Amazing stuff > Rexroad.com

This article is in the Daily Democrat today.

Below is a letter that Bobby Harris sent to me today. It was addressed to Assemblywoman Lois Wolk.

This whole situation is just strange.

Michael [- Lois' legislative aide -] (and Lois),

Lois and I are sharing the front page of today’s edition of the Daily
Democrat.

Lois quite likely remembers me from 1990 - 95, when I was in the local,
regional, state, national and international press related to similar
situations as the one we now have, at this very moment.

This Daily Democrat story about my circumstances and the relevant law is
far, far too brief to permit any clear and proper understanding of any key
matters, except for one.

. . . a very important one :

It is quite useful to demonstrate what help I’m specifically requesting
from Lois.

One basic and very serious problem I’m running into -- attempting to move
back to Woodland --- is that the local DA is starkly and dramatically
violating state law.

It’s like a Kafka novel about a police state. Now, . . . that can’t be
Yolo County, . . . can it?

Here’s the DA, described and quoted by the Daily Democrat in today's
article (similar to previous articles) :

"Despite state law that indicates medical marijuana patients and their
caretakers are allowed to travel with and use the drug, Yolo County
District Attorney Jeff Reisig has another opinion.

"Reisig has made it quite clear that he favors federal law over state law
when it comes to medical marijuana.

“Reisig said that not prosecuting people in possession of marijuana,
patients or not, is a ‘violation of federal law, period.’ The U.S. Supreme
Court, Reisig argued, makes it clear that federal law through supremacy
makes it binding in California.”

This is real nutcake stuff.

And it has very serious consequences, Lois.

If I presume to possess my state law, legal rights, through Prop 215, I’ll
be arrested, thrown into jail and my cannabis confiscated . . . by
municipal / county / state agents.

We can see such an instant reaction from these recent events.

Local law enforcement officials (from the top to the bottom) are
inadequately trained to understand, engage and evaluate matters in this
area of state policy --- and they are being used through the agency and
power of the local DA to blatantly violate state law.

This is not simply reckless or indifferent behavior by the local DA, it is
plainly intentional conduct, based upon his obviously incorrect
understanding of the law and the huge responsibilities of his office.

* This is serious business, a very serious problem, Lois.

The state constitution requires state officials to enforce state law,
unless a state appellate court has struck down the relevant statute as
being infirm under federal law (which occasionally occurs).

Of course, that hasn’t happened with Prop 215. It’s in state law forever
and a day, despite the (present) federal policy and (use of its) legal
system.

As you can see from the text of his remarks, according to the Daily
Democrat, this local DA believes that the supremacy clause somehow has
relevance to this matter. It doesn’t.

Otherwise, Prop 215 would already be overturned. There is no way to
invalidate it through federal law, which is not to say that federal law
doesn’t still exist. Rather, we have two distinct systems of law, which
have various overlaps and a myriad, a spectrum of relations.

State agents, however, have a basic and exclusive legal duty to fully
promote and enforce state law, especially within the legal context of Prop
215 (where there is such a purely political and vividly anachronistic
clash of state and federal policies).

The former Sheriff in Humboldt County (Dennis Lewis), as well as the
former DA (Terry Farmer), were actually voted out of office in large part
because of their policies and conduct adverse to proper Prop 215
implementation.

Lewis tried to promote some cooperation with federal officials in a Prop
215 context and the federal district judge threw out such actions and
admonished both Lewis and the the federal officials about prosecutorial
misconduct and legal malfeasance (in the Chris Giaque case, details upon
request - his former counsel in that matter still practices in Eureka).

It’s important to note that several years ago Humboldt County adopted an
implementation ordinance that expands state (supposedly “threshold”)
limits to 3 pounds of cannabis and 100 sq ft canopy in a garden, for each
and every patient.

Of course, Arcata’s limitless (all medicinally oriented cannabis is
lawful) ordinance has been in force for a decade.

Three public, medicinal-cannabis outlets (at least) operate in Arcata.

There is no (or very negligible) criminal activity occurring related to
these ordinances and operations. There is no significant use of police
resources in that area, because there's no real crime. That's from the
mouth of the local police chief.

A new Prop 215 Clinic is going to open in a remodeled building along with
a Mexican restaurant -- right next door to the Arcata Post Office,
(essentially) on the City Plaza.

People here aren’t worried or concerned about this reform. Perhaps it's
because they have enough experience and political involvement to
understand and accept it. It's the law.

Yolo County is much more sophisticated than to permit this sort of
gibberish which is emanating from the DA to prevail as public policy.

What’s going on over there in Yolo County?

*** Here’s a list of questions I have, for which I need -- immediate --
answers :

Is this an accurate reflection of the local DA on this subject?

Is this an accurate reflection of the local DA in general?

What are the county’s locally elected officials doing to protect the legal
rights of Prop 215 patients from this sort of unlawful abuse and
persecution by state / county agents?

What does the county bar association think / do about this?

What does the county office of public defender think / do about this?

What does the local bench (the court) express and rule in response to this
unlawful policy and conduct by the local DA?

What does the legal record - actually show - in Yolo County, on the
subject of Prop 215 patients?

To what extent is the Yolo County law-enforcement establishment /
apparatus unlawfully cooperating with federal officials to undermine state
law and thwart the profound intent and progressive implementation of this
voter-initiative statute?

Why aren’t local law enforcement officials trained according to analogies
and guidelines within the clear and unanimous opinion by the California
Supreme Court in the Mower case (2002)? (Details and interpretation of
the Mower case upon request, but you may have counsel that can comprehend
this situation, it’s not really rocket science)

Lois, I’m hung up, suspended on a swiftly fraying wire, mid-move, . . .
because of these obviously unlawful policies and practices of the local
DA.

Having your basic civil rights continually and viciously violated is not
something you’d want to experience, believe me.

I have an immediate and serious problem and I need your help to soon
discover a successful solution, through obtaining answers to the above
questions, through (perhaps related) networking, and through whatever
other lawful and political means you might employ to ensure that my state
law rights related to Prop 215 are properly observed and respected in the
jurisdiction that you represent at the state Capitol.

Please advise me as soon a possible,
Bobby Harris

Comments

By Charlie in Japan @ Saturday, May 19, 2007 4:46 AM

Bobby Harris is a ‘Poster Child’ for why Proposition 215 represents good intentions gone wrong…and why it needs to be repealed! If you have been reading his statements in prior blog comments you would realize that he does not have a disease or medical need for cannabis. He claims that because there is an alcoholic background in his family…and his life is so stressful….he has to have ‘Pot’. Well, that is a bunch of B.S…. He has no cancer, glaucoma, server pain from traumatic injuries….It is just all B.S.

And…8 ounces of cannabis it the legal limit….OK…his ‘Doctor’ (I wonder if his care-provider is really a physician) say he can have 2 lbs….so…the Sheriff caught the fellows moving his stuff with 9lbs??? OK…he claims it not processed….(again..B.S) and to top this off, if you read the report, they were evidently smoking some it while they were driving towards Woodland (did I read that right?).

Well, we all owe a big “Thank You” to our Police Enforcement Officers and our new District Attorney and his staff for trying to keep this out of Yolo County! (In My Opinion…Not So Humble This Time) Charlie-san

By duane750 @ Saturday, May 19, 2007 7:19 AM

Charlie, the BIGGER probelm we have is that this whole thing selective enforcement by California Law Enforcement. The three CA County's that these guys passed through to get here, Humbolt, Mendocino and Lake, all would have given these guys a pass. There are five Pot Shops in the City of Clearlake alone, numerous others around Lake County. I talked with this one guy who was running one in Clearlake Oaks and he said that he has men transport HUNDREDS of pounds weekly from Covelo. These men have been stopped and had papers for each pound, on a per pound per paitient ratio. As long as all the papers are there, they won't arrest.

Then you have these guys coming into Yolo County, which I believe that this whole thing is a "set up" to bring controversy to Resig's office. This will be the first test for the Yolo County DA, and you can bet that the pro 215 people will rally around Bobby Harris and make this whole thing turn into a circus, forcing the DA to just drop it.

As far as Lake County, our good friends to the north -west bording Yolo County, I still have great respect for Lake County Sheriff Rodney Mitchell, Rod has been a good family friend for over twenty years, a strong christian man who has done right for Lake County. I just think that there is such a strong support of 215 in Lake County (its mostly a blue co.) that he has realized its a lossing battle, I do know however, from speaking to a couple agents, they monitor who's coming and going and where they get their stuff from. The sellers know this, its no secret.

We will see how this all plays out. Bottom line, there is no set standard of enforcement state wide, its hit and miss, if you are in a more Liberal County, Like Lake, Mendo, Humbolt and Sonoma, you will be left alone, more Conservative County's are more willing to take the chance and try for prosecution.

Good Luck Jeff!!!

By DMGreenwald @ Saturday, May 19, 2007 8:40 AM

I was kind of up in the air as to whether or not to pursue looking into this matter, but after reading these comments I'm inclined now to lean to Harris' side of the story. Thanks for clearing that up.

By DMGreenwald @ Saturday, May 19, 2007 8:45 AM

I should add, this case highlights exactly why I voted in favor of Prop. 215, to avoid the exact situation that has arisen.

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