SONOMA COUNTY JURY ACQUITS MEDICAL POT FARMERS

Growers Seen As Caregivers In Verdict With Legal Ramifications

Sonoma -- Two men who had been accused of felony drug offenses for growing
marijuana for a San Francisco medical pot club were acquitted of all counts
yesterday by a Sonoma County jury.

Kenneth E. Hayes Jr., 33, and Michael S. Foley, 35, grew teary and wrapped
arms around each other as the verdicts were read.

Hayes, crying with relief outside the Santa Rosa courtroom of Superior
Court Judge Robert Boyd at the end of the seven-week trial, said it was a
just conclusion to an almost two-year battle with prosecutors.

"As long as there are sick and dying people, I will continue to serve them,
" Hayes said.

Defense lawyer William Panzer said the case was a waste of taxpayers' money
and time. "This was a loser from the get-go and should never have been
prosecuted," he said.

District Attorney Michael Mullins declined to comment on the verdict,
saying only that the trial had been needed to determine guidelines for
cultivation of medical marijuana.

The defendants had argued that their actions were legal given state voters'
passage in 1996 of Proposition 215, which allows a primary caregiver or
patient to cultivate and possess cannabis for medical purposes. The statute
is silent on how the pot should be distributed and has resulted in a
patchwork of county prosecutions.

Hayes and Foley faced felony charges of marijuana cultivation and
possession for sale after a May 14, 1999, bust at a rented Petaluma farm,
where sheriff's deputies found 899 plants, hashish and a rifle.

The men saw political ramifications in the verdict.

"Let this verdict solidify the recall of (District Attorney) Paula Kamena
in Marin County and let Michael Mullins get the message that unless he
changes his politics, he is gone also," Hayes said. "Next year, I'll do
everything in my power to make sure this D.A. is not here."

Kamena faces a May 22 recall election in which the main issue is her
office's prosecution of medical marijuana-related cases.

Mullins said the verdict indicates the need for legislative clarity on the
proper distribution channels for medical marijuana.

"The jury has now said that a large growing operation can be a primary
caregiver," Mullins said. "If that is so, it is imperative we have the
state Legislature act to tell us how a legal distribution system can be
devised -- if for no other reason than to protect the grower."

Another defense lawyer, J. Nicole DeFever, said the jurors left "no doubt
that medical marijuana clubs are legal if managed properly."

"The jury felt it was better for marijuana to be dispensed through a club,"
DeFever said.

Several of the four women and eight men who served on the jury hugged Hayes
and Foley outside the courtroom.

Juror Chris Walton of Santa Rosa said she never doubted that Hayes was a
primary caregiver for the 1,280 patients at CHAMP -- Cannabis Helping
Alleviate Medical Problems -- in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood.
Prosecutors argued that Foley aided and abetted in illegal drug cultivation
and sales.

Hayes was the executive director of CHAMP, and Foley managed the dispensary.

"You guys are really serving a need and the laws have to change," said
Walton, showing obvious delight when she was given a cannabis pin by CHAMP
supporters.

Juror Donna Lane of Windsor said the trial was a waste of taxpayers' money.

"I never thought Ken was selling cannabis," Lane said. "I thought he was
doing a good thing."

The trial was far from a routine drug case. The first defense witness was
San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan, an advocate of medical
marijuana who said this case would never have come to trial in San Francisco.

Then, midway through the trial, prosecutor Carla Claeys went to a shooting
range and fired at two silhouettes that someone had marked "DeFever" and
"Panzer," Mullins confirmed yesterday.

Panzer said he considered that a "terrorist threat." He said he intended to
notify the State Bar Association and possibly the state attorney general's
office.

Mullins declined to comment on possible discipline, saying it was a
personnel matter.