Pubdate: Wed, 4 Mar 2009
Source: Hi-Desert Star (Yucca Valley, CA)
Copyright: 2009 Hi Desert Star
Contact:  http://www.hidesertstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3921
Author: Rebecca Unger, Hi-Desert Star
Cited: Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project http://marijuananews.drupalcafe.com/
Cited: San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors 
http://www.co.san-bernardino.ca.us/bos/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Proposition+215
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/San+Bernardino+County
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

MEDICAL-MARIJUANA CASE DISMISSED

JOSHUA TREE -- Charges of marijuana cultivation and sales pending 
against Rich McCabe and his wife, JoAnn Cates, since August 2007 were 
dismissed Monday by Judge Rodney Cortez before a preliminary hearing 
began at the San Bernardino County Superior Court here.

The Johnson Valley seniors faced three felony drug counts each and 
could have been required to register as drug offenders. They have 
contended they used the marijuana investigators found on their 
property to ease the symptoms of cancer treatment and other ailments.

The Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project in Palm Springs hosted several 
events to raise money to help pay San Franciso-based defense 
attorneys Zenia Gillig and Danny Schultz.

Gillig said 90 percent of the cases she and Schultz take are 
associated with medical marijuana.

And while they came prepared with an armload of documents and two 
expert witness, Gillig praised San Bernardino County Deputy District 
Attorney Jamie Adams for being willing to listen. "That was most 
important," she said.

Nevertheless, Cates admitted the drawn-out process was a financial hardship.

It hurt us badly," said the 74-year-old cancer patient. "We still owe 
about $5,000 to $6,000."

When investigators from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's 
Department raided their mobile home over a year and a half ago, they 
found a greenhouse where the couple was growing marijuana.

A new microwave oven that Cates said she had just bought with a 
credit card was still in the box, and it was confiscated when she 
couldn't find the receipt. McCabe had $400 in his pocket from cashing 
his Social Security check, and that too was taken.

The couple will get their microwave and cash back, now that charges 
have been dismissed.

Cates and McCabe say they were cultivating and using marijuana under 
Proposition 215, passed by California voters almost 13 years ago.

The law allows marijuana to be used in various forms for medicinal purposes.

However, because it has seemed to undercut federal drug-enforcement 
laws that do not recognize the use of the plant for any legal 
purpose, many town, cities and counties have not upheld the tenets of 
the proposition.

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors is appealing to the 
U.S. Supreme Court to have Proposition 215 declared unconstitutional.

A lawsuit, supported financially by MAPP, has been filed against the 
county by medical marijuana patient Scott Bledsoe to compel the 
county to start issuing state-mandated medical marijuana ID cards and 
to stop arresting medical marijuana patients. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake