Rene Boje Case Could Bring Scrutiny To American Marijuana Policy TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER TO HELP OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS PLEASE SEE THE INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS FOCUS ALERT PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE DrugSense FOCUS Alert #132 October 20, 1999 Renee Boje Case Could Bring Scrutiny To American Marijuana Policy American marijuana laws are about to go on trial in Canada thanks to the efforts of a woman who is fighting extradition from the U.S. neighbor. Renee Boje's trouble with the law stems from the same federal "conspiracy" charges that have been used to persecute outspoken medical marijuana activists Peter McWilliams and Todd McCormick. Renee faces a mandatory sentence of ten years to life in prison, so she hopes to remain in Canada to protect her rights as a human being. While Renee's role in the story has gotten some coverage in Canada, the American media is now picking up on it. This week the Christian Science Monitor published an article (below) that used Renee Boje's fight to stay in Canada as a focal point to explore contrasting attitudes toward marijuana in the two nations. While the CSM story (below) summarizes Renee's case, more details are available at her website http://thecompassionclub.org/renee from the MAP news archive at http://www.mapinc.org/renee.htm and from a High Times website article at http://www.hightimes.com/ht/new/9910/reneebtrial.html It is absurd that the federal government would use all its considerable resources to extradite someone who didn't deserve to be arrested in the first place. Please write a letter to the Christian Science Monitor to protest this attack on a woman who hurt no one, and to further highlight the cruel absurdity of American marijuana policy. Thanks for your effort and support. WRITE A LETTER TODAY It's not what others do it's what YOU do PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter, Phone, fax etc.) Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the MAPTalk list if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is the only way we have of gauging our impact and effectiveness. CONTACT INFO Source: Christian Science Monitor Contact: EXTRA CREDIT Visit Renee's website and learn how to offer moral/financial support: http://thecompassionclub.org/renee/support.html Canada and US In Drug Debate URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n1138.a09.html Newshawk: http://thecompassionclub.org/renee/ Pubdate: Tue, 19 Oct 1999 Source: Christian Science Monitor (US) Copyright: 1999 The Christian Science Publishing Society. Contact: Address: One Norway Street, Boston, MA 02115 Fax: (617) 450-2031 Website: http://www.csmonitor.com/ Forum: http://www.csmonitor.com/atcsmonitor/vox/p-vox.html Author: Ruth Walker Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor CANADA AND US IN DRUG DEBATE A US woman seeks political asylum in Canada, claiming persecution in marijuana case. By Ruth Walker Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor A US woman wanted in California for conspiring to sell marijuana is fighting extradition from Canada on the grounds that she is a political refugee - from the war on drugs. Her belief in the medicinal value of marijuana makes her in effect a member of a persecuted group, her lawyer argues. This case is more than an unprecedented legal gambit. It also illustrates the contradictory laws and enduring sensitivity of marijuana as a public issue in the United States and Canada. It's been nearly three years since Golden State voters approved a new law allowing medicinal use of cannabis. But questions about how sick people are to be supplied with their newly legal medicine remain to be resolved, and US federal authorities remain adamant in their opposition to state laws such as California's Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act. Prosecutions for distribution of marijuana continue. And so Renee Boje, arrested in 1997 in the Bel Air, Calif., home of Todd McCormick, a high-profile advocate of medicinal marijuana, has been charged with conspiracy to distribute the drug, an offense carrying a sentence of 10 years to life. She faces an extradition hearing Nov. 1 in Vancouver. "She's caught in the cross-fire of the war on drugs," says Maury Mason, her spokesman, in Roberts Creek, British Columbia. Political Factor A US official requesting anonymity calls the use of the term "political asylum" by Ms. Boje's advocates "an artificial way of casting the discussion," but acknowledges, "There's always a major political element in a drug case." But Boje's lawyer, John Conroy, of Abbotsford, British Columbia, insists, "It's not a stretch to say that it's a political issue." The severity of the sentence she faces if convicted indicates an "unjust and oppressive" justice system, Mr. Conroy argues. He suggests that the charge she would face if the case were playing out in Canada would be "aiding and abetting cultivation" of the drug - with a maximum sentence of seven years. Mr. Mason, a former media director for the environmental group Greenpeace, says the campaign on Boje's behalf has two purposes, "One, to get her off, and two, to send a message to the US: Take a look at your own drug policy." But the Boje case is unfolding at a time when Canada is going through its own struggle over the issue of medical marijuana. Currently, those wishing to use the drug legally for medicinal purposes - to alleviate pain or control side effects from other drugs - must apply to the federal health minister in Ottawa. Getting permission has been widely deemed cumbersome and bureaucratic, a process in which he has broad, if not complete, discretion. This month 14 applications were approved - bringing the total of legal marijuana smokers to 16 across Canada. But at the same time, federal lawyers have been in court in Toronto, seeking to overturn a provincial court's ruling allowing an individual diagnosed as epileptic to smoke marijuana legally to control what are described as life-threatening seizures. In 1997, an Ontario court gave Terry Parker permission to smoke marijuana free of prosecution. But Ottawa lawyers are arguing that this permission usurps federal authority; Mr. Parker should make application to the health minister like the others. On both sides of the border, legal supply of the drug is an issue. "People didn't pass Proposition 215 with the thought of sick people having to go downtown to a dark alley to buy their medicine," says Rand Martin, chief of staff for California State Sen. John Vasconcellos. The senator has introduced legislation to set up a registry of people with legal permission for medicinal marijuana. If the system is implemented, a police officer would be able to check on someone's marijuana status as easily as he could check on outstanding parking tickets. Yet people allowed to use medicinal marijuana are often too ill to grow their own. And because marijuana is a plant and not a manufactured product like aspirin, there's not an obvious role for pharmaceutical companies to play, observes Eugene Oscapella, an Ottawa lawyer and a founding member of the Canadian Drug Policy Foundation. But if restrictions on medicinal marijuana were relaxed as fully as advocates would like, marijuana could be as widely used, he suggests, as an over-the-counter painkiller. Buyers' Clubs It is in this void that "buyers' clubs" have developed, such as the Compassion Club of Vancouver, a registered charity set up to supply seriously ill people with marijuana. In Canada these clubs have generally worked out a modus vivendi with the police. In California, activists in such organizations have been prosecuted. Boje, a graphic artist, says she was working with Mr. McCormick to establish a buyers' club in southern California when she was arrested. She has insisted that because of the new law and because McCormick had prescriptions for marijuana, their activities were legal. Pretrial motions in McCormick's trial were to begin yesterday in California. Conroy expects to lose the Nov. 1 hearing but to appeal to Canada's federal justice minister. Boje "is in fear of what will be done to her" if she goes to a US prison. Amnesty International released a report earlier this year about human rights violations against women in prison, which attracted widespread attention here. The levels of abuse reported are a reason to consider the American justice system "unjust and oppressive," according to Conroy. SAMPLE LETTER (sent) Thank you for focusing on the plight of Renee Boje ("Canada and US In Drug Debate," Oct. 19). Her story illustrates the U.S. government's obsession with destroying anyone barely connected with challenges to marijuana policy. Renee Boje hurt no one. She presents no threat to any individual. Yet, she faces 10 years to life in prison along with extradition proceedings. Who benefits from such vindictiveness? Certainly not the U.S. public, who will see hundreds of thousands of their tax dollars wasted if Renee is extradited, tried and incarcerated. In return, the public gets nothing in the way of increased safety or security. U.S. government officials may believe they benefit by crushing dissent toward marijuana policy, but this case is so outrageous, they are likely to leave many Americans shocked. The prison system, always hungry for more raw material to facilitate expansion, will be the only big winner. This latest display of the U.S. government's manic compulsion to crush anything that stands as a challenge to its cruel policies regarding marijuana should be a wake up call to all Americans. Renee Boje stood at the periphery of a situation that seemed to be supported by the people of California. The federal government's reaction shows its goal is not to protect the people, but to scare them into submission. Stephen Young IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone number Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for his/her work. ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts 3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm Prepared by Stephen Young - http://home.att.net/~theyoungfamily Focus Alert Specialist

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