BAY AREA POT GURU BUSTED IN UTAH

Dennis Peron Caught With Joint

The godfather of medical marijuana in California didn't get much respect
last week in Cedar City, Utah, where police caught him smoking a joint in
his motel room.

Facing a felony charge of possessing marijuana for distribution, Dennis
Peron said yesterday it was time that Utah had a law like California's
Proposition 215, which he drafted in 1996.

"I'm going to go back and fight it and going to try to change the state
law, " he said. "It's going to be a tough nut to crack, but it's not
impossible."

Peron said he and fellow Bay Area marijuana activist John Entwistle had
been heading for Zion National Park with a Utah friend last Wednesday and
decided to sample the marijuana they had brought along, even though "I
didn't think it was a good idea."

A maid picked up the scent in the hall, and the motel owner called police,
who held the three men spread-eagled on the floor for 10 minutes "like we
had committed a terrorist act," Peron said.

Officers searched the room and two cars outside and found enough marijuana
to conclude the three were dealers.

Peron said it was only a few ounces, to be used for medical purposes as
allowed by Prop. 215. He and Entwistle both have doctors' recommendations
to take marijuana as part of their therapy for alcoholism, he said.

Iron County Attorney Scott Burns, the prosecutor, said yesterday that
police had found nearly a pound, "an amount consistent with persons who
possess with intent to distribute."

Regardless of California law, Burns said, "In Utah in 2001 it's illegal to
possess a pound of marijuana, notwithstanding doctors' orders."

Police impounded the cars and all their cash -- about $8,000, according to
Burns, or $3,700, according to Entwistle -- and the three were kept in jail
overnight until a friend bailed them out. While the cars were returned,
Burns said the cash would be held as evidence until the end of the case.

The charge is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, but Burns
said the usual sentence was 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.