Pubdate: Thu, 05 Dec 2013
Source: North Coast Journal (Arcata, CA)
Copyright: 2013 North Coast Journal
Contact:  http://www.northcoastjournal.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2833
Author: Ryan Burns

POT POWS

When a mega-grow gets busted in Humboldt County, it makes a splash in
local media - photos of lush greenhouses, irrigation pipes and bricks
of processed weed, plus names and numbers (money, pounds, plants) that
read like sports stats. What we don't see are the repercussions of
those busts, what becomes of the growers after they're arrested,
charged and convicted.

This past July the Journal submitted a request to interview locals
serving terms in a federal correctional institution located in
Sheridan, Ore., about 50 miles southwest of Portland. There are
currently at least five men from Humboldt County being held in the
prison's minimum security satellite camp. They're serving terms of
three years, five years, even 10 years for nonviolent,
marijuana-related crimes (mostly conspiracy to distribute).

After almost a month of emails and follow-up phone calls to the
warden's assistant, our request for interviews was denied. "[T]he
decision was made based on security concerns and the possible
disruption to the operations of the institution these in-person
interviews would cause," explained Paul Thompson, the prison's
executive assistant.

This, obviously, is reasonable-sounding nonsense. There is a provision
in federal law that allows wardens to deny an interview request if he
or she thinks the interview "would endanger the health or safety of
the interviewer, or would probably cause serious unrest or disturb the
good order of the institution." But the men in question here are
nonviolent offenders being held in a minimum security prison camp with
inmates of similar backgrounds. Was the warden suggesting that simply
interviewing these men could cause a prison riot?

We contacted Jim Ewert, general counsel for the California Newspaper
Publishers' Association. Told of the reasoning behind the denial,
Ewert was perplexed. "That sounds a little preposterous to me," he
said.

In late August the Journal sent a follow-up email asking for a more
detailed justification of the denial, and throughout September we left
numerous voicemails and sent several emails. On Sept. 18 we were told
that Warden Marion Feather was off that week and would respond the
following week. She didn't. On Oct. 8 Executive Assistant Thompson
sent an email saying that things would have to wait due to the
government shutdown: "Once the federal government is operating fully
again your requests can be assessed again."

On Nov. 18, Thompson wrote to say that the satellite prison camp
manager was meeting with the five local inmates to have them review
news interview authorization forms. "I will keep you informed," he
wrote.

Last Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, Thompson sent an email saying
that the interview requests had again been denied, this time with an
additional reason: Talking to the inmates may "be considered as
receipt of something of value or prestige in the eyes of the other
inmates."

Just six days earlier, Rolling Stone published a 10,000-word story on
Charles Manson, complete with glossy photos and online audio clips of
a fresh interview from inside Corcoran State Prison. The piece was
dubbed "The Final Confessions of a Psychopath." Meanwhile, Humboldt
pot growers can't talk to their local weekly. Do the feds find them
more dangerous than Charles Manson? Or maybe they think the Journal's
more prestigious than Rolling Stone. Gosh, thanks!

Regardless, we'll keep pressing for access to the prisoners at
Sheridan. In the meantime it's at least worth pondering the lives of
the men who not long ago were surrounded by lush greenhouses,
irrigation pipes and bricks of processed weed, but who are now serving
multi-year terms in federal prison.

Marijuana is our region's No. 1 cash crop because its value is
artificially buoyed by prohibition. And the federal laws enabling drug
war profiteers can quickly turn them into hidden prisoners of that
war.
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MAP posted-by: Matt