NURTURING PROP. 215: COHASSET FATHER BUTTS HEADS WITH POLICE

The son of a Republican central California farmer, Joseph "Mike" Rogers
would seem an unlikely catalyst in the local medical marijuana scene.

The Cohasset father of four contends that he and a Paradise couple were
doing nothing wrong when they tried to furnish "clones" of marijuana plants
to others who had doctors' recommendations to use the illegal drug for
medicinal purposes.

A judge this week upheld the seizure of a handful of pot plants from
Rogers' home last summer, but excluded all the evidence, including an
estimated 176 miniature marijuana plants taken from the Paradise mobile
home of Roger Chambers, 47, and Susan Spengler, 56. The judge ruled that
sheriff's deputies did not have "probable cause" to bust the ridge pair on
charges of pot cultivation and possession for sale.

The three said they were attempting to provide clones or clippings from pot
plants to others holding medical marijuana recommendations so they could
grow their own pot. The government insists they were selling the drug.

Rogers, who sports collar-length thinning brown hair and round glasses,
says he takes marijuana to ease the pain from a broken neck he suffered in
a Yuba College wrestling match more than two decades ago.

A vocal critic of what he contends has been a "failed war on drugs,"
Rogers, recently began publishing a newsletter called the "Green Crescent."

In the first issue, Rogers lifts quotes liberally from former U.S. Attorney
General Ramsey Clark (who advocates legalizing pot) to the ACLU, to which
he admits to being a "proud member" and takes pot shots at federal drug
policy and Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey.

Rogers is also one of the founders of Butte Alliance for Medical Marijuana
(BAMM), which has held four meetings to date at a Chico cafe to "facilitate
dialogue, cooperation and empowerment in the entire cannabis movement."

He says he not only promotes use of marijuana for the sick but also pushes
industrial hemp as "good medicine for a polluted, sick and dying planet."
Hemp is used to make everything from lubricants to clothing, rope and paper.

Aside from his legal crusade, Rogers, a 1988 cum laude graduate at Chico
State University majoring in agribusiness, has raised four sons, ranging in
ages from 10 to 20.

Born in the rich farmlands of Coalinga, he traces his political leanings to
a great aunt and books in the 1960s such as the environmental classic,
"Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson.

When sheriff's deputies busted David Kasakove in Chico about three years
ago - in effect shutting down the area's only recognized medical-marijuana
conduit - he, Spengler and Chambers said they decided to step in and fill
the void.

Rogers, who rents a small two-bedroom house on about three acres in
Cohasset, said " I love gardening, be it tomatoes, mint, parsley or marijuana."

At the time he was arrested, he says he was growing five pot plants
outdoors and seven indoor from which he was trying to create roots from
clippings using artificial light.

Chambers and Spengler, meanwhile, were admittedly cultivating the bulk of
the pot clones at their mobile home in Paradise.

"We knowingly risked arrest to make a political statement," Rogers said.

"The law allows people (in California) to use marijuana with a doctor's
recommendation, but it provides nowhere for them to obtain it lawfully,"
Spengler said.

"Someone afflicted with a serious medical condition should not have to go
down to the streets of Chico to score a bag of dope at prohibition prices,"
Rogers said.

The three knew they were taking a calculated risk by publishing a brochure
offering their marijuana clones for sale, though they called them
"donations" and swear they lost money on the deal.

The flier offered to sell several "super stony" varieties of cloned pot
plants for $10 and up, including a home grown strain called "Concowie
Wowie," which the flier described as "local cuisine at its best."

Local authorities charged that the flier did not appear to be aimed at the
"medically needy."

But Rogers says the trio were just trying to "have a little fun" and gain
some exposure for their cause.

Rogers has had a doctor's recommendation to smoke pot since December 1997
but was not active in trying to get the law passed the previous year. He
said "Prop. 215 is meaningless unless ill people have access to their
medicine (marijuana)."

It was while discussing the problem with other local medical- marijuana
users that the idea for the Cohasset Community Co-op was born last spring.

The three accused growers insist they are fulfilling the role of "care
giver" under the medical-marijuana law - a position that has them at odds
with police.

A week before the busts, Rogers said he got a call from Dr. Steven
Bannister, one of two Northern California physicians who currently fill the
bulk of medical marijuana prescriptions in this area, saying he was going
to begin referring some of his patients to the Butte County co-op.

But the three alleged pot growers were arrested before they could deliver
any of the marijuana clones, Rogers said.

Barring an appeal by the DA's office, with the evidence against them tossed
out of court, Spengler and Chambers probably won't be prosecuted, likely
leaving the 43-year-old Rogers to face trial alone.

Whatever happens, Spengler said last week that the trio has decided to
continue with the local marijuana co-op.

Only this time, their not going to grow pot for those with medical
marijuana recommendations, but " act as facilitators" by referring them to
"sympathetic" doctors, several of which are practicing in Butte County, she
says.

Although Rogers says he's a member of the Cohasset Community Association
board of directors and is a member of several other local organizations
including the Butte Environmental Council, he says is "normally shy."

"But I was sort of nominated, like John Lennon said, to push the barriers
and plant the seed," Rogers said.

Since his arrest, Rogers has become one of the most visible faces in the
local medical marijuana movement, through his newsletter and involvement in
the Butte Alliance for Medical-Marijuana.

BAMM was a major player in Chico's recent participation in the so-called
Global Millennium Marijuana March. The event was held on the same day in
over 90 cities across the world in support of the reform of cannabis laws.

In Chico, an estimated 200 people marched through the downtown chanting
such slogans as "free Mary Jane" and "honk if you get high."

"People were honking like crazy," said Rogers, one of several speakers that
day.

"We want to raise the consciousness and awareness about the benefits of
cannabis and expose the lies and hypocrisy of this phony drug war," he
said. "People with physical disabilities are being denied medicine and also
being thrown in jail over this issue. It makes me wonder how some drug
kingpins operate with impunity."

Rogers said the war on drugs benefits pharmaceutical companies.

"It can't be called a war on drugs because there's this massive hypocrisy
with the public constantly being barraged about the benefits of industrial
pharmaceuticals," the Cohasset man said. "Why concentrate a national drug
policy on one of the safest herbs known to mankind? The whole thing is
profit. They see cannabis as a threat to corporate profits.

"As I see it, the people have risen up in support of medical marijuana but
our legal system has been out of sync with the needs of the people. This
little plant is symbolic of our struggle. It's a little plant that can be
grown in your backyard for pennies and you have the whole weight of
government coming down on you."