MARIJUANA ADVOCATE PLEADS GUILTY TO ILLINOIS CHARGE

CHARLESTON -- A longtime advocate for marijuana legalization and veteran
of the countercultural Yippies has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor marijuana
possession in eastern Illinois.

Sixty-two-year-old Irvin Dale "Dana" Beal of New York City was ordered to
pay $1,300 in fines after pleading guilty Monday in Charleston.
Obstruction of justice charges were dropped.

Beal was arrested in Mattoon in June 2008 after an argument at a Steak N'
Shake restaurant. Police say Beal was carrying more than $150,000 in cash.
Federal authorities are trying to force him to forfeit the money.

Beal has long advocated marijuana legalization for medical use. In the
1960s, he was a well-known member of the Yippies, or Youth International
Party.