Pubdate: Sun, 19 Jun 2016
Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA)
Copyright: 2016 The Press Democrat
Contact:  http://www.pressdemocrat.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/348
Author: Chris Smith

POT PURVEYOR GETS AWAY WITH MEDICAL MISSION

Now that marijuana purveyor Dennis Franklin Hunter is released 
without charges in the wake of Wednesday's large-scale Sonoma County 
raids, his followers can get on with their quest to have him canonized.

It's tough not to mist up as disciples of Hunter extol his efforts to 
bring the highest professional standards - "the gold standard" - to 
his company's production of marijuana products for the thousands of 
patients who rely on them.

Hunter is so devoted to his mission of bringing the masses the succor 
of cannabis that following his arrest for illegal cultivation in 
Mendocino County more than 20 years ago, he defiantly went bigger in 
Humboldt County. In 1998 he filled a large house in the Three Creeks 
area east of Eureka wall-to-wall with a 12,000-plant grow operation.

Authorities following up on a tip had never seen the likes of it. As 
the officers moved in, Hunter scooted into the woods.

He evidently was still pursuing his ministry of medicinal compassion 
when, three years ago, he landed his airplane for refueling at the 
airport in Saline County, Ark. Homeland Security officials suspicious 
that he might be transporting an illegal substance asked local 
deputies to check him out.

As the lawmen approached, Hunter jumped into the plane and took off. 
He later landed badly on a country road and scampered again into the 
cover of the trees.

He has been prosecuted and imprisoned but he will not relent. He 
seems to believe he has not only right on his side, but the law.

Following Wednesday's raids, his spokesman, political consultant Nick 
Caston, said, "We produce medicine as determined by the voters in the 
1990s, and we do it with the best practices of any company in the state."

There the apologist cited 1996's Proposition 215, the bible for 
California marijuana growers and dealers and one of the most cynical 
con jobs ever perpetuated on the compassionate but gullible voters of 
our state.

The initiative asked to make marijuana available to "seriously ill 
Californians." And there's no question that some of Hunter's legions 
of customers do indeed qualify.

But many, I would venture, are fakers of the ilk of those drivers who 
lift grandma's handicapped parking placard for a trip to store - the 
truly needy be damned.

If California legalizes pot for recreational use and regulates and 
taxes it like it does alcohol, Hunter can rightly claim his place in 
the vanguard of the cannabis industry. But to suggest he processes 
and sells weed out of medical compassion is a bit sickening.

A GOOD RUN: Sunday's footrace in Healdsburg will be a blast for many, 
and especially meaningful to Joel Billman.

Joel is the former Chalkboard and Oakville Grocery chef who nearly 
three years fell while hiking on Fitch Mountain and suffered a spinal 
injury that leaves him barely able to walk.

Healdsburg firefighters rushed to his aid in 2013, and just weeks ago 
their association gave him a gift: a beauty of a hand-powered cycle.

Joel will ride it today as grand marshal of the Kiwanis Fitch 
Mountain Footrace that starts at the Healdsburg Plaza.

Joel intends soon to return to a kitchen somewhere in town, and to 
ride the cycle to work.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom