation for medical marijuana that predates the citation. So in the interest of justice the people move to dismiss this case," prosecutor Keith McIntosh uttered quickly.

"Case dismissed,” replied Judge Bob McNatt.  “The law is clear in this area.  Mr. Keyes is entitled to the return of his property.  I will be signing the return property order."

13 months after her arrest in Operation GreenRx, Donna Lambert will face additional charges to her 7 felony count for medical marijuana

SAN DIEGO - On Friday, April 2nd at 1:30pm, Donna Lambert has been ordered to be arraigned on additional charges stemming from her arrest in the Operation GreenRx Sting in San Diego County last February 2009.  San Diego County is well known for its fierce attempt to overturn California's state medical marijuana laws. Advocates have long criticized the San Diego District Attorney's office for targeting and prosecuting medical marijuana defendants who collectively associate under the Medical Marijuana Program Act.    

Medical marijuana provider Virgil Grant III came to the attention of law enforcement in December 2007, when marijuana from one of his Los Angeles dispensaries was found in the possession of a young driver responsible for a fatal car accident.  Although Virgil had nothing to do with the accident beyond this tenuous association, the investigation triggered events that put him squarely in the cross-hairs of federal prosecutors.  Along with his wife Pshyra, Virgil was arrested in May 2008 on federal charges of running a drug-involved facility, money laundering and drug conspiracy.  These charges put the Grants in a difficult spot – although there was some hope that there would be a change of law once a new U.S. President took office, defendants in federal court have been unable to fight their charges by showing that they complied with state medical marijuana laws.  However, the Grants’ case never went to trial – instead, federal prosecutors offered Virgil a deal in which the charges against Pshyra would be dropped if he pled guilty to conspiracy to possess and distribute marijuana.  As a loving husband and father, Virgil was unable to pass up such a deal.  He took the guilty plea, and in March 2010, Virgil was sentenced to six years in federal prison.

VIRGIL EDWARD GRANT  # 47375-112

FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION

PO BOX 3007

SAN PEDRO, CA  90731

I write this from a prison bed (rack) in Mississippi. I am a prisoner of war. I am a retired cardiac surgeon who has never been arrested in all my 58 years on earth. I am a prisoner of a failed yet highly functional drug war on our citizens. The reasons for this war are not clear, nor are the reasons based on scientific fact. As is the case with most wars, the true motives are hidden agendas and ulterior motives.

Previous California Governor (and now California State Attorney General) Jerry Brown was once quoted by Joe Garofoli of the San Francisco Chronicle: “Here’s the real scam – the drug war is one of the games to get more convictions and prisoners.” At last, someone of authority is stating what most of us already know. The motivation for most human endeavors is money. Prisons and the “justice” system are merely businesses. For everyone involved, more prisoners is more business is more money, from the bondsmen to the drug-testing facilities. The prison industry is the single largest generator of revenue for some states, out-earning all other enterprises.

In an unsurprising 3-2 vote, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors today  passed the highly controversial amendments to Mendocino County Code 9.31, extending the county's regulatory claims to include growing collectives.  The measure includes a possible exception to the 25 plants per parcel Nuisance Ordinance through which a collective may be able to get a permit to grow up to 99 mature flowering females, if the collective is able to jump through the highly complex series of 23 bureaucratic hoops in order to get their permit.

Supervisors Colfax and Pinches were the dissenting votes.

MMMAB has consistently opposed this measure, the validity of which now passes to the courts for determination.  A challenge to the existing MCC 9.31 was filed by Attorney ED Lerman on 9/11/2009 and will be heard by Judge Behnke in Superior Court on May 14.

In the meanwhile, keep your eye on Qualified Patients v. City of Anaheim, a case which is likely to impact the Mendo courts ruling on 9.31.  A decision in that case is expected around 4/20.


Mendocino Medical Marijuana Advisory Board
PO Box 2555
Mendocino, CA 95460

707-964-9377
http://www.mmmab.net

Former deep-sea diver Matthew Zugsberger was seriously injured while working on a pipeline for an oil company.  That accident left him with damaged vertebrae, a pronounced limp, nausea and chronic pain, which he treated with physician-approved marijuana in compliance with California’s medical use laws.  In December 2008, security personnel at Sacramento International Airport discovered some three pounds of marijuana in Zugsberger’s possession while he was attempting to board a flight to Louisiana.  Zugsberger was hit with criminal charges as a result, but just weeks before his trial began, the California Supreme Court threw out legislated quantity limits for medical marijuana patients in the state.  This meant that Zugsberger’s defense would rely entirely on demonstrating what quantities were related to his personal medical needs.  When he went to trial in March 2010, Zugsberger submitted a letter from his recommending physician saying that three pounds was an appropriate amount for his possession.  Zugsberger also told jurors how he intended to use the marijuana that was stashed in his luggage at the Sacramento airport – he was going to fly it to a master chef in New Orleans who had agreed to put it into medical marijuana edibles that Zugsberger would then transport back to California for his own use.  The jury, however, simply didn’t buy the story and concluded that Zugsberger had more marijuana than necessary for the two-week trip.  After a near-deadlock and substantial confusion over their deliberation instructions, jurors eventually acquitted Zugsberger of possession with the attempt to sell, but convicted him on a charge of simple possession and on the illegal transport of marijuana.  He received a sentence of 120 days in jail.

On March 9, 2010 at 9am in Department 55 at the San Diego Superior Courthouse, day 2 of my trial will begin. District attorney Bonnie Dumanis’ office has filed a mountain of motions in limine with the court, all of which will be heard on the 9th in front of Judge So. Motions in limine are requests made by both sides to the Judge before the start of a trial that certain evidence may, or may not, be introduced to the jury.

The heap of in limine motions includes three that I believe are most troubling. The first is a request by the DA that the Judge not to allow me to use the medical marijuana defense, even though an official subpoena from the doctor who recommended the use of medical cannabis to me, was received and accepted into the record by the court at my preliminary hearing months ago. These records clearly prove to the court that I am a qualified patient, which even prompted the Judge at my prelim to say “there is evidence here that Mr. Davidovich is a qualified patient”, yet nothing fazes the prosecutor’s fierce fight.

SACRAMENTO, CA -- Six hours of deliberation yesterday wasn’t enough time for the jury to reach a verdict in the trial of Matthew Zugsberger, a medical marijuana patient being prosecuted for having poundage at the Sacramento International Airport.  The outcome will now remain in suspense for several days, at least until jurors reconvene in Sacramento Superior Court on Monday morning to continue deliberating.  

The reason for the hold up is anybody’s guess, but the formal requests and questions that have come from the deliberation room indicate some expected difficulties.  This trial marks one of the first “test cases” in the six weeks since the California Supreme Court threw out legislated quantity limits for medical marijuana.  Perhaps a result, the jurors appear to be having trouble finding a steady frame of reference on the appropriate size of personal stashes.  During the trial, that frame seemed to change scope depending on which side was talking at the time, and early deliberations were blurry enough to prompt the jury to request the actual language of California’s medical marijuana laws.

SACRAMENTO, CA -- Medical marijuana patient Matthew Zugsberger has an unusual reason for possessing three pounds of pot at the Sacramento International Airport on December 4th, 2008.  

He says he was attempting to take his personal stash to Louisiana, where he planned to have his ex-wife use her culinary training to cook up a variety of pot-infused foods for him to take back home and eat.   

No doubt this plan is curious and oddly labor-intensive.  But is it criminal?

That’s what Deputy District Attorney Satnam Rattu claimed during closing arguments in Zugsberger’s trial yesterday afternoon.  Although he lacked any conclusive proof of sales, Rattu appealed to jurors to use their common sense to find Zugsberger guilty of possession with the intent to sell and the illegal transportation of marijuana.  

SACRAMENTO, CA -- David Davidson was given a 41-month sentence when he appeared in federal court this morning, but the former medical marijuana grower won’t have to give up the next few years of his life.  Having served nearly all of his sentence while waiting for his case to resolve, the 59 year old is now a step closer to home and a new beginning.  Davidson will soon be transferred from Sacramento County Jail to a halfway house in Iowa, where he will be close to his girlfriend.

The length of Davidson’s sentence was no surprise – both sides agreed on exactly 41months in the recommendation submitted to Judge Morrison C. England Jr. late last year.   What remained to be determined today was whether Davidson’s sentence would include an order to pay criminal fines.