MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACTIVIST, ON BAIL, RE-ARRESTED

A medical marijuana advocate out on bail after being charged with
cultivation and possession for sale of marijuana in July was arrested
Thursday night after police found 650 marijuana plants in his house.

Ken Estes, 36, was arrested on suspicion of cultivation and possession
of marijuana about 5:30 p.m. at his residence on Via Roble, said Chief
Hank Davis.

In June, Estes was charged with cultivation and possession of marijuana
after a police raid at the Concord home where he was living found 1,500
marijuana plants. In July, he turned himself in and pleaded not guilty
to two counts of cultivation and two counts of possession of marijuana
and was released on his own recognizance.

On Thursday night, Lafayette police served a restraining order and
eviction notice requested by Estes' live-in girlfriend. They found more
than 650 plants in rooms, the wine cellar and storage sheds, all
nurtured with indoor grow lights, Davis said.

On his booking form, Estes gave his occupation as "herbal
distribution," Davis said.

Police searching Estes' Berkeley business, Medical Herbs, Friday
morning found equipment used to manufacture hashish -- a concentrated
form of marijuana -- an undisclosed quantity of marijuana and 30 pounds
of marijuana brownies, Davis said.

Estes and another man at the house, Randy Moses, 41, a transient, were
arrested on suspicion of cultivation and possession for sale of
marijuana. A third man, Michael Martin, 36, of Antioch, was arrested
for outstanding warrants, Davis said.

In a jailhouse interview Friday, Estes said he feels obligated to
continue dispensing medicinal marijuana to the 500 clients he serves.
He said he is justified in doing so under state Prop. 215, which voters
approved in 1996, allowing seriously ill patients to grow and use
marijuana for pain relief if they have a doctor's recommendation.

"Police are still thwarting the voters of California who believe that
us patients are really trying to find an alternative medicine," said
Estes.

Paralyzed in a motorcycle crash when he was 18, Estes said he became an
advocate of medicinal marijuana some 20 years ago after discovering the
drug eased his chronic pain.

"I want people to know that marijuana is actually a medicine for some
people who suffer daily and when nothing else will work," he said.

Implementation of Prop. 215 has been tied up in the courts for the past
three years.

The proposition runs counter to federal law, which says marijuana has
no medical purpose and cannot be administered safely under medical
supervision.

In July, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled the Oakland Cannabis
Buyers' Cooperative could distribute marijuana for medicinal purposes
based on a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.

But on Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court barred distribution of marijuana
to people in California whose doctors recommend it for medicinal
purposes. The 7-1 vote postponed the effect of federal court rulings
that would have allowed the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative to
distribute the drug.

If courts don't rule in favor of Prop. 215 before his trial, he'll most
likely go to jail, Estes said.

In July, when Estes turned himself in at the Martinez Detention
Facility, he held a press conference at which he was escorted by his
attorney and friends holding "Free Ken" and "California voted yes on
215" signs.

On his way into the jail, Estes told reporters he had just smoked
marijuana.

Thursday's arrest occurred without fanfare. This time, he spent the
night in his wheelchair in a holding cell and still wore a black "Pulp
Fiction" T-shirt Friday morning instead of jail-issue clothing.

Estes said while he was nervous about the thought of a jail sentence,
he can't wait for the courts to see his side -- that what he does is
legal as approved by the state's voters.

"People are dying and people are suffering right now. I don't have the
luxury of waiting or I would wait."