November 23, 1999

McCormick and McWilliams Accept Plea Bargains

        Nov. 23, 1999, Los Angeles, CA:  As part of an agreement reached with federal prosecutors, medical marijuana activists Todd McCormick and Peter McWilliams pleaded guilty last Friday to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana. In return, other charges carrying a 10-year mandatory sentence were dismissed against both men.
        Earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge George King ruled that neither defendant would be permitted to raise a medical necessity defense to the charges, despite a September ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that medical necessity can be a viable defense for those accused of violating federal marijuana laws.  In October, the U.S. Justice Department asked the 9th Circuit to reconsider its decision.
        Since the district court would not allow a medical necessity defense, McCormick and McWilliams accepted a plea bargain and entered a guilty plea to lesser charges.  Both could have faced a 10-year minimum for the cultivation of 6,000 marijuana plants.
        McCormick, who has bone cancer, agreed to a five-year sentence with the right to appeal the ruling precluding a medical necessity defense to the 9th Circuit, and the likelihood of remaining free pending the appeal.
        "If I would have been found guilty at trial, I would have been remanded into custody and not allowed an appeal bond," McCormick said.  "I felt this was the smartest way to protect my health, my well-being and my rights in an appellate process."
        McWilliams, a best selling author who has both AIDS and cancer, waived his right to appeal, in exchange for avoiding a mandatory sentence.  McWilliams could receive a sentence ranging from probation to five years in prison.  Both men will be sentenced on Feb. 28, 2000.
        For more information, please contact Tom Ballanco, Esq., attorney for Peter McWilliams at (310) 291-3659; David Michael, Esq., attorney for Todd McCormick at (530) 304-7793, or visit Peter McWilliams' web site at http://petertrial.com.

Mendocino County Initiative To Decriminalize Marijuana

        Nov. 23, 1999, San Francisco, CA:  California marijuana law reformers have begun to circulate a petition for an initiative to decriminalize the cultivation and use of marijuana in Mendocino County.
        The initiative, sponsored by the Mendocino Green Party, allows for the personal use of marijuana including the cultivation of up to 25 mature female marijuana plants without arrest or fine.  The initiative also calls for continued penalties against those who cultivate for sale.
        "The current marijuana laws promote crime by making personal use cultivation a felony," said Dale Gieringer, California NORML State Coordinator.  "The result is to push otherwise law-abiding, responsible adult users into the hands of criminal street dealers and smugglers.  Decriminalizing personal use cultivation will significantly undercut the criminal market."
        Gierginger added, "This policy has been successfully adopted by states in Australia, where it has been shown to reduce the costs of enforcement without increasing drug abuse."
        The petition needs 2,868 valid signatures by March to qualify for the 2000 ballot.
        For more information, please contact Dale Gieringer of California NORML at (415) 563-5858.  Full text of the initiative is posted at http://home.igc.org/~canorml.

Trade Unions In Wisconsin Agree To Random Drug Tests

        Nov. 23, 1999, Milwaukee, WI:  Skilled construction trade workers in four Wisconsin counties will be subject to random drug testing come January 1, 2000 in a union-management program billed as a national model.
        Each year 15 percent of workers for both private and public construction projects in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties will be randomly subjected to both alcohol and drug tests.  This will include carpenters, cement masons, pile drivers, bricklayers and building laborers.  Construction trade workers presently submit to drug and alcohol tests as new hires, after an on-the-job accident or if they are suspected of being inebriated on the construction site.
        If a test comes back positive for drugs or alcohol, the worker is required to take 30 days of unpaid leave for substance abuse treatment.  The employee would not lose his or her job if they enter the treatment plan.
        "Sadly, random drug testing does not indicate performance deficiencies and would unfairly penalize off the job responsible marijuana smokers," said Scott Colvin, NORML Publications Director.
        For more information, please contact Scott Colvin, Publications Director of NORML at (202) 483-5500.

-End-