MEDICAL MARIJUANA FIGHT LEAVES BITTER TASTE

In January, Tony Perry of La Verne stood on the steps of Pomona
Superior Court with a big smile on his face, chatting on his cell
phone with a friend about beating marijuana-cultivation charges.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney dropped the charges because
Perry used his marijuana under the care of a physician to treat his
injured hand, back injuries and asthma.

Before Perry and his wife drove away, they sat back and grinned for a
few seconds, still in shock that the District Attorney's Office had
given up almost without a fight.

Three months later, Perry, 32, said he is $12,500 in debt from the
cost of his public defender and a loan he used to pay his bail. He
never got his marijuana seeds back. Perry said they were most
valuable to him because he cultivated them over many years to produce
marijuana that did not make users drowsy.

He doesn't have a job. He says he is in danger of losing his car
because he and his wife can barely afford payments. And Perry, who
says he is a devout Christian, admits to having a lot of anger.

"I'm a patriot, you know?" he said. "I love this country. But this
makes it very hard for me to believe in the system. I thought I was
going to be totally vindicated, which would mean I would get my seeds back."

As it turns out, those on the front lines of the battle for legalized
marijuana almost always lose, even if they are not convicted of a crime.

Since California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996, almost
no one who beat marijuana-related charges has recouped money from the
arresting agency, according to Americans for Safe Access, a group
leading the charge for legalized medical marijuana use.

Because the federal government still considers marijuana a banned
substance, it is often difficult for patients in California who use
it to win monetary awards or recover property.

The state's largest award was $15,000 this month to James Blair of
Emeryville, according to ASA.

ASA Legal Director Kris Hermes said he looks at that win as a major
step forward.

"We get kicked a lot along the way," he said. "But we're persevering
a lot more than we have had to retreat."

Perry was arrested in March 2005 for growing marijuana in his
Glendora mobile home. Police seized his plants, seeds, growing
equipment and hunting rifles. The District Attorney dropped the case
in January.

The Police Department returned his growing equipment and rifles, but
not his cultivated marijuana seeds.

Perry petitioned Judge George Genesta in Pomona to force Glendora
police to return his seeds. But on April 11 the judge turned him down.

Public Defender Kent Thomas said Genesta applied federal law.

"He just was not going to side with us, and that was that," Thomas said.

Don Duncan, a Los Angeles-based consultant who sometimes provides
advice for area medical marijuana dispensaries, said Perry's
experience was common in politically conservative neighborhoods.
While some cities have made laws allowing medical marijuana
dispensaries, others refuse to tolerate its cultivation or distribution.

About 53 percent of Glendora's voters are registered Republicans
compared to about 29 percent registered as Democrats, according to
the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder /County Clerk.

City officials have said they have no plans to take up the issue of
allowing medical marijuana dispensaries or cooperatives in town.

Duncan said medical marijuana users should take heart, however,
pointing out that surveys show about four out of five people in the
United States are in favor of allowing marijuana use for medical purposes.

Still, Hermes said the life of the medical marijuana user can be
fraught with risk.

"I have got to say it's obviously not fair to the thousands of
patients who endure this type of harassment each year," he said.