I am conflicted on some of the high profile cases that we are going to begin to see this upcoming year regarding medical marijuana....and the likes. Lets start with the easy one...

Eddy Lepp from the famed Eddy's Medicinal Gardens will eventually go up for trial when his lawyer, the great Tony Serra gets out of jail for tax issues...The question i pose to myself is why should I help this prick?....I mean what kind of jackass takes a million plus dollars from unsuspecting patients to grow a plot of medicine for them and the releases an article on the whole farm in High Times in August....two months before harvest...We all know what happened next...DEA...DUMP TRUCKS...EDDY IN JAIL...Now he wants the support of the community...but here is the kicker...I guess what he meant to put on the side of his bright green stretch limo was "Eddy's Religious Gardens" because he has abbandoned his medical defense in leu of a religious one...Ahhh...the David Koresh of marijuana....and from an asshole who prides himself on luring 16 year old girls into his lair of deciet and falsehood I am beginning to have an issue with sticking up for him at all....but then my other half believes that I must be there for the "cause" and defend the honor of the plant, not the man....Scruples, eh???

The second deal is that the Feds will be re-trying Ed Rosenthal on his 'famed' case that set a precident in 2003 with him being sentenced to one day time served after much controversy from jurors on the case and eventually being overturned for juror misconduct...Here is the skinny....Ed has been very vocal (as usual) about his case going on the radio several times and stating clearly, "I dare the Federal Government to retry my case...I dare them.." Well, the old saying is be careful what you ask for....and now after arrogantly prancing around like he was the mighty David to slay the Goliath and letting us all know what a big favor he has done for us for three years he has humbly returned with his tail between his legs begging for the support of the community and trying to raise funds for what he is anticipating to be a half-a-million dollar trial and attorney fees....he also has two witnesses that were involved with him at the time, but not around for the first trial, now subpoenaed and facing contempt charges for not testifying....His new theory is that if they convict him and send him to prison that the entire medical marijuana community will collapse behind him and all of us will be doomed...That seems a bit egotistical to me, but i swear that is the scare tactic that he is out there selling to raise his lawyers fees....We all did so much work on Ed's first case only to have him basically turn OUR victory into HIS rise to self-appointed power...of course this power comes with a price tag and Ed does nothing for free for anyone any more...So why should I do anything for free for him...why should I donate my hard earned money, time, and energy to a person who has given NOTHING back to ANYONE??? Instead of joining forces with ASA, whom basically saved his ass, he decided to form Green-Aid and begin to collect the donations that should have went to ASA for his self and his "legal" issues...what a dick...but I am again at the crossroad of wether we are defending a principle and the plant or are we defending the man???

I am deeply troubled by this and am interested in community feedback surrounding the matter...Is it nobler to defend the movement, even when the characters that are in question I believe do not represent the true nature of the movement, or is it nobler to take a stance against the questionable nature of both of these parties and just let the chips fall where they may...

[weedtracker]

both eds only care about 2 things: FAME + FORTUNE. what ever they get, they deserve. eddy lepp is an idiot for what he did, and to then play dumb like he didnt expect that to happen just makes him more of a joke. as for the other ed, i dont have much to say about him, other than hes all effects and no show.

Yeah, and in this business you can be rich or famous, but never both...

[floyd06]

Zoo, It is nobler to defend the movement, for logic's sake. Everyone makes mistakes, there is no immunity to that. And when logic is at the forefront, ego is diminshed. Go for the cause, you'll feel better.

VHCC
PR

Originally Posted by floyd06

Zoo, It is nobler to defend the movement, for logic's sake. Everyone makes mistakes, there is no immunity to that. And when logic is at the forefront, ego is diminshed. Go for the cause, you'll feel better.

VHCC
PR

I couldn't agree LESS with your statement.
Really a scary way of describing being a mindless follower.
Always question what at first does not seem right to you and do not accept innadequate answers even from esteemed "leaders".
I could really go off on this topic citing examples of well intentioned movements and followers gone awry and the horrific consequences but I won't...

[floyd06]

Perhaps, you are right JP. Although I am confused, are you suggesting the community just abandon them all together?

VHCC
PR

I think it comes down to their individual motives. I mean, I question what their motives are truly. If it's to move the movement forward, then it's fine. BUT if their actions are motivated by greed or the desire to be famous, well, then fuck that.

I could care less if I ever profit a DIME Off of medical marijuana. Which would never happen anyway, since any money I do make off of MMJ (which is erm...not a whole lot come to think of it) goes right back into buying, erm, more MMJ.

And if I get famous or infamous as a result in working for the cause, so be it. But that's not why I would do it. Wait, boy is my head getting big. I haven't even DONE anything for the cause except work here and voice my opinion. Oh and be a law-abiding MMJ patient.

[allorganic]

ZOO, you should get your legal history right before you go spouting off like that.

You see, long before you and the rest of the world read about the Supreme Court's version of the Raich case in the LA Times, there was a little court known as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Apparently, they got a different version of the Constitution than the guys in Washington.

And you see the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals felt that the Department of Justice had no jurisdiction enforcing marijuana laws in California, and that decision was LAW in the US the day it was handed down. The DEA had no jurisdiction in CA from the day Eddy planted to the day the dumptrucks showed up. That was why he could be so flagrant about it.

As for why he should be supported, well there is that little thing that nobody should go to jail for planting a seed.

Originally Posted by allorganic

ZOO, you should get your legal history right before you go spouting off like that.

You see, long before you and the rest of the world read about the Supreme Court's version of the Raich case in the LA Times, there was a little court known as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Apparently, they got a different version of the Constitution than the guys in Washington.

And you see the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals felt that the Department of Justice had no jurisdiction enforcing marijuana laws in California, and that decision was LAW in the US the day it was handed down. The DEA had no jurisdiction in CA from the day Eddy planted to the day the dumptrucks showed up. That was why he could be so flagrant about it.

As for why he should be supported, well there is that little thing that nobody should go to jail for planting a seed.

you are right...flagrance is important...I am sure the thousands of unsuspecting and trusting patients that INVESTED their hard earned money into Eddy's "flagrance farm" were fully supportive of him running a 5 page spread in High Times two months before harvest detailing his operations...is it not funny that the DEA, who had no "jurisdiction", showed up one week to the day after the article hit newsstands...coincidence, huh? Where in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals case did it say that a person could grow 32,000 plants...I must have missed that....we are talking about Raich/Monsoon case, right? You are misled at best but i will agree with you on you seed planting theory....i just wish the guy was not such a prick so that it was easier to believe that i was helping someone withrespect and stature...

The only federal defense to marijuana prosectution that's been held up is in the 9th circuit for religious use, not medical. The Church is the most protected piece of land that one can own and Eddy knew that. It was smart yet stupid at the same time for many reasons.

It was smart because the religious use of cannabis is a defense that will win in federal court. Knowing this,he created a church and began planting his crops, but planted them next to Hgwy 20 in plain view like a corn field. Now while this may look cool, it's actually very dangerous and stupid.

See when poor people catch wind that there is a huge field of herb growing next to the highway, they get funny ideas, and will use force to take what they need, like in the example of Les Crane. Being so vocal was the worst part of what Eddy did along with spending the money he recieved before he had the medicine needed for the investors.

He is going to fight to try and prove his religious beliefs, but I believe the government will put his moral character on trial, including having people testify who lost money.

I know Eddy first hand, and I wish him luck in his case, as he did me in mine.

[allorganic]

Originally Posted by uknowzoo

Where in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals case did it say that a person could grow 32,000 plants...I must have missed that....we are talking about Raich/Monsoon case, right? You are misled at best

Argued and Submitted October 7, 2003
San Francisco, California
Filed December 16, 2003
Before: PREGERSON, BEAM,* and PAEZ, Circuit Judges.
Opinion by Judge Harry Pregerson

We find that the appellants’ class of activities—the intrastate, noncommercial cultivation, possession and use of marijuana for personal medical purposes on the advice of a physician—is, in fact, different in kind from drug trafficking.

Well let's see,
1)the intrastate-yep, nothing crossed state lines
2)noncommercial-yep, nothing was ever sold
3)on the advice of a physician-yep Tod Mikuriya is an MD

Well, it appears Eddy fits the test for the Raich case.

[Eazily Distracted]

Originally Posted by duffman

The only federal defense to marijuana prosectution that's been held up is in the 9th circuit for religious use, not medical. The Church is the most protected piece of land that one can own and Eddy knew that. It was smart yet stupid at the same time for many reasons.

It was smart because the religious use of cannabis is a defense that will win in federal court. Knowing this,he created a church and began planting his crops, but planted them next to Hgwy 20 in plain view like a corn field. Now while this may look cool, it's actually very dangerous and stupid.

See when poor people catch wind that there is a huge field of herb growing next to the highway, they get funny ideas, and will use force to take what they need, like in the example of Les Crane. Being so vocal was the worst part of what Eddy did along with spending the money he recieved before he had the medicine needed for the investors.

He is going to fight to try and prove his religious beliefs, but I believe the government will put his moral character on trial, including having people testify who lost money.

I know Eddy first hand, and I wish him luck in his case, as he did me in mine.

which explains why your 1st coop/club was a ministry instead of a straight up medical dispensary... AHHHH i say lets all just ditch the medical and go with the religion aspect moving forward. i think rev dave in pomona will have a much better case pleading religion to the city council then medical.

[Eazily Distracted]

back to what zoo was saying...


i think its a judgement call... support what your gut feeling tells you. if you dont think ed or eddy deserve your support, then dont. support the cause you feel is most worthy, not because those two gents are in the same movement as you and they seem to get the mic and soap box more freakenly than others. just my us$0.02

Originally Posted by allorganic

Well let's see,
1)the intrastate-yep, nothing crossed state lines
2)noncommercial-yep, nothing was ever sold
3)on the advice of a physician-yep Tod Mikuriya is an MD

Well, it appears Eddy fits the test for the Raich case.

Are you kidding??? You forgot the part about "personal medical purposes"...

[allorganic]

Originally Posted by uknowzoo

Are you kidding??? You forgot the part about "personal medical purposes"...

32,500 plants divided by the 3500 patients Eddy was a caregiver for = about 9.2 plants per patient. I would say that is well within "personal medical purposes."

Infact, being that the FED's came in mid-August, there were only a few hundred plants that were "mature" already, meaning that he was well within the SB 420 guidelines of 12 immature plants.

Not to mention that the DEA came nine days before Eddy's hearing in Federal Court for his own injunction. Eddy was scheduled for a hearing on August 26, 2004 in Federal Court to petition for an injunction similar to that the WAMM folks had just been awarded.

Nine days...hmm...I wonder if the DEA was worried he just might win protection under the Raich verdict....

First off by definition Eddy cannot be a caregiver for 3,500 people period...just by definition...He also recieved a lot of money in advance so something was sold...I guess you are right though...Eddy is a Saint and that whole HT magazine thing was just a fluke....get real...