SUBJECT OF DRUG RAID CLAIMS BUST BOGUS

PITTSFIELD, Maine -- A man whose home was raided by drug agents said
the state owes him thousands of dollars for 19 seized marijuana
plants that he says he was growing in compliance with Maine's medical
marijuana law.

James P. Fowler, 44, of Pittsfield, who was charged with cultivating
marijuana and possession of marijuana after the March 19 raid, said
that based on figures used by drug investigators to value marijuana
plants, he is owed up to $38,000.

"If they can use $2,000 a plant against me, what's good for the goose
is good for the gander," said Fowler, who lives alone at 139 A St. in
Pittsfield. "I want some sort of compensation."

Fowler maintains a sophisticated marijuana growing operation in his
home to supply himself and three other patients who have deemed him a
"designated caregiver" under the state's medical marijuana law. That
means Fowler can possess up to 2.5 ounces of processed marijuana and
six plants for each patient -- for a total of 24 plants and 10 ounces
of pot.

Investigators found 25 plants in the March 19 raid, but Fowler said
some of the plants were male juveniles, which he said are not
considered marijuana plants under the law.

Somerset County District Attorney Evert Fowle said the charges
against Fowler would be dropped if Fowler can prove that his
marijuana plants were legal. But Fowle dismissed Fowler's contention
that he deserves compensation.

"I think that's ridiculous," the district attorney said. "I think he
has an inflated view of his talents and abilities in the area of
marijuana cultivation."

Fowler said he was home alone when nine law enforcement officers
showed up with a search warrant at about noon on March 19. One of the
first things Fowler said to the officers was that he is a medical
marijuana patient and designated caregiver for others.

He said he showed the officers his prescription, signed by Dr. Dustin
Sulak of Hallowell, and offered to show paperwork verifying his
"designated caregiver" status.

But an officer implied that Fowler was still in violation of the law,
which prompted Fowler to stop volunteering information.

"I'd been read my Miranda rights," said Fowler. "I chose to remain
silent."

Fowler, who faces a June 30 court date in Somerset County District
Court, said he moved to Pittsfield from Massachusetts about a year
ago, mostly because of Maine's medical marijuana law. Fowler said he
is supported by Social Security Disability Insurance and Medicare.
He has a marijuana prescription because of severe degenerative disk
disease that was exacerbated during a workplace injury in
Massachusetts in 2003. He has been through numerous treatments for
the ailment and has been told by doctors that the next logical step
is a risky back surgery that Fowler is trying to avoid. He said he is
prescribed a cocktail of powerful painkillers and muscle relaxants,
but he takes them rarely.

"I can't even get out of bed when I take them," he said. "They zone
me right out. I don't want to live my life that way." Asked to what
degree marijuana impairs him, Fowler said not much.

"It's not about getting high at all," he said. "If I wanted to get
high, I'd eat their morphine."

Fowler said he realized the medical benefits of marijuana when he
stopped smoking it for a while and his symptoms, which include
continuous muscle spasms and chronic pain, intensified.

District Attorney Fowle said the Somerset County officers who
conducted the March 19 raid acted "appropriately and with restraint."
In fact, Fowle said he was contacted during the raid with a question
from an officer in regard to Fowler's medical marijuana
prescription. Fowle instructed the officers to leave behind six
marijuana plants -- which they did.

"He didn't provide any information to police about his caregiver
status," said Fowle. "To this day we haven't seen any of the
caregiver information. We remain receptive to that at any time."

Fowler said he would wait for his court date to present prosecutors
with the paperwork, which consists of signed statements from his
three patients.

"I'm not going to do that until I can get in front of them with an
attorney," said Fowler. "I'm not going to give them the opportunity
to [screw] me again." Fowler said an attorney has agreed to represent
him for free, but that attorney could not be reached on Tuesday.

Fowle would not say exactly what paperwork Fowler would have to
produce because it is up to Fowler to prove his innocence.

In 2009, Maine voters approved a citizen initiative that made changes
to the medical marijuana law. The new law requires marijuana patients
and caregivers to possess a state identification card, effective July
1. Under the previous law, providers were required to hold a
state-produced form signed by the providers' patients.

Asked why he waited until now to take his case to the media, Fowler
said it took him this long to gather his paperwork.

"Once I got my paperwork in order I started making noise," he
said.

In addition to financial compensation, Fowler said he wants to know
why he was raided in the first place and why investigators kept
asking if he possessed child pornography. Fowler said he has never
possessed such material and officers found no evidence of child
pornography during the raid. Since the incident, Fowler said he feels
like his neighbors see him as a criminal.

"Everyone in this trailer park thinks I deal heroin and worse drugs,"
said Fowler. "I feel like I'm going to have to move."

Fowle said the justice system is designed to shake out the truth in
the long run.

"We go where the evidence leads us," said Fowle. "Any time we receive
information, we act on it. When that happens in this case is up to
Mr. Fowler."