Medical Marijuana Patient Reports for Federal Prison

For Immediate Release Media
Contact: William Dolphin (510) 919-1498

January 4, 2007


Medical Marijuana Patient Reports for Federal Prison
Scores of Californians Await Similar Fate


SAN FRANCISCO – Another medical marijuana patient was incarcerated in
federal prison today. Stephanie Landa, 60, reported to federal authorities
in San Francisco to begin a 41-month sentence for her part in growing
medical cannabis as part of a patient collective there. At least another 91
Californians are facing a similar fate, as medical-marijuana related arrests
and prosecutions have escalated since 2005, when the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled federal charges may be brought against patients and their caregivers
and providers, despite state laws protecting them.



“Putting anyone in prison for following a doctor’s advice and trying to help
others is a waste of tax dollars and wrong by any measure,” said Steph
Sherer, ASA’s executive director. “Washington needs to put this money into
helping patients, not arresting them.”



Despite requests from Congress, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) refuse to account for the money
being spent on medical cannabis raids and prosecutions. Based on budget
reports provided by the DEA, DOJ and local law enforcement agencies, ASA
estimates that the raids and prosecutions of the past 18 months have cost
taxpayers in excess of $9 million, not counting the cost of incarceration or
the lost wages and productivity of those arrested.



All were arrested since the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2005 that medical
cannabis patients and their caregivers and providers can be federally
prosecuted, reversing the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that such
activities were outside federal jurisdiction.



Ms. Landa’s case drew attention because San Francisco police apparently
turned her and two others over to federal prosecutors. The three had met
with the city’s district attorney and police officials before beginning
cultivation. Ms. Landa and her co-defendants -- Tom Kikuchi, her partner,
and Kevin Gage, a noted Hollywood actor, -- accepted a plea agreement in
2003 when the federal prosecutor threatened them with charges that, in Ms.
Landa’s case, could have meant life in prison. Unlike California state law,
federal law does not allow for a medical defense in the case of patients who
use it on their doctor’s recommendation. Ms. Landa begins her sentence now
because the judge allowed her to care for her and Mr. Kikuchi’s child while
he served his sentence.


For a breakdown of the estimated DEA and other prosecution costs, see ASA’s
website at http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/DEA_cost.pdf.

# # #

With more than 30,000 active members with chapters and affiliates in more
than 40 states, Americans for Safe Access is the largest national
member-based organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and
concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for
therapeutic uses and research.

___________________________
William Dolphin, Communications
Americans for Safe Access
1322 Webster St., #402
Oakland, CA 94612

cell: 510-919-1498
william@safeaccessnow.org
http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org
<http://www.americansforsafeaccess.org/>


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