Pubdate: Sat, 18 Mar 2006
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Page: A-1, Front Page
Copyright: 2006 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact:  http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author: Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

BITTER FIGHT OVER SWEET POT TREATS

Drug Agents Fear Candies Appeal to Kids - Medical Marijuana Users 
Insist They're Legal

They had colorful labels and names such as Trippy, Stoney Rancher, 
Toka-Cola, Pot Tart and Budtella.

To federal drug agents, they were dangerous marijuana-laced 
concoctions that could fall into the hands of children. But to sick 
patients who rely on cannabis to ease their symptoms, they were just 
tasty ways to get their medicine -- and legal under California law.

Federal agents who converged on several of what they called 
"marijuana candy factories" in the East Bay on Thursday seized 
hundreds of sodas and candies laced with marijuana in what they said 
was the largest bust of its kind on the West Coast.

Authorities say the drug is illegal no matter what form it takes, 
especially marijuana candy products that mimic mainstream candies and 
are attractive to youths.

But angry medical-marijuana patients said Friday that investigators 
are blowing smoke and that the raids in Oakland and Emeryville on 
Thursday are just the latest proof that federal investigators are 
running roughshod over local and state laws that allow for medicinal 
cannabis use.

In 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215, which allows the 
use of marijuana for medical purposes with a doctor's recommendation. 
Despite the law, authorities -- from the California Highway Patrol to 
the Drug Enforcement Administration -- have pounced on local 
marijuana-growing operations in the Bay Area, including locations in 
San Francisco and Sonoma County in December.

The candy-factory raids are the latest crackdown.

"I think the government is once again trying to create terror through 
our community," said Angel Raich, 40, of Oakland, who uses the drug 
to treat pain, nausea and seizures associated with a brain tumor and 
a wasting syndrome. "I do know for a fact that medical-cannabis candy 
and those kinds of products are in the dispensaries, and patients do use them."

Rick Steeb, 55, of San Jose, who uses marijuana to treat the pain 
from glaucoma, said he's "never seen (the candy) outside the 
dispensaries. It's not like they were being sold in convenience stores."

But Special Agent Casey McEnry, spokeswoman for the DEA, the agency 
that conducted this week's raids, said Friday that marijuana "is a 
violation of federal law in this form and in the smoked form. Even 
though there may be claims that these weren't meant for kids, the 
packaging may suggest otherwise."

The alleged ringleader, Kenneth Affolter, 39, of Lafayette, six other 
men and five women appeared Friday before U.S. Magistrate Bernard 
Zimmerman in San Francisco and were ordered held without bail pending 
a hearing next week.

Affolter, whose nickname is "Kena," operated Beyond Bomb, a 
manufacturer of the marijuana treats, from adjoining warehouses at 
1055 and 1071 Yerba Buena Ave. and 3960 Adeline St. in Emeryville, 
DEA Special Agent William Armstrong wrote in an affidavit unsealed Friday.

Investigators learned that a $3,913 PG&E balance for a month's period 
covered all three locations and was billed to Affolter, Armstrong wrote.

Affolter is listed as president of Clear Soap, which is under 
suspension for failing to pay state taxes, DEA Special Agent Jason 
Chin wrote in an affidavit. Affolter told Oakland police officers who 
responded to a silent alarm at one of the Yerba Buena warehouses last 
month that "he made soaps and candles," agents wrote.

Marijuana candies have been around for at least five years, cannabis 
users say. But raids of these products only began recently.

In May, police seized Beyond Bomb products from Compassionate 
Caregivers, a medical-marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles. In July, 
DEA agents seized Beyond Bomb candies from a San Lorenzo home.

Oakland's Compassionate Caregivers Club at 1740 Telegraph Ave., which 
Affolter used as a marijuana-cultivation site, was also searched as 
part of this week's raids, which netted up to 5,000 marijuana plants 
and $150,000 in cash, authorities said.

At the Telegraph Avenue site, agents found more than 100 marijuana 
plants, authorities said. Growers there wore identical gray, 
short-sleeve collared shirts and white lab coats, Armstrong wrote.

Employees also meticulously tracked their work hours on time cards, 
affidavits said.

Affolter's attorney, Robert Byers of Oakland, said Friday that it was 
unfair for authorities to claim that children could end up eating 
Beyond Bomb's creations.

"They know it's not marketed for kids," Byers said. "They're only 
seen in the context of people who use medical marijuana. A sweet, 
nice-tasting product is certainly going to benefit them."
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake