Federal defendants need support from the community! Please consider attending any of the upcoming court dates of medical ma­rijuana patien­ts, caregivers, and doctors from the list below. For more in­formation on what you can do to help, see our Guide to Organizing Court Support.

You can also refer to listings of federal medical marijuana cases compiled by ASA and California NORML.

July 22, 2008 (and ongoing) -- Charles C. Lynch

Trial at 8am before Judge George Wu in U.S. District Court (C.D., CA), Courtroom 10 at 312 North Spring Street in Los Angeles, 90012. San Luis Obispo County dispensing collective operator Charles C. Lynch was raided by the DEA and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs on March 29, 2007 at Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers (CCCC) in Morro Bay, CA. Lynch ran a very well-run dispensing collective that attempted to stringently follow state, county and city medical marijuana regulations since it opened in April 2006. According to a testimonial, ­"Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers took precautions to inform its patients regarding the restrictions that applied to them by attaching a copy of the rules and regulations governing medical cannabis to their package upon receipt. Picture IDs were issued to prevent fraud. Not only were the letters of recommendation verified, they also looked up the doctors on the California Medical Board’s web site to make sure that the doctors were in good standing. The Morro Bay dispensary added video surveillance and a metal detector to further the safety of its patients and to discourage misuse. For the year that the CCCC was open, there were no problems or complaints reported to the dispensary. In fact, employees of neighboring businesses were dismayed to see them raided by law enforcement." The City of Morro Bay was actively aware of the purpose of CCCC. It issued a busines license for a "'Medical Marijuana Dispensary" and a Cannabis Nursery Permit after a lengthy conditional use permit process. CCCC operated for nearly a year without incident until the the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff called in the DEA to raid the dispensary on March 29, 2007. Lynch was not arrested at that time and reopened with the blessing of his landlord and Morro Bay city officials. The DEA subsequently contacted the Landlord and threatened him with forfeiture of his property and possible prosecution if he refused to evict CCCC from his building, and as a result, CCCC closed its doors on May 16, 2007. On July 17, 2007, the DEA and local sheriffs arrested Lynch and he spent 4 days in federal detention before being released on $400,000 bail, posted by his family. Lynch was indicted for conspiracy to possess and possession with intent to distribute marijuana and concentrated cannabis, manufacturing (cultivating) more than 100 plants, knowingly maintaining a drug premises, and sales of marijuana to a person under the age of 21. Additionally, criminal forfeiture proceedings have begun on his assets. Lynch has been placed under house arrest and has been required to wear an electronic monitor for 10 months while waiting for his trial to commence. During this time, Reason.tv recorded video of Lynch’s struggle and on June 11, 2008 published a video hosted by Drew Carey. Lynch remains out on bail. For more information see Charles' ­website. Supporters are encouraged to attend!

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August 11, 2008 -- Luke Scarmazzo & Ricardo Montes (California Healthcare Collective)

Motion for a New Trial & Sentencing Hearing at 1:30pm before Judge Oliver Wanger in U.S. District Court (E.D., CA), 2500 Tulare Street, Fresno, CA. After the City of Modesto failed to shut down the California Healthcare Collective by banning dispensaries, it called in the DEA. On September 27, 2006, the DEA raided the collective and arrested four people (owner-operators Luke Scarmazzo and Ricardo Montes and two staff members) on charges of distribution of marijuana and conspiracy to distribute. Scarmazzo and Montes were also charged with possession of firearms and money laundering. Later, an additional five people were indicted, totalling nine who were being prosecuted by the federal government. In the raid, the DEA allegedly seized more than 100 pounds of marijuana, one thousand plants, multiple firearms, and more than $200,000 in cash. The raids were the result of a 15-month investigation between the DEA and the Modesto Police Department. In 2007 and early 2008, Stephen DeMattos's case was dismissed in the interest of justice, Bradley Heinmiller and Bradley Wickliffe pled guilty, while the other six defendants (Scarmazzo, Montes, Monica Valencia, Lucky Boissiere, Jose Malagon, and Antonio Malagon) remained to stand trial. After a special hearing, Judge Wanger decided to allow the prosecution to play the "Businessman" music video in front of the jury during the trial. On April 27, 2008, the day before the trial was scheduled to commence, Boissiere, Valencia, and the Malagon brothers accepted plea bargains. Boissiere & Valencia pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute marijuana and the Malagon brothers pled guilty to conspiring to manufacture and distribute marijuana.  Boissiere and the Malagon brothers agreed to testify against Scarmazzo & Montes, joining Heinmiller & DeMattos. Valencia refused to testify for the government, turning down the reduced plea bargain deal she was offered as an incentive. At the trial, Scarmazzo took the stand, and was able to present evidence of medical marijuana but it was to no avail, and on May 15, 2008, the jury returned its verdicts. While the jurors had deadlocked on the conspiracy counts and acquitted on the firearms counts, they delivered a grand total of eight guilty verdicts against the defendants, including a conviction for continuing criminal enterprise, which puts Scarmazzo and Montes at risk of life imprisonment. At the end the trial, both defendants were literally wrested out of the arms of their families and taken into the custody of U.S. Marshals because of the severity of the penalties. Several jurors, upon learn­ing the severity of the possible penalties, expressed reservations about their votes to convict and the legitimacy of medical marijuana prosecutions. Prosecutors­ have already successfully seized $200,000 and are seeking $9.2 million in forfeiture.  For more information, please see the consistently excellent Vanessa Nelson.

August 18, 2008 -- Monica Valencia (California Healthcare Collective)

Sentencing Hearing at 1:30pm before Judge Oliver Wanger in U.S. District Court (E.D., CA), 2500 Tulare Street, Fresno, CA. After the City of Modesto failed to shut down the California Healthcare Collective by banning dispensaries, it called in the DEA. On September 27, 2006, the DEA raided the collective and arrested four people (owner-operators Luke Scarmazzo and Ricardo Montes and two staff members) on charges of distribution of marijuana and conspiracy to distribute. Scarmazzo and Montes were also charged with possession of firearms and money laundering. Later, an additional five people were indicted, totalling nine who were being prosecuted by the federal government. In the raid, the DEA allegedly seized more than 100 pounds of marijuana, one thousand plants, multiple firearms, and more than $200,000 in cash. The raids were the result of a 15-month investigation between the DEA and the Modesto Police Department. In 2007 and early 2008, Stephen DeMattos's case was dismissed in the interest of justice, Bradley Heinmiller and Bradley Wickliffe pled guilty, while the other six defendants (Scarmazzo, Montes, Monica Valencia, Lucky Boissiere, Jose Malagon, and Antonio Malagon) remained to stand trial. After a special hearing, Judge Wanger decided to allow the prosecution to play the "Businessman" music video in front of the jury during the trial. On April 27, 2008, the day before the trial was scheduled to commence, Boissiere, Valencia, and the Malagon brothers accepted plea bargains. Boissiere & Valencia pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute marijuana and the Malagon brothers pled guilty to conspiring to manufacture and distribute marijuana.  Boissiere and the Malagon brothers agreed to testify against Scarmazzo & Montes, joining Heinmiller & DeMattos. Valencia refused to testify for the government, turning down the reduced plea bargain deal she was offered as an incentive. At the trial, Scarmazzo took the stand, and was able to present evidence of medical marijuana but it was to no avail, and on May 15, 2008, the jury returned its verdicts. While the jurors had deadlocked on the conspiracy counts and acquitted on the firearms counts, they delivered a grand total of eight guilty verdicts against the defendants, including a conviction for continuing criminal enterprise, which puts Scarmazzo and Montes at risk of life imprisonment. At the end the trial, both defendants were literally wrested out of the arms of their families and taken into the custody of U.S. Marshals because of the severity of the penalties. Several jurors, upon learning the severity of the possible penalties, expressed reservations about their votes to convict and the legitimacy of medical marijuana prosecutions. Valencia is back in custody in Fresno and will unfortunately remain there until sentencing.  For more information, please see the consistently excellent Vanessa Nelson.

September 3, 2008 -- Mickey Martin & Jessica Sanders (Tainted Inc.)

Sentencing Hearing at 2:30pm before Judge Claudia Wilken in U.S. District Court (N.D., CA), at 1301 Clay Street in Oakland. On September 26, 2007, the DEA raided five locations in Oakland and San Leandro, allegedly confiscating hundreds of edibles and 460 plants, and arresting activists Jessica Sanders (30), Michael Anderson (42), and Diallo McLinn (35). After a press conference on October 4, 2007 medical marijuana patient Michael "Mickey" Martin (33), who had been on vacation during the raid, voluntarily turned himself in. All four were charged with conspiracy to manufacture or distribute controlled substances. Tainted Edibles were available for patients as an alternative to smoking at dispensing collectives across the state. On March 26, 2008, Mickey Martin pled guilty to a felony count of conspiracy to manufacture a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of marijuana. Martin now faces up to five years in a federal prison, a $250,000 fine, and several years of supervised release. On April 7th, 2008 Diallo McLinn pled guilty to federal misdemeanor aiding and abetting the possession of marijuana charges and was sentenced to 2 years probation. On April 16, 2008, David Anderson pled guilty to federal misdemeanor knowingly aiding and abetting the possession of marijuana and he also received 2 years of probation, with no mandatory drug testing, to be served in his home state of Georgia while living with his family. Additionally at that hearing, Jessica Sanders, Tainted Edibles' order clerk, pled guilty to felony using a telephone to distribute marijuana in hopes of receiving leniency from Judge Wilken at sentencing. Martin and Sanders remain out on bail as they await sentencing. It is imperative that we let the community and justice system know that our movement stands strong in a show of solidarity, as we continue our fight to protect patients and providers rights in medical cannabis states. Please come out and let the world know that we will no longer stand for these injustices in our community. For more information on what you can do to support the defendants, visit www.FreeTainted.com or contact freetainted@yahoo.com or 888-Taint-Me or the consistently excellent Vanessa Nelson.

September 3, 2008 -- Steele Smith & the C-3 Collective (4)