[superface13]

I just got this email today and thought I'd pass it on.

This is an e-mail from 'Medical Marijuana of America'

Message:
Support the victims of the government's war on medical cannabis! Use the free POW Mail Service at http://www.medicalmarijuanaofamerica.com to learn about American Prisoners of the War on medical cannabis and send them a letter with your words of encouragement.

Just added to the MMA POW Mail Service:

Ken Affolter

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Kenneth Affolter’s company “Beyond Bomb” supplied California’s medical marijuana dispensaries with a wide array of medicinal edibles. The marijuana-infused products, which included everything from sodas to candy bars, were labeled as parodies of mainstream snacks with names like “Rasta Reece's” and “Toka-Cola.” Trouble began in February 2006, when Oakland police officers responded to a burglar alarm at one of Affolter’s warehouses. An investigation by federal drug agents quickly followed, culminating in a raid on three locations a month later. In addition to the edible products, agents reported seizing approximately $100,000 in cash and nearly 12,000 rooted marijuana plants, as well as 17,736 unrooted marijuana clones. Eleven of Affolter’s employees were also charged in the federal case that resulted. They all accepted plea deals and received sentences that ranged from probation to 18 months in prison. Affolter pled guilty to a charge of conspiring to manufacture and distribute marijuana, and in March 2007 received a sentence of 70 months in prison and a $250,000 fine. He is currently incarcerated at Terminal Island, and the Bureau of Prisons has set his release date for April 17th, 2011.

KENNETH DEAN AFFOLTER 93480-111
FCI TERMINAL ISLAND
FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
PO BOX 3007
SAN PEDRO, CA 90731
=====================

Larry Kristich

Larry Kristich was the president of the “Compassionate Caregivers” chain of medical marijuana dispensaries that operated an extensive number of locations across California. During its peak, the chain had outlets in West Hollywood, San Diego, Ukiah, Bakersfield, Oakland, San Francisco, and Alameda County. Federal investigators stated that “Compassionate Caregivers” employed two hundred people, grossed a total of $95 million and distributed over 15,000 pounds of marijuana during the course of its three years of operation. The West Hollywood location, called the “Yellow House,” was raided by the Los Angeles Police Department in 2005, leading to the seizure of the chain’s bank account and the closure of its facilities. Federal charges for Kristich and a handful of associates followed two years later. Kristich was in Costa Rica when he was indicted in July 2007, but he returned shortly afterward to surrender to federal authorities. In early 2008, he accepted a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to a count of maintaining a drug-involved premises and a count of promotional money laundering. Each count carries a maximum of 20 years in prison. Kristich is currently incarcerated at the Metroplitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, awaiting sentencing.

LARRY ROGER KRISTICH 33309-112
MDC LOS ANGELES
METROPOLITAN DETENTION CENTER
P.O. BOX 1500
LOS ANGELES, CA 90053
========================

Richard Marino

In January 2004, Richard Marino opened a medical marijuana dispensary in a town near Sacramento, California. “Capitol Compassionate Care,” which was located in a storefront in historic Roseville, provided an alternative for local medical marijuana patients who didn’t want to travel to San Francisco Bay Area dispensaries. Federal agents were aware of “Capitol Compassionate Care” almost immediately, due in part to Marino’s press release advertising the dispensary’s opening. In September 2004, the Drug Enforcement Administration raided the dispensary and a 250-plant grow at Marino’s home. A 19-count federal indictment followed in January 2006, but a plea deal eventually whittled the charges down to just two: conspiracy to distribute marijuana and money laundering. In spite of substantial cooperation with the U.S. Attorney, Marino was sentenced to 51 months in prison on July 22nd, 2008. In addition, forfeiture proceedings claimed Marino’s five-acre home and approximately $100,000 in cash seized during the raid. He was also left with a bill from the government for the $2.7 million that the dispensary allegedly generated during its eight months of operation. Marino is currently in federal prison in Oregon, and his release date is listed as March 30th, 2012.

RICHARD JAMES MARINO 16206-097
FCI SHERIDAN
FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
P.O. BOX 5000
SHERIDAN, OR 97378
==========================

Sparky Rose

Federal agents began investigating Sparky Rose in 2005, after the Los Angeles Police Department raided a West Hollywood medical marijuana dispensary called the “Yellow House” that he was running as part of the “Compassionate Caregivers” chain. Rose then went on to become the director of “New Remedies Cooperative” in San Francisco, which was raided by the Drug Enforcement Administration in October 2006. After searching the dispensary and various associated grow sites, agents reported seizing $125,000 in cash and thousands of marijuana plants. Calling Rose “a major statewide pot supplier,” the U.S. Attorney charged him with various counts for the manufacture and distribution of marijuana. He was also charged with money laundering, based on the government’s accusation that he laundered over $3 million from marijuana proceeds in order to supply himself with a $9600/week salary and various luxury items such as a Porsche convertible. Rose maintained that these calculations were grossly inaccurate and denied that he and his employees were profiteering from medical marijuana. However, Rose eventually accepted a plea deal and, in March 2008, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison. He is currently incarcerated in Lompoc, CA. The Bureau of Prisons lists his release date as November 19th, 2010.

SPARKY WILSON ROSE 98066-111
USP LOMPOC
U.S. PENITENTIARY
3901 KLEIN BLVD
LOMPOC, CA 93436
========================

Tom Grossi

Thomas Grossi Sr. has been many things, from a pawnshop owner to a decorated helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War, but it was his ownership of warehouses that got him in trouble with the law. He has maintained that the marijuana grown in these Oakland properties was destined for northern California dispensaries, where it would be distributed to medical marijuana patients. That claim didn’t matter to the Drug Enforcement Administration, who was called in to investigate after the California Highway Patrol discovered 2,379 marijuana plants at one of Grossi’s properties in June 2004. A federal indictment followed in February 2005, and the case went to trial in January 2006. The jury convicted Grossi for making one of his properties available to another person for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing marijuana. The jury deadlocked on counts related to another location owned by Grossi, but shortly afterwards he made a plea agreement in which he admitted to these charges as well as to managing a third location where marijuana was grown. At sentencing in May 2007, the defense attorney emphasized that Grossi merely allowed the cultivation and that he “didn't proactively decide to grow marijuana.” Nonetheless, Grossi was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to forfeit approximately $396,000. He is currently incarcerated in the U.S. Penitentiary at Victorville, with a release date set for October 26th, 2009.

THOMAS GROSSI 97598-011
USP VICTORVILLE
U.S. PENITENTIARY
P.O. BOX 5500
ADELANTO, CA 92301
========================

John Sullivan

John Sullivan was indicted in July 2006, when the Drug Enforcement Administration executed massive simultaneous raids on San Diego’s medical marijuana dispensaries. The action shut down most of the dispensaries in the region, including Sullivan’s “Purple Bud Room” and “Tender Holistics Care.” During the investigation of these facilities, which began in September 2005, an undercover officer claimed that he was able to purchase marijuana for his dog. Sullivan’s indictment contained counts for cultivation, as well as for conspiracy to cultivate and conspiracy to distribute marijuana. While also facing state charges stemming from the raids, Sullivan pled guilty in federal court to growing three hundred marijuana plants. In August 2007, he was sentenced to five years in federal prison and five years of probation. Sullivan is currently incarcerated in a federal institution in Oregon, and his release date is set for June 27th, 2012.

JOHN SULLIVAN 95343-198
FCI SHERIDAN
FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
P.O. BOX 5000
SHERIDAN, OR 97378

[superface13]

After looking at their POW list, I noticed there are several missing....Charles Lynch is one glaring example. I'm sure there are others that my fine friends at WTer can think of. Maybe we can come up with a more substantial list and share it with other organizations.

[resipsa]

This is a wonderful service, run by a wonderful woman. The facility at Sheridan, Oregon is truly awful. If you have a minute and could write one of the MM prisoners at that facility it would make their day.

Stephanie Landa has her own email service, you can write to her at:

letfreedomgrow@yahoo.com