Two drug war stories

Hi all: Here are a couple of true stories which David (Borden) encouraged me to share, related to drugs and/or the drug war. Enjoy! Story #1: I was picked on a Federal jury for a cocaine trafficking case. From the outset, in the back of my mind was the thought that although I don't really agree with the drug laws, I had no overt or explicit intentions to acquit based on my own personal views. I was willing to examine the evidence and reach a fair and impartial verdict. However, as the story unfolded it became increasingly apparent to me that the accused was actually innocent, or at the very least, had not been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. After many hours of soul-searching and more than a day of deliberation, I and the 11 other jurors in the case voted to acquit. See a news article here: http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20061119/news_1m19acquit.html For me, this case was very emotional and powerful. There are very few times in life when you just KNOW, completely and absolutely, that you are in the right place, at the right time, and doing the right thing. This was one of those times. I felt a spiritual connection in that courtroom that day ("spiritual" may sound hokey to some people but I don't know how else to describe it); it's as if we the jurors were one with the defendant. She had trusted in us to see through the government's bloodlust, and we did. We set an innocent woman free, and it was a very powerful moment I will not soon forget. Underlying all of this was my fascination and disgust with our "justice" system. I found myself asking why this case had been brought to trial on such questionable evidence in the first place. I even had the temerity to ask the prosecutor why she had brought the case, and her response (as best I can remember) was, "We have a different opinion about this case -- we see things differently". Obviously, they do. But it's frightening to think of the consequences of the government's bloodlust for convictions, and all in the name of a failed drug war. Story #2: I am a divorced dad (re-married now almost 4 years) but my ex-wife is particularly contentious and litigious and I have been in court (or filing court paperwork of some kind or another) over ten times in the five years since I've been separated/divorced. This most recent court action was a full-blown "730 custody eval" which is basically the option of last resort in California when there is a custody dispute. (730 refers to family code section 730 which outlines the procedures and circumstances for custody evaluations). As part of the evaluation, my ex-wife and I both had to meet with a special court-ordered psychologist and submit to a battery of tests including psychological tests, questionaires, personal interviews, and so forth. As it turns out, I am a medical marijuana user under the laws of the state of California -- a fact which I duly disclosed to the therapist as part of my interview process. This information made its way into the report which made its way into the judge's hands and also the hands of my ex-wife. During the hearing she attempted to "make hay" of the fact that I use marijuana on a regular basis, and I was very gratified by the judge's response: "So what?" He went on to explain that medical marijuana is legal under Calfiornia law, and that divorce court is controlled by California law, so there is absolutely nothing he could do or say to me (even if he wanted) regarding that issue. It was very gratifying (and a huge relief!) to have the protection of the law in that instance. I am tremendously grateful to those brave souls who fought to make marijuana legal with a doctor's recommendation in California. I wish it were legal everywhere, without a doctor's recommendation. Perhaps some day it will be.