HEARING SET TODAY FOR POT ACTIVIST

Supporters of a jailed medical marijuana activist say the 58-year-old
Merced man detained on federal drug charges is on a hunger strike.

Since his arrest Thursday, Dustin Costa has become a focal point in a
philosophical debate about medical marijuana.

Costa's detention hearing is scheduled in federal court in Fresno this morning.

Costa's backers are placing him on a pedestal, describing him as an
effective political organizer, while prosecutors dismiss him as a drug
dealer hiding behind the state's medical marijuana laws.

Underscoring the issue is a contradiction between federal drug laws and a
voter-approved state measure legalizing the use of medical marijuana.

Costa, who goes by the nickname "Rev. D.C. Greenhouse," is president of the
Merced Patients Group, a private cannabis club in Merced that claims 230
members.

In recent months, the group has lobbied against local ordinances banning
medical marijuana dispensaries.

The federal case against Costa repackages marijuana cultivation charges
that he has fought in Superior Court for more than a year.

Those charges stem from a February 2004 pot bust in which local narcotics
agents netted close to 1,000 plants at Costa's Winton home.

Costa's attorney planned on putting up a medical marijuana defense in
Merced Superior Court, but that argument is useless in federal court.

Costa faces a maximum of 45 years in prison on the drug and weapons charges.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal government can
prosecute people who use marijuana for medicinal purposes. But California
Attorney General Bill Lockyer argues that the ruling doesn't overturn the
state's medical marijuana laws.

It is not clear how Costa's case was picked up by federal prosecutors.
District Attorney Gordon Spencer declined to discuss Costa's case, saying
it is now a federal matter.

Merced County Sheriff Mark Pazin said Costa's medical marijuana defense
lacked merit and was merely a smokescreen to evade prosecution. "It was a
disservice to those who may need medical marijuana," he said.

The outspoken club president has attracted attention with mock campaign
T-shirts that read "D.C. for D.A." and for his efforts to assemble a
medical marijuana marching band.

The Merced club helps connect people with doctors who give recommendations
for marijuana and people who supply the drug.

To join the club, members pledged to become politically active and be named
in a lawsuit.

Dr. Tom O'Connel, a Redwood City-based surgeon who works with the Merced
club, said he thinks the transfer to federal court may be legal, but is
"grossly unfair."