Re: The straight dope on medical marijuana


Sylv wrote:
> Before you wrote this, I had never heard of Steve McWilliams, his work,
> his life, and his tragic choice. I'm so sorry for everyone involved.
> Suicide is tough on everyone who knew the person.

sometimes i think San Diego is the "*** child" of Prop 215. plenty
happens here, the good, the bad, and the ugly, but it's always L.A. or
Bay-area activists, busts, etc., that make the news.

ironically, i would think S.D. County should be even MORE newsworthy
and important vis medMJ; unlike L.A. and the Bay area, we're a very
conservative county -- the COUNTY, as opposed to the CITY, actually
passed a resolution stating that they condemned Prop 215's passage and
condemned the idea of medical marijuana itself!

yet Steve McWilliams was able to get a lot done, within the CITY of
S.D. (he lived in the city limits; I currently reside in the county
outside city limits.) we hear about Santa Cruz' medpot activities all
the time -- hell, it's SANTA CRUZ! Nobody, NOBODY, is going to be
surprised that the city supports medpot, very aggressively I might add.
people think of California as 'liberal,' and figure of course prop 215
passed; however, S.D. is the little, bright-red stronghold of
conservative politicians within Cali -- and prop 215 passed here, too.
the legislators were ready, willing, and enthusiastic about IGNORING
that little fact, till SMcW basically single-handedly FORCED them to
implement a program. the program Steve helped design remains in place.

even his death was ignored -- even locally! -- until his long-time
partner and the remnants of their local group, held a vigil for him
outside the downtown SDPD, called the press, and told them about it.

S.D. was among the first cities where the "test case busts" were
implemented at the instruction of then-attorney-general Dan Lundgren.
Lundgren was planning to run for governor, on a "strong anti-drug,
anti-crime" platform, and i guess he thought it would be good press fr
him -- he thought wrong. Gray Davis was elected in the first place, i
firmly believe, because he was running against Lundgren. if Satan was
running against Lundgren, i'd have voted for SATAN... well, i guess i
kinda did -- or maybe Davis was more like a minor demon of profligacy
or something! at the time, we only had one dispensary, and because it
was very close to an HIV/AIDS clinic associated with the UC medical
system, the majority of patients at that particular place were HIV/AIDS
patients. Lundgren made sure all the local stations were there to
record his great feat -- i guess he figured it would be a bunch of guys
with Grateful Dead tees and tie-dye shirts hanging around saying 'no
fair, duuuuude!' or something. instead, he got news coveage of
shamefaced, very apologetic officers slapping the cuffs on people who
looked like walking skeletons...cuffing people in wheelchairs!

the '02 bust that had Steve McWilliams facing 10-25 years in federal
prison "caught" him with 25 plants. that same year, supposedly a
sheriff's chopper doing a fly-by looking for "pot farms" AT THE
INSTIGATION OF THE DEA, "caught" ME with five, count em, FIVE plants
growing in my fenced back yard. i've always wondered -- how visible
could five plants, grown in pots to restrict their height, behind a
6-foot fence and underneath a covered patio, be? maybe it's paranoia;
maybe it's something else -- sure looked like it WAS directed right at
MEDICAL MJ users, because that's who got caught. no allegations that
sales were going on, or that it was being diverted for commercial
purposes, just a bunch of folks who were stupid enough to let them know
our names and addresses, because we wanted to be in compliance with
state law. no biggie for me -- this was before they removed
'misdemeanor cultivation' from the books, that's what i was charged
with. i pleaded out to an infraction, got 3 years' summary probation
for simple possession, and paid a fine. for, yes, being in compliance
with state law.

Steve's Federal prosectuion was put on hold while the Supremes debated.
when they returned the verdict that the feds COULD continue the raids
and arrests in medpot states, they apparently let his lawyer know they
were going to resume the federal case against him. that's when he took
his own life. i wish he hadn't, but i'm not him, and i'm not facing
DECADES in federal prison. when the charges are federal, state law is
not a permissible defense. you aren't even permitted to say you were
growing for medical use, because the feds don't recognize marijuana's
medical potential.

i had such an unexpected range of emotions after his suicide, thought
i'd worked through them, now figure i was suppressing, because they all
come back every time i see or hear his name mentioned, and every time i
think about the feds, the deputies, and how nobody much seems to care
what happens with the medpot program in San Diego, includig
California's "medical marijuana activists!"

> I hope everyone he left behind will continue the work he started; let
> that be his legacy. All too often a suicide morphs a life into one
> thing: the end. Let this not happen.

that's what they're doing, Sylvia. Steve's long time partner (in
sickness and in life) has now taken up the banner, and is attempting to
reinvigorate the medpot activist group he founded. she's apparently
taken somewhat of his place in working with the city and the police
dept. as well. i think almsot everyone involved considers themselves to
be carrying on Steve's legacy in this way.

i just wish he could be here to continue his own legacy. his death
isn't making any impact, but his LIFE really, honestly did.

rose

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