FOUR PLEAD INNOCENT TO CHARGES

Four people arrested in connection with recent drug raids that netted more
than 100 marijuana plants and the seizure of more than 600 opium poppies
pleaded not guilty to charges of possessing and growing the plants for profit.

One of the men charged in the case told sheriff's deputies he was growing
the plants for medicinal use, according to reports filed in court.

Authorities are skeptical. "The current state of the law does not provide
for homegrown medicinal opium," said sheriff's Lt. Steve Bolts.

Thomas B. Dunbar, 48, and Jo-D Harrison Furino, 35, both of Arroyo Grande,
face charges of cultivating marijuana, possessing marijuana for sale, and
possessing opium poppies.

John Edward McLean, 48, and wife Violet McLean, 47, of Los Osos, are
charged with marijuana cultivation and possessing pot and opium for sale.

All four pleaded not guilty to the charges Tuesday. A Sept. 14 priliminary
hearing is scheduled for Dunbar and Furino, who asked to be represented by
the same attorney. The McLeans, who also requested joint counsel, have a
preliminary hearing scheduled Sept. 16.

San Luis Obispo attorneys Jeff Radding and Gregory Jacobson did not return
calls seeking comment.

Dunbar and McLean - members of SLO NORML(San Luis Obispo chapter of the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) were profiled in
the Telegram- Tribune in November. The story described the clash between
local law enforcement and marijuana growers over the interpretation of
Proposition 215, the medicinal marijuana initiative passed by California
voters in November 1996.

Both men said they suffer from chronic pain and grow marijuana as
"medicine" for themselves and others.

Late last year they rallied behind a Santa Margarita man after he was
arrested for growing more than 100 marijuana plants. Scott A. Summers
initially told Narcotics Task Force agents he had a contract signed by the
initiative's co-author, Dennis Peron, to grow pot for the San Francisco
Cannabis Cultivators Club.

Summers described himself as a "caregiver" under the law that allows
seriously ill people and those caring for them to possess marijuana.

Summers later pleaded no contest to possessing marijuana. He is scheduled
to be sentenced Aug. 12.

The medicinal marijuana law has been debated in the courts since it passed
with about 56 percent of the vote. Proponents argued the drug helps the
seriously ill by improving their appetite and alleviating nausea associated
with chemotherapy.

The Attorney General's Office raided Peron's San Francisco club about three
months before Proposition 215 passed, and then got an injunction to close
it. A Superior Court judge ordered the club re-opened under the grounds it
served as a "caregiver" under the new law.

The ruling was overturned by an appellate court. In April the state Supreme
Court backed the appellate court's decision.

On May 14 sheriff's narcotics detectives simultaneously served search
warrants at the Arroyo Grande home shared by Dunbar and Furino and the
McLean's Los Osos residence.

In Los Osos, deputies reportedly seized 51 pot plants and 446 opium poppies
- - which are larger and have thicker stalks than the common California
poppy. Detectives reportedly seized 203 opium poppies and 68 pot plants
from the Arroyo Grande residence.

According to sheriff's reports, several of the poppy pods had been lanced
and were dripping a "white milky substance." The poppy pods were allegedly
being harvested for their opium, reports stated.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski