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Newsbrief:
Oakland
Cannabis
Buyers'
Coop
Head
Gets
Three
Months
in
Jail
for
Trying
to
Inform
Jurors
2/28/03
Jeff Jones, head of the Oakland
Cannabis Buyers' Coop, was sentenced to three months in jail Thursday after
pleading guilty to a misdemeanor count of jury tampering. Jones was
arresting for distributing literature outside the federal courthouse in
Sacramento during jury selection in the federal prosecution of medical
marijuana provider Bryan Epis last September. Epis was convicted
of federal marijuana distribution charges and is currently serving a 10-year
prison sentence.
Jones was charged with attempting
to inform potential jurors about the background of the Epis case, particularly
the facts that Epis was a medical marijuana patient in compliance with
California's Compassionate Use Act and that he was attempting to grow medical
marijuana for a patients' group in Chico, CA.
The harsh jail sentence for
Jones is only the latest indication that the federal government is scared
that allowing federal juries in California to hear the complete story about
its prosecutions of medical marijuana providers would result in failures
to convict. Most recently, the federal judge in the Ed Rosenthal
case took great pains to excise any mention of medical marijuana, California
law, or Oakland ordinances allowing Rosenthal to grow medical marijuana
-- an action that caused Rosenthal jurors to react with anger and disgust
when informed of all the facts of that case.
Jones pled guilty to the
misdemeanor charge rather than face felony charges of jury tampering.
His sentence begins on March 3.
In a press release Thursday,
California NORML coordinator Dale Gieringer denounced Jones' sentence as
an inexcusable misuse of law enforcement resources. "It's time that
our federal government took action to reform the marijuana laws, rather
than waste yet more taxpayers' money to perpetuate its blatantly unjust,
bankrupt and unpopular policy," he said.
-- END --
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Issue #276, 2/28/03
Peruvian Government Attacks Cocalero Movement -- Leaders Arrested, Others in Hiding as Protests Spread | The Road to Vienna: International Narcotics Control Board Annual Report Attacks Reformers, Reformers Scratch Back | Ashcroft's Pipe Dream, Bongmaker's Nightmare: Feds Arrest 55 in Paraphernalia Crackdown | Parallel Power Flexes Muscle in Brazil: Rio's Drug Commands in Pre-Carnival Show of Force | In Thailand, Clamor for Investigation Grows as Killings of Drug Suspects Continue | Marijuana at the State House 2003:00:00 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly | Alert: HEA Reform Legislation Re-filed, Needs Your Support | Mérida Footage, Photos Now Online | Newsbrief: Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Coop Head Gets Three Months in Jail for Trying to Inform Jurors | Newsbrief: Belgium to Legalize Marijuana Possession, Use | Newsbrief: Switzerland Marijuana Legalization Moving, Opposition Mobilizes | Newsbrief: "Kiddie Meth" Legislation Spreads to Illinois, Missouri | Newsbrief: MPP Releases TV Ads on Harms of Marijuana Prohibition in Third Phase of Group's "War on Drug Czar" Campaign | Newsbrief: Utah Drugged Driving Bill is DOA in House | Newsbrief: This Week's Corrupt Cop Story | The Reformer's Calendar
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