Pubdate: Sun, 26 Feb 2006
Source: South Haven Tribune (MI)
Copyright: 2006 South Haven Tribune
Contact: FAX: 269-637-8415
Website: http://www.southhaventribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4100
Author: Pam Gehl, Special to the Tribune
Cited: Michigan NORML http://www.minorml.org
Cited: Educators for Sensible Drug Policies http://www.efsdp.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Greg+Francisco

EX-SCHOOL EMPLOYEE CLAIMS TO BE TARGET IN DRUG RAID

A former Bloomingdale elementary and middle school counselor claims
that he has been targeted for unfair prosecution on a drug charge
because he has been a vocal advocate of legalizing drugs.

"This is very much about my standing up against an unreasonable search
and standing up against harassment," said Greg Francisco.

Francisco, 48, of Michigan Highway 43, Paw Paw, will face a jury trial
within the next several months for misdemeanor charges of possession
of marijuana on May 5 in Bloomingdale.

Van Buren District Court Judge Arthur Clarke III ordered that a trial
date be scheduled within 60 to 75 days on the drug matter following a
motion hearing this past Wednesday.

At the hearing, Francisco's attorney Matthew Abel of Detroit argued
unsuccessfully that the charges should be dismissed because there was
no probable cause for the search and because the federal scheme for
categorizing marijuana as illegal was unconstitutional. He also argued
that causing Francisco to have a criminal record on this matter was
cruel and unusual punishment.

Clarke did grant Abel's motion to allow a private expert to analyze
the drug evidence and he also agreed that the prosecutor turn over
copies of all pertinent lab and law enforcement information in the
case. That information is expected to include videotape of the search
at the school parking lot.

Francisco said the case was brought because he is 'high profile' in
the effort to legalize drugs.

"I write lots and lots of letters to the editor and I send them all
over the United States and Canada and Europe on the ethicacy of the
war on drugs. It is not that I advocate using drugs, it is just that
what we are doing is just making the problem worse. I use the analogy
that we abandoned Prohibition in this country not because we realized
that alcohol was not dangerous but because our grandparents came to
learn that by criminalizing it we were just driving it underground,"
he said.

Van Buren County South Haven assistant prosecutor Cory Johnson said
Francisco has not been targeted and that prosecution in the case is a
routine matter. "Until the case was brought to my attention I had
never heard of Mr. Francisco," Johnson said.

Francisco said he was active in organizations that advocated
legalizing drugs including being a former board member and treasurer
of Michigan NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws) and was a founding board member of Educators for Sensible Drug
Policies. He said the school district received complaints about his
political activities and he resigned from his position on the state
NORML board last January.

Francisco claims that his truck was targeted when a substance abuse
canine was brought to the school for a routine search last May. He
said he had cooperated in the past and allowed searches when detection
dogs had alerted on his vehicle but decided to refuse a search on that
occasion on principle. Francisco said dogs from private companies were
unreliable and not a legal reason for a probable cause search.

He also noted that on the same day the dog alerted on five other
teacher vehicles and nothing was found in those vehicles.

According to discussions by both Johnson and Abel during the court
proceedings, a law enforcement canine unit was brought in after the
initial detection dog singled out the truck and that police trained
and handled dog also alerted on the truck. A search found a stem and
some roach material that tested positive for marijuana.

Francisco said he has already lost his job over the matter because he
was forced to resign after the May search.

Bloomingdale School District superintendent Dale Schreuder said
Francisco did resign his position last May but that the resignation
was voluntary. He said Francisco was with the district for five years.
Francisco said if he were convicted he would permanently lose his
credentials to work with students. "This will take his livelihood and
all because of a stem the size of a toothpick on the floor of his
truck," Francisco's wife, Amy, said.

The case has attracted advocates for drug law reform from across the
state.

Charles Ream, township trustee for Scio Township near Ann Arbor and
member of Michigan NORML, attending the hearing. He said the case
would get national media attention if it goes to trail.

"This is a free speech case. It has nothing to do with drugs," Ream
said during a phone interview. 
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