A MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACTIVIST IS ARRESTED

McWilliams Out On Bail After Federal Charges

Medical-marijuana activist Steven McWilliams was arrested on federal drug
charges yesterday morning, with law enforcement officers quietly taking him
into custody outside his Normal Heights home as he walked his dogs.

McWilliams, 48, was hustled away by five U.S. drug enforcement agents. He
later made an initial appearance in federal court, where he pleaded not
guilty to pot-growing charges.

He was released last night after friends and supporters pledged to pay a
$50,000 bond if he fails to show up for court appearances.

McWilliams faces a mandatory five-year minimum prison sentence if he is
convicted. In 1999, police raided a marijuana garden that McWilliams
organized, but he was not prosecuted. Federal authorities are now using that
case to enhance their charges.

"The district attorney refused to file charges in 1999," McWilliams said.
"The feds could have done it then too. It seems like a really wrongful
action to dredge up stuff from so long ago."

The arrest yesterday came 21/2 weeks after federal drug enforcement agents
uprooted 25 marijuana plants from the front yard of the bungalow McWilliams
shares with Barbara MacKenzie.

Days before that, a Drug Enforcement Administration officer hand-delivered
McWilliams a letter signed by interim U.S. Attorney Carol Lam warning him
that he might be arrested if he did not stop growing marijuana.

McWilliams and MacKenzie are among the most visible advocates for medical
marijuana in San Diego, operating a resource center and helping sick and
dying people obtain the drug under California's Proposition 215.

More than once, they smoked marijuana on the steps of San Diego City Hall to
draw attention to their cause.

But they also have worked closely with city officials and police to stay
within state law, however fuzzy it is. The state law conflicts with federal
drug statutes, which prohibit the use, possession or cultivation of
marijuana.

Federal prosecutors refused to comment on the case.

Agents declined to arrest MacKenzie, for reasons that remain unclear,
although she said one federal drug enforcement officer told her yesterday he
would discuss possible charges against her later.

"We're already in pain because they took our medicine," she said. "But it's
not a complete surprise. They had to make an arrest because it's part of the
process, and they don't know how to stop the process once it starts."

McWilliams may not remain free for long.

One condition of his release requires him to stay away from drugs, and he
can be tested at any time. A positive test result, which could send him back
to jail, may be likely for weeks to come because he has been a heavy pot
smoker for years.

McWilliams has a prescription for Marinol, a pill designed to simulate the
analgesic properties of marijuana, but he said he has tried them before, and
they do not ease his chronic pain.

"I have to abide by terms of my release, but it's going to be really tough,"
he said just outside the federal jail downtown. "I've got Marinol, but
that's not effective."

Proposition 215, approved by voters in 1996, allows patients to grow and use
marijuana to ease chronic pain and other ailments. Seven other states have
approved similar laws, and more initiatives appear on ballots next month.

Under California's proposition, a doctor can write a letter saying a patient
could benefit from using marijuana to decrease pain and nausea or stimulate
appetite. With such a letter, personal use of marijuana is legal under state
law.

But the U.S. Supreme Court bolstered the enforcement of federal law when it
ruled last year that medical need cannot be used as a defense against
marijuana charges in federal court. David Zugman, a San Diego attorney who
is representing McWilliams free of charge, said he still might be able to
attack the federal prosecution of his client on constitutional grounds.

He said the Supreme Court decision was aimed at growers who cultivate
marijuana for others, not those who grow it for their own medical need.

McWilliams was taken into custody just before 8 a.m. outside his home.
Agents took the two dogs and returned them to MacKenzie, who was not allowed
to speak with McWilliams before he was taken away.

The arrest outraged some patients, local officials and community activists,
who said the federal government should be investing its limited resources in
more appropriate causes.

Federal agents arrested McWilliams five days before a committee of the San
Diego City Council considers guidelines on how the estimated 1,500 to 3,000
medical-marijuana patients in the city might take advantage of Proposition
215.

City officials also are moving ahead with plans to issue identification
cards for registered medical-marijuana patients. Even so, San Diego Mayor
Dick Murphy declined yesterday to discuss the arrest.

But Councilwoman Toni Atkins, in whose district McWilliams resides, called
the government action "mind-boggling."

She criticized federal officials, saying they are targeting people like
McWilliams who have been active in pushing the marijuana debate forward.

"This is not what the DEA should be spending our taxpayer dollars on,"
Atkins said. "Steve McWilliams isn't a threat to anyone, and to many people,
he's actually a hero who's trying to improve their quality of life."

Michael Barbee, a member of the task force that wrote the Proposition 215
city guidelines, was even more blunt.

"No one is safe from the federal government, regardless of what a person's
state government says or the outcome of a statewide vote," Barbee said.
"People should stand up in support of Steve McWilliams."

But federal officials defended the arrest.

Donald Thornhill Jr., a spokesman for the DEA in San Diego, said McWilliams
has drawn attention to himself by regularly seeking media coverage.

"The DEA is not singling these people out. We're just enforcing the law,"
Thornhill said. "This guy is violating the law and he's flaunting it. He
brought this whole thing on himself."

McWilliams has been arrested numerous times in recent years for growing
marijuana, although local officials have largely left him alone since he
agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor cultivation charges in 1999 and stop
distributing the drug.

However, in July 1999, police raided a cooperative garden he organized and
confiscated 448 plants. San Diego County never prosecuted that case, leaving
it open for federal prosecutors to present the case to a grand jury.

The only reason McWilliams is facing a mandatory five-year minimum sentence
is because federal prosecutors are pursing him for that raid. Otherwise, he
would only be facing one felony count for growing 25 plants, which would
give a judge more discretion to sentence him to probation.