POT HANDOUT PROVES A BUST

The man who planned to give away a half-pound of marijuana buds in front of
the Sheriff's Office on Friday afternoon was arrested a about 4 p.m. before
he got the chance.

Chris Robert Giauque (pronounced "Gee-Oak") was arrested by officers from
the Eureka Police Department on suspicion of transportation and possession
of marijuana. He was booked into the county jail on $20,000 bail, but his
girlfriend, Rebecca Smiley, bailed him out later in the evening.

Giauque, 34, has been involved in a long-standing legal battle with Sheriff
Dennis Lewis ever since Lewis refused to give him back a 1-ounce bag of
marijuana seized during a 1999 traffic stop.

The pot giveaway, scheduled for 4:20 p.m. to coincide with a popular
catchphrase for weed smoking, was intended to send a message to the Sheriff
that people who have a legal prescription have a right to their dope.

Lewis has repeatedly said he won't return the marijuana, despite orders
from a Superior Court judge, because he doesn't want to break federal law.

Lewis is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. After Giauque made bail
Friday evening, he said the arrest "doesn't stop anything" and he plans to
be on the courtsteps smoking a joint when Lewis goes to court.

Giauque is also a member of the Salmon Creek Cannabis Cooperative, which
distributes medical marijuana to about 70 people.

Despite Giauque's arrest, about 50 people, many of them cardholders who buy
marijuana from him, were on hand to protest the arrest and to promote Prop.
215. The characteristic pungent odor of weed wafted through the air as
people held up signs saying, "Hey Cop, Give Me My Pot" to passing traffic.
Some motorists honked their horns in support while others slowed down and
yelled "Get a job!" out the window.

"I want my caregiver back," said James Hand. "I want my medicine." Hand
said he has had AIDS since 1980 and has a medical marijuana card.

Another cardholder, Lisa Brackett, said she also gets the drug from
Giauque. She said she suffers from anorexia and can't eat without smoking
marijuana.

Other than Giauque, no arrests were made. Eureka Police Chief David
Douglas, spokesman on the issue of Giauque's arrest, was not available for
comment, nor was Sheriff Lewis.