MARIJUANA ACTIVIST SEEKS DISMISSAL OF CULTIVATION CHARGES

The attorney for Steve McWilliams will ask a federal judge today to
drop all charges against the medical marijuana activist.

McWilliams, 48, was arrested in October and charged with growing 25
marijuana plants in the front yard of the bungalow he shared with
another activist. If convicted he faces a mandatory, minimum five-year
prison sentence, because he also is charged with another cultivation
count stemming from an earlier raid.

Although McWilliams closed his Shelter from the Storm cannabis center
in November, he remains one of San Diego's most visible advocates for
medical marijuana.

Before his arrest, he smoked marijuana on the steps of San Diego City
Hall to draw attention to his cause. And, in 1999, police seized 448
plants from a marijuana garden he organized. At the time, the District
Attorney's Office did not prosecute him, but federal authorities are
now using that case to enhance their charges in federal court.

The court filings in McWilliams' case mirrorthe national debate over
whether patients should be allowed to smoke marijuana.

McWilliams, who is scheduled for trial in February, argues he has a
right to grow marijuana for medical use under Proposition 215,
approved by California voters in 1996. Seven other states have adopted
similar initiatives.

McWilliams' attorney, David Zugman, contends that any prosecution of
medical marijuana growers infringes on states' rights.

In his written request filed in court, Zugman argues that California
and other states have a right to define the legitimacy of a medical
practice without federal government interference.

He compares the medical marijuana issue to Washington state's battle
with the federal government over assisted suicide. The U.S. Supreme
Court has upheld that state's right to pass such legislation.

Federal authorities argue against such a comparison because federal
law clearly bans the cultivation of marijuana.

According to prosecutors, any state law allowing the use of medical
marijuana is trumped by the DEA's classification of marijuana as a
drug that has no legitimate medical use.

Proposition 215 has pitted the Justice Department and the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration against California's top law enforcement
officials.

Federal officials say their stance on medical marijuana is supported
by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that held medical need can't be used in
a defense against marijuana charges in federal court, no matter what
state law has approved.

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer has complained that federal
raids of cannabis clubs are "wasteful, unwise and surprisingly
insensitive," because California allows the use of marijuana for
medical purposes.