HALLINAN TESTIFIES AT MEDICAL POT GROWERS' TRIAL

Says Crop 'Protected By Prop. 215'

Sonoma -- Defense lawyers in the state's first jury trial of suppliers to
marijuana clubs opened their case yesterday with their star witness: San
Francisco's district attorney, Terence Hallinan.

The city's top prosecutor made a rare visit to the witness stand for an
hour and a half on behalf of Kenneth E. Hayes and Michael S. Foley, who are
accused of illegally cultivating and selling pot in Sonoma County for the
1, 280-member club CHAMP -- Cannabis Helping Alleviate Medical Problems --
in the Castro.

Hayes was the executive director of CHAMP, and Foley was the club's general
manager.

Hallinan said the two men were operating within the guidelines of
Proposition 215, the 1996 state initiative legalizing marijuana for medical
use, and that the case never would have been prosecuted in San Francisco.

Hallinan's support for Hayes and Foley runs against the hard-nosed
prosecution of medical marijuana cases by Sonoma County District Attorney
Mike Mullins, who declined comment while the trial was under way.

"I'm not dueling with Mike Mullins," Hallinan said during the lunch break.
"I'm just here testifying on behalf of a guy who, in my opinion, is
performing a public service in San Francisco in terms of helping a lot of
sick people alleviate their suffering by supplying them with marijuana."

Oakland defense lawyer William Panzer said Proposition 215, OF which he was
co-author, permits cultivation and consumption of the weed for chronically
ill people who have a doctor's recommendation.

"Mr. Hallinan told Mr. Hayes the best thing he can do is grow marijuana in
California," Panzer told Superior Court Judge Robert Boyd, before the jury
was brought into the courtroom. "The Berlin Wall cannot go up around Sonoma
County; it doesn't matter where (Hayes) is doing it as long as it is in
California."

Patting Hayes on the right shoulder as he strode toward the stand, Hallinan
said he had met with the defendant "four to six" times and had visited the
pot club three times to watch the operations, including how staffers
dispensed the drug and verified patients' authorization by licensed doctors.

The two defendants had the support of Mayor Willie Brown, the San Francisco
Police Department and Board of Supervisors, according to San Francisco
defense lawyer Nicole DeFever.

Hallinan said the "tricky part" of Proposition 215 for marijuana clubs was
finding a pot supply that didn't involve black market purchases. Hayes
helped devise San Francisco's registration system of patients, he added.

Hayes told Hallinan he wanted to cut the drug costs by cultivating the
plant himself, experimenting with different strains and using
pesticide-free methods.

"I think that what Ken Hayes was doing was protected by Proposition 215,"
Hallinan said. "I would say he was the most helpful of all the people
involved in the medical marijuana movement."

But under questioning by Sonoma County prosecutor Carla Claeys, Hallinan
admitted he knew few details of the men's 899-plant operation in six
greenhouses and a barn on Petaluma's King Road.

Claeys, who served as an intern in Hallinan's office in 1996 as a
third-year law student, got him to read to the jury his ballot argument in
favor of the initiative. In it, Hallinan wrote that Proposition 215
wouldn't allow "unlimited quantities of marijuana to be grown anywhere. It
only allows marijuana to be grown for a patient's personal use. Police
officers can still arrest anyone who grows too much or tries to sell it."

Hallinan also said he hadn't considered whether a corporation such as
CHAMP, instead of an individual, could be designated as a primary caregiver
for medical marijuana patients. Proposition 215 allows for marijuana
cultivation only by such caregivers or the patients.

Previous related items:

US CA: Pot Case May Hinge On Profit From Club Sales
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n470/a03.html

US CA: Pot Trial Focuses On Reason For Growing
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n453/a01.html

US CA: Cannabis Club Pot-Growing Trial Begins
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n452/a04.html

US CA: Trial Begins For 2 Accused Under Pot-Growing Law
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n450/a09.html

US CA: County Jurors To Rule On Medical Marijuana Once Again
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n439/a10.html