MARIN D.A. CALLS FOES 'THUGGISH'

May Recall Vote Over Position On Medical Marijuana

Marin County District Attorney Paula Kamena defended herself yesterday
against a recall campaign that is already provoking debate over
California's confusing medical marijuana initiative.

Advocates of medical marijuana have forced a May 22 recall election of
Kamena because of what they say are her harsh, "inhumane" policies on
pot possession.

She is one of six district attorneys throughout the state who have
been designated for a recall by users of medicinal pot, but so far she
is the only one facing a vote.

Kamena fired back during a news conference yesterday, calling her
opponents "small minded" litigants who misrepresented their cause in
an attempt to make the courts "bend to their thuggish aims."

"They want you to believe this is about medical marijuana. It is not,"
Kamena said. "This process is about the rule of law and the entire
legal process."

Kamena's predicament can be traced to the vague wording of Proposition
215, the 1996 initiative that allows people to use marijuana for
medicinal purposes if they have a doctor's approval. The law conflicts
with federal law, which makes possession of marijuana illegal,
creating confusion for prosecutors and law enforcement personnel
across the state.

The recall in Marin comes despite what Kamena says is her progressive
view about medical marijuana. She is one of the few district attorneys
who adopted a list of guidelines on marijuana prosecutions, exempting,
for instance, people with fewer than seven mature plants and less than
a half pound of dried cannabis.

State Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara, reintroduced a bill
yesterday that would clarify what amount of marijuana would be allowed
under state law and set up a statewide registration system for medical
marijuana users.

The bill, however, faces stiff opposition and plenty of debate before
it becomes law. Meanwhile, Kamena and others are forced to fend for
themselves.

Kamena said her office handled only 73 drug cases from 1998 to 2000 in
which medical marijuana use was claimed as a defense. Of those, 37
were dismissed, 26 of the defendants pleaded guilty and 10 are still
pending. Only one case, involving 178 plants and proof of drug sales,
went to trial.

Lynnette Shaw, founding director of the Marin Alliance for Medical
Marijuana, argued that those who were arrested -- and many others who
were not -- had their cannabis confiscated.

"We're looking at 300 people who lost their pot," Shaw said. "After
they get arrested and lose their pot and go through all these hoops,
only then are they let go."

Kamena's supporters pointed out yesterday that the petition for the
recall did not even mention medical marijuana. Instead, it attacked
Kamena for the prosecution of Carol Mardeusz, a woman who was
convicted by a jury of falsifying a court order in an attempt to steal
custody of her daughter.

Mardeusz was one of several disgruntled divorced parents who wanted to
recall Marin's family law judges. They enlisted the help of the
Alliance for Medical Marijuana when their effort fizzled. After the
recall petition was filed, the Marin County League of Women Voters and
dozens of individuals complained that they had been misled.

Retired Judge William Stephens said he views the recall effort as "a
fraud being perpetrated on the citizens of this county."

"There is substantial evidence that the petition qualified only
because the signers were induced by false representations as to its
official purpose," Stephens said. "The primary interest of those
seeking to advance the petition is to have the district attorney look
away when marijuana is used."

Whatever the reasons, there will be a recall election and it will cost
the county about $500,000. That is money that legal experts agree
could have been saved with a better initiative and should be cleared
up with a new law that sets clearer guidelines on medical marijuana.

"It's a very convoluted and complex law that needs to be fixed,"
Kamena said. "Law enforcement is just screaming for some kind of
consistency."