Pubdate: Sat, 02 Sep 2000
Source: Contra Costa Times (CA)
Copyright: 2000 Contra Costa Newspapers Inc.
Contact: Send letters to editor online at: 
http://www.ContraCostaTimes.com/contact_us/letters.htm
Address: 2640 Shadelands Drive, Walnut Creek, CA 94598
Website: http://www.contracostatimes.com/
Forum: http://www.contracostatimes.com/cocotalk/index.htm
Author: Kristi Belcamino, Times Staff Writer

MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACTIVIST, ON BAIL, RE-ARRESTED

A medical marijuana advocate out on bail after being charged with 
cultivation and possession for sale of marijuana in July was arrested 
Thursday night after police found 650 marijuana plants in his house.  

Ken Estes, 36, was arrested on suspicion of cultivation and possession 
of marijuana about 5:30 p.m. at his residence on Via Roble, said Chief 
Hank Davis.  

In June, Estes was charged with cultivation and possession of marijuana 
after a police raid at the Concord home where he was living found 1,500 
marijuana plants. In July, he turned himself in and pleaded not guilty 
to two counts of cultivation and two counts of possession of marijuana 
and was released on his own recognizance.  

On Thursday night, Lafayette police served a restraining order and 
eviction notice requested by Estes' live-in girlfriend. They found more 
than 650 plants in rooms, the wine cellar and storage sheds, all 
nurtured with indoor grow lights, Davis said.  

On his booking form, Estes gave his occupation as "herbal 
distribution," Davis said.  

Police searching Estes' Berkeley business, Medical Herbs, Friday 
morning found equipment used to manufacture hashish -- a concentrated 
form of marijuana -- an undisclosed quantity of marijuana and 30 pounds 
of marijuana brownies, Davis said.  

Estes and another man at the house, Randy Moses, 41, a transient, were 
arrested on suspicion of cultivation and possession for sale of 
marijuana. A third man, Michael Martin, 36, of Antioch, was arrested 
for outstanding warrants, Davis said.  

In a jailhouse interview Friday, Estes said he feels obligated to 
continue dispensing medicinal marijuana to the 500 clients he serves. 
He said he is justified in doing so under state Prop. 215, which voters 
approved in 1996, allowing seriously ill patients to grow and use 
marijuana for pain relief if they have a doctor's recommendation.  

"Police are still thwarting the voters of California who believe that 
us patients are really trying to find an alternative medicine," said 
Estes.  

Paralyzed in a motorcycle crash when he was 18, Estes said he became an 
advocate of medicinal marijuana some 20 years ago after discovering the 
drug eased his chronic pain.  

"I want people to know that marijuana is actually a medicine for some 
people who suffer daily and when nothing else will work," he said.  

Implementation of Prop. 215 has been tied up in the courts for the past 
three years.  

The proposition runs counter to federal law, which says marijuana has 
no medical purpose and cannot be administered safely under medical 
supervision.  

In July, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled the Oakland Cannabis 
Buyers' Cooperative could distribute marijuana for medicinal purposes 
based on a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.  

But on Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court barred distribution of marijuana 
to people in California whose doctors recommend it for medicinal 
purposes. The 7-1 vote postponed the effect of federal court rulings 
that would have allowed the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative to 
distribute the drug.  

If courts don't rule in favor of Prop. 215 before his trial, he'll most 
likely go to jail, Estes said.  

In July, when Estes turned himself in at the Martinez Detention 
Facility, he held a press conference at which he was escorted by his 
attorney and friends holding "Free Ken" and "California voted yes on 
215" signs.  

On his way into the jail, Estes told reporters he had just smoked 
marijuana.  

Thursday's arrest occurred without fanfare. This time, he spent the 
night in his wheelchair in a holding cell and still wore a black "Pulp 
Fiction" T-shirt Friday morning instead of jail-issue clothing.  

Estes said while he was nervous about the thought of a jail sentence, 
he can't wait for the courts to see his side -- that what he does is 
legal as approved by the state's voters.  

"People are dying and people are suffering right now. I don't have the 
luxury of waiting or I would wait."  
- ---
MAP posted-by: John Chase