BIG ISLE ACTIVIST SUES COUNTY, PROSECUTORS

HILO -- Big Island hemp activist Aaron Anderson has filed a lawsuit in
state court saying county officials violated his rights when they
prosecuted him for marijuana possession after seizing sterilized hemp
seeds he legally ordered.

The action follows the decision of federal Judge David Ezra last month
to permit claims of monetary damages by Anderson in a federal lawsuit
but to bar civil rights claims there.

Anderson's lawyer Steven Strauss said there was nothing in Ezra's
ruling to prevent a suit in state court.

In 1991, Anderson ordered 25 pounds of the seeds from North Dakota.
The seeds are generally used as bird feed but are also suitable for
people to eat, Anderson said.

U.S. Customs and Drug Enforcement Administration officials said the
seeds were legally imported from China.

Anderson's state suit alleges Deputy Prosecutor Kay Iopa lied to a
grand jury to indict him, saying some of the seeds germinated. A state
Department of Agriculture report said none of the seeds germinated.
Anderson's criminal trial ended with a hung jury.

The suit names Iopa, now in private practice, Prosecutor Jay Kimura
for allegedly knowingly failing to supervise Iopa properly, and Hawaii
County.