In observance of 420, I’m going to be gone all day. I’ll probably be protesting the crazy marijuana laws on Capital Hill in Denver. Let’s take a look at a victim of the so called “War On Drugs”. Visit MPP.org for more information.

Source For This Post: http://www.mpp.org/victims/carter-singleton.html

65-year-old Carter Singleton began chemotherapy in 2003 to treat non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Shortly thereafter, his six-foot, 230-pound frame began to wither away. Unable to eat, he lost 80 pounds in five months and was so weak he could barely move.

After a friend suggested that he try marijuana, Singleton found that it stimulated his appetite. Marijuana allowed him to gain weight, which gave him the strength he needed to beat the cancer.

In 2003, he was arrested for cultivating medical marijuana in his home.

“I was starving to death,” he says. “I did what I had to do.”

Singleton was fortunate to have a sympathetic judge who did not subject him to jail. His cancer is now in remission.

In observance of 420, I’m going to be gone all day. I’ll probably be protesting the crazy marijuana laws on Capital Hill in Denver. Let’s take a look at a victim of the so called “War On Drugs”. Visit MPP.org for more information.

Source For This Post: http://www.mpp.org/victims/palm-beach-county-florida-school-raid.html

Fifteen high school students in Palm Beach County, Florida, were arrested in January 2005 for selling drugs on school property. Some of the teens had sold as little as $10 worth of marijuana to undercover police officers who had befriended them. Other students had sold MDMA (Ecstasy) and cocaine.

In a drug investigation called “Operation Old Schoolhouse,” which took place at five area high schools, five county police officers posed as high school students in order to make the arrests.

Local prosecutors intend to charge the teens as adults, calling the students’ actions “a crime that doesn’t deserve juvenile prosecution.” The county’s school police chief and superintendent indicated that several other schools were also under investigation.

Selling any quantity of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school is considered a felony in Florida, resulting in up to five years’ imprisonment. Selling MDMA or cocaine can bring up to 15 years’ imprisonment.

In observance of 420, I’m going to be gone all day. I’ll probably be protesting the crazy marijuana laws on Capital Hill in Denver. Let’s take a look at a victim of the so called “War On Drugs”. Visit MPP.org for more information.

Source For This Post: http://www.mpp.org/victims/matthew-ducheneaux.html

In July 2000, 36-year-old Matthew Ducheneaux was arrested for smoking marijuana in a park in South Dakota. Ducheneaux was a quadriplegic who used marijuana with his doctor’s permission to treat violent muscle spasms.

Wheelchair-bound since a 1985 car accident, Ducheneaux had tried Valium, codeine, and even Marinol to treat spasms that cause his legs to shake so violently that the floor of his home trembles in response. Nothing calmed his tremors, and many of the drugs he tried had undesirable side effects, including hair loss, extreme drowsiness, and liver toxicity.

After finding that marijuana treated his spasms, Ducheneaux sought permission to use marijuana. In 1988, he was approved for a now-discontinued program through which seriously ill people can obtain marijuana from the federal government. However, the federal government required such strong security measures for pharmacies serving patients in the program — such as 24-hour armed guards — that Ducheneaux could not find a local pharmacy willing to comply, so he had to find marijuana from friends or drug dealers.

Ducheneaux asked his doctor for a note saying he used marijuana for medical purposes, hoping that such a note might prove useful if he were ever to get into trouble with the law. The note stated, “Matthew is quadriplegic. He uses marijuana for muscle spasms caused by his paralysis.”

Ducheneaux did not have the note with him the day of his arrest, but the existence of the note later prompted the DEA to threaten to investigate his doctor for prescribing an illegal drug.

On August 28, 2002, Matthew Ducheneaux was convicted of marijuana possession. A previous ruling had barred him from telling the jury that he used marijuana for medical purposes. Ducheneaux’s attorney believed the jury’s hands were tied: “All of them conclusively said afterward that they didn’t want to find him guilty.”

Even prosecutor Matthew Theophilus had doubts about blocking any mention of Ducheneaux’s medical reasons for using marijuana, noting, “I think there is some merit to his defense.”

Ducheneaux received a five-day suspended sentence and was barred from using marijuana for year; he had faced a maximum sentence of up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The South Dakota Supreme Court later upheld Ducheneaux’s conviction, as well as the court ruling barring his medical necessity defense. Ducheneaux passed away on May 23, 2005.

In observance of 420, I’m going to be gone all day. I’ll probably be protesting the crazy marijuana laws on Capital Hill in Denver. Let’s take a look at a victim of the so called “War On Drugs”. Visit MPP.org for more information.

Source For This Post: http://www.mpp.org/victims/cheryl-noel.html

On the morning of January 21, 2005, Cheryl Noel was sleeping in her home in Dundalk, Maryland. Noel, 44, worked at a local water waste treatment facility and led a bible study group during her lunch breaks.

At 5:00 a.m., county police officers with a drug warrant detonated a “flash-bang” device intended to stun and temporarily deafen the home’s residents and swept through the house.

Noel, woken by the noise of officers storming through her house, grabbed a handgun when she heard people approaching her bedroom door. One of the officers saw her in the doorway with a gun and fired three shots, killing her.

Noel’s husband was later charged with possession of marijuana and of drug paraphernalia, as well as two counts of possession of black powder, a substance used in sport shooting. Noel’s 19-year-old son and his friend were each charged with possession of marijuana and of drug paraphernalia.

In observance of 420, I’m going to be gone all day. I’ll probably be protesting the crazy marijuana laws on Capital Hill in Denver. Let’s take a look at a victim of the so called “War On Drugs”. Visit MPP.org for more information.

Source: http://www.mpp.org/victims/rhiannon-kephart.html

In January 2005, 18-year-old Rhiannon Kephart received second- and third-degree burns to her chest and stomach when police set off a stun grenade during a drug raid. The explosion also started a small fire.

Kephart, who was in bed or just waking up at the time of the raid, was a visitor in the apartment that was raided and was not a target of the investigation. The intended target of the raid — the apartment’s occupant, 24-year-old Michael Johnson — had allegedly imported large quantities of marijuana into the U.S. from Canada.

Niagara Falls Police Superintendent John Chella called the incident “very unfortunate.”

In observance of 420, I’m going to be gone all day. I’ll probably be protesting the crazy marijuana laws on Capital Hill in Denver. Let’s take a look at a victim of the so called “War On Drugs”. Visit MPP.org for more information.

Source: http://www.mpp.org/victims/robin-prosser.html

For over 20 years, Robin Prosser, a musician and mother from Missoula, Montana, had suffered from an immunosuppressive illness similar to lupus. Her muscles stiffened, impeding her ability to move, and she suffered from chronic pain, heart trouble, nausea, and migraines. She was allergic to many prescription drugs, and others simply didn’t work.

Beginning in April 2002, at age 45, Prosser staged a 60-day hunger strike to draw attention to her plight. She sought assurance from local law enforcement authorities that she could grow her own marijuana - so as to maintain a steady supply of medicine - without fear of arrest or prosecution. However, Missoula Police Chief Bob Weaver maintained that Prosser would “be busted if she grows pot and we learn about it.”

In May 2004, Prosser had run out of marijuana. She e-mailed her psychologist that she planned to commit suicide because she could no longer stand to live in pain. When police arrived at her house, they found her nearly unconscious in bed after taking prescription sleeping pills that she ordered over the Internet. They also found a small quantity of marijuana and two pipes. Prosser was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, charges that could have brought up to a year in prison.

Missoula Police Captain Marty Ludemann explained that “the reason we charged her is Montana does not allow the medical use of marijuana.” He added that “if it happened tomorrow under the same circumstances, we would arrest her again.”

In September 2004, Prosser’s charges were dismissed as long as she remained “law-abiding” for nine months; the plea agreement was unclear if this meant she was allowed to use marijuana.

It seemed as though Prosser’s trouble had ended when Montanans passed a medical marijuana initiative by an overwhelming 63% to 37% margin that November.

However, in the spring of 2007, federal law enforcement officers intercepted the medicine her licensed caregiver had sent her in the mail. Following the incident, Prosser had great difficulty acquiring the type and quality of medical marijuana she needed to alleviate her symptoms.

According to Prosser and those close to her, she experienced excruciating pain in the following months until on Oct. 18, 2007, she took her own life.

In observance of 420, I’m going to be gone all day. I’ll probably be protesting the crazy marijuana laws on Capital Hill in Denver. Let’s take a look at a victim of the so called “War On Drugs”. Visit MPP.org for more information.

Source For This Post: http://www.mpp.org/victims/clayton-helriggle.html

On September 27, 2002, 23-year-old Clayton Helriggle of West Alexandria, Ohio, was shot and killed by police conducting a no-knock raid of his home in search of marijuana.

A convicted felon had informed Preble County prosecutors that Helriggle, who worked in his family’s garage door business, was dealing marijuana from his rural farmhouse, which also housed four other roommates.

Based on this tip, the nearly 30-member SWAT-style team, clad in body armor and riot shields, raided Helriggle’s house on a Friday evening, using a battering ram to open the front door and detonating stun grenades to disorient the occupants of the house.

Helriggle had been napping in his bedroom; when he heard noises from the raid, he grabbed a gun he kept in his room and went downstairs to investigate. An officer shot Helriggle in the chest. He died within minutes, slumped in roommate Ian Albert’s arms.

Police eventually seized a small amount of marijuana, a bong, and rolling papers from the house. News reports also cited the seizure of “packaging items used in the distribution of marijuana” (plastic sandwich baggies found in most kitchens) and “pills” (a roommate’s prescription pain medication for a knee injury).

The Helriggle family later filed a civil suit against Preble County and 20 named individuals involved with the raid, for wrongful death and violation of Clayton Helriggle’s civil rights.

Later, one of his roommates admitted to selling approximately one ounce of marijuana from the house each week, which led the police informant to tip off police about the farmhouse.

Under Ohio law, possession of less than 100 grams (about 3.5 ounces) of marijuana is considered a civil citation and brings only a $100 fine and no jail time or criminal record. Possession of between 100 and 200 grams of marijuana (3.5 to 7 ounces) is considered a misdemeanor but brings only a variable fine (around $250) and no jail time.

In observance of 420, I’m going to be gone all day. I’ll probably be protesting the crazy marijuana laws on Capital Hill in Denver. Let’s take a look at a victim of the so called “War On Drugs”. Visit MPP.org for more information.

Source For This Post: http://www.mpp.org/victims/roni-and-charity-bowers.html

On April 20, 2001, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency ordered the Peruvian Air Force to shoot down a plane suspected of smuggling drugs out of Peru. The plane was not carrying drugs but rather American religious missionaries Jim and Roni Bowers; Roni and seven-month-old daughter Charity died in the shooting.

Pilot Kevin Donaldson, though shot in the leg, managed to land the plane safely; Jim and six-year-old son Cody were not hurt in the shooting or crash.

After the incident, drug interdiction flights over Peru and neighboring Colombia were suspended while the U.S. government reevaluated its policies surrounding the practice of shooting down suspected drug-smuggling aircraft in foreign countries.

In 2002, the Bush administration settled with Richardson and the surviving members of the Bowers family for $8 million. The following year, administration officials announced that drug interdiction flights would resume over Colombia and Peru.

In observance of 420, I’m going to be gone all day. I’ll probably be protesting the crazy marijuana laws on Capital Hill in Denver. Let’s take a look at a victim of the so called “War On Drugs”. Visit MPP.org for more information.

Source For This Post: http://www.mpp.org/victims/don-nord.html

On October 14, 2003, 57-year-old Don Nord was arrested when a DEA task force raided his Hayden, Colorado, home and seized three marijuana plants, some loose marijuana, pipes, and growing equipment.

Nord is a disabled, wheelchair-bound, state-registered medical marijuana patient. He has battled kidney cancer, diabetes, lung disease, a neck injury, and other conditions, and grew his own marijuana out of medical and financial necessity.

Though Colorado allows seriously ill people to use marijuana with a doctor’s approval, DEA agents follow federal law, which forbids the use of marijuana for any purpose. The task force that raided Nord’s house was composed of a DEA agent and eight county law enforcement officers deputized by the DEA to enforce federal law.

A county judge dismissed the charges against Nord in November 2003, and ordered the task force agents to return his marijuana and equipment. The officers returned his growing equipment the following month, but refused to return his marijuana or pipes.

In January 2004, the officers were held in contempt of court, but the U.S. attorney for Colorado then transferred the case to a U.S. district court. In July 2005, the court found that the agents are immune from state prosecution and therefore are not required to return the marijuana and pipes that they confiscated from Nord.

In observance of 420, I’m going to be gone all day. I’ll probably be protesting the crazy marijuana laws on Capital Hill in Denver. Let’s take a look at a victim of the so called “War On Drugs”. Visit MPP.org for more information.

Source For This Post: http://www.mpp.org/victims/the-naulls-family.html

A church-going family man who used medical marijuana to ease chronic pain from injuries sustained in a 2001 car accident, Ronald Naulls already had two successful careers – one as an IT consultant and another in real estate – when he established the Healing Nations Collective in Corona in 2006 to save fellow patients the hours-long drive to Los Angeles for medicine.

Healing Nations was widely considered a model medical marijuana collective. It followed state and local law. It maintained strict dress codes and professional standards for employees. It paid state taxes – amounting to several hundred thousand dollars a year – even when loose tax regulations allowed other dispensaries to slip through the cracks. Proceeds from the dispensary went to local and national cancer organizations.

Nevertheless, at 5:50 a.m., July 17, 2007, DEA agents invaded the Naulls family’s home and the collective. Naulls was arrested and now faces federal prosecution for distribution of medical marijuana.

County child protective services also took Naulls’ three daughters, ages 1, 3, and 5, and charged him and his wife with child endangerment, even though they weren’t accused of breaking any state laws. The children were put in foster care for nearly a month before they were returned to their parents.

Because the DEA seized all of their property, assets, and accounts, the Naulls family has no way to properly defend themselves against the state and federal charges they face. Those wishing to contribute to the family’s legal defense fund can do so here.