Prop 215, Then & Now

I think it was 1999 and Eddy Lepp said to me, “Oaky Joe you gotta come down the mountain and get your shit legal, now is the time!” Sooooo I followed Eddy’s really bad advice and came down off the hill and this is what happened.

So Eddy decided to do a Medical Marijuana grow along Hwy 20 in Upper Lake. He basically pissed off the feds so Bush set the dogs on Eddy’s 32,000+ plant garden. Eddy had a shit ton of recommendations but the government did not, and still doesn’t give a shit. So Eddy went to jail after a prolonged legal battle (he had 19 lawyers through a 4-year trial). He is dead now!

I went to Redwood Valley just north of Ukiah and found a small house to rent with a small backyard and kept my garden small. I wanted to teach people how to grow their own and I put an advertisement in the free section of the Lake/Mendocino Exchange. Thank you, Andrew:) I offered sick card-holding patients in this area free advice, support, and medical marijuana. This was my contribution to the needy in the marijuana world!

Sooooo, within 8 year, my wife and I had 18 felonies, yes, 18 felonies dismissed! By 2015, I had racked up 30+ dismissals. The District Attorneys can't hold up to a valid medical defense including, wheelchairs, respirators, people with 1 foot in the fuckin grave. Shame the government! What a huge waste of time, money, work, and medicine! Cases dismissed 2, 3, 4 times more! “Hey Keith Faulder,” I said “Why do they keep coming for me, I am 100% legal?” Keith says “They don’t like being beaten soundly in court.” So much for doing the right thing huh DA. If you haven’t heard MM is legal you can ask anyone outside of law enforcement. Just so you know, 0 of my cases went to trial, the DA does not want cases like mine in or on the public forum! 

Wait where was I, Oh Yeah 215, 25 years later. My friend Jonah Raskin invited little ol’ me to the big city where he is living now so he can be close to his loved ones. “Hey, Joe they are having a sort of party to recognize the 25th anniversary of 215 passing, wanna come along?” I said “Hell yeah!” Where else am I going to see so many well-intentioned people all together talking about making history and kickin the shit out of our fucked up government? Chop Chop, I’m there! 

I really respect Dale, Ellen, Dennis, and Bill and, and, and. I agree fully with Fred Gardner about Rob Bonita (government hack) A.G. about setting up the legislative basis for the current hyper tax and regulatory terrorism on the patients and their providers. TAX MEDICINE - Fuck You Assholes. The government henchmen trying to be politically correct with little to no moral compass (most popular in class)!

So Jonah and I parked by the Marina and assumed that it would be a short hike, but ended up hiking around the Presidio for half an hour with two stoner ladies that eventually were able to get all of us to the venue. Jonah is almost 80 now and was a real trooper going up 100+ stair stairway. Why the organizers of the pot party would have it at a military institution is a mystery to me. It was beautiful though. Lots of history, memories, and reunions were the theme of the day. I personally learned quite a lot about how 215 came to be. 

In my humble opinion, it is great that a care provider or compassionate donor, or grower has legal standing in court to plead their case (not if feds are involved). But the rub is that the local jurisdiction and individual cop in that field have way too much say about who gets hammered and who actually gets their medicine. Don’t piss any local cops off or they elevate your case to the Federal level, then you’re fucked! Shame the government! All my cases were during 215. I proved no wrong in court and the police are allowed to come back repeatedly with no ramifications at all (sometimes the judges frown at them and throw the case out of the court). I can’t even sue the cops after they lied to the judge in their affidavit in support of their request for a search warrant. I’m a farmer, why do I have to know this legal shit, I’d rather talk about beneficial bugs, hyphae, and nematodes. Fuck! 

Now let non-profit growers jump through a thousand hoops while cancer patients are dying in front of them(ask me more)! I can give 1oz a day to anyone I want. What if they live 100 miles away and use it for edibles, then what? That is a lot of gas and driving for someone that needs more than an oz! I think the government has stopped or is going to stop taxing giveaways! This is because of pushback, not because they have come to their senses or found a conscience. I still don’t hear any conversation about how to get free pot to needy patients. I bet David Goldman has some ideas!

If you want to see very very clearly how bad 215 is, hop in your car and drive to Covelo in Round Valley. I know a dude that has a big permitted garden which he pays a lot of money to government agencies that all want a piece of the cannabis pie. This guy is surrounded by 100s of grows mostly “illegal”. He has one advantage in that he has legal standing. Wait a minute! The cops haven’t done anything to the non-permitted growers in Covelo for the last 3 years! Lots of heavy stuff going down in Covelo all the time. My friend has to deal with growing his plants and permits, inspectors (incompetent usually), bandits, cops, fires, employees, and has to pay tax even if you don’t get paid from distributors. Can’t give directly from farm to patient in any significant amount.

Unless a sick or dying patient is a slave to the fake legal system and is bound to follow the rules written by a bunch of haters. I can’t see any reason why they would even consider stepping into a high-cost dispensary when they can get the same product almost free anywhere else. Free from me:) 

Sooooo I had a good time at the gathering. I got to meet Fred Gardener (kind of my unofficial superhero-type mere mortal)! Some people are just plain smart! Jonah Raskin was ready to leave when I spied Pebbles lounging in a chair in the General residence. I said “Hey Jonah, wanna interview Pebbles?” He said “Yes, yes. Where is she?” Sooooo I told Pebble that I had a friend that would like to meet her, she said “Sure”. Those two talked for an hour. I think that Jonah has a hard crush on her, but maybe I’m wrong.

Personally, 215 changed my life. My family has been wonderful and has helped me to understand why I’m fighting this ass-backwards government. I have had people cry and tell me how much this plant helps them. My children are sharp and have watched everything going on over the last many years. Whose side do you think they are on?

To anyone that wants to help sick people get pot for free. Grow it for them yourself. 6 legal big plants can produce upwards of 20lbs so quit congratulating yourselves and grow a bunch of MM for those who can’t. No liquid salt-based NPK’s for patients with or without compromised health. Please. 

“Do some good!”

PS. I think one of the coolest things I ever heard was uttered by Dennis Peron who said, “Crybaby Lundgrin has completely gone off the deep end.” Well put, Dennis! 

PPS. I’m on 43 acres in west Sonoma, my zoning allows me to grow as much medical marijuana as I want. The infrustructure is there and the patients are still dying. This space remains empty. Wanna help a medical marijuana garden (non profit) for legitimate patients. I can grow the MM for the patients but I have no patients for the regulatory hurdles that must be jumped, so if you are good with the bureaucracy and pencil-pushing then lets talk! If you’re a dove, call me! If you’re a vulture there would be nothing here for you. Home phone: (707) 887 1448