MARIJUANA ADVOCATE CONVICTED ON DRUG CHARGE, PLANS APPEAL

ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. (AP) -- A marijuana legalization activist who had
argued that she was searched illegally has been convicted of possession of
less than a gram of the drug and some paraphernalia.

Loretta Nall, who founded the U.S. Marijuana Party in 2002, was given a
30-day suspended sentence for the misdemeanors and was ordered to pay
several hundred dollars in fines. She immediately filed a notice to appeal.

Nall and her attorney argued that the Tallapoosa County Narcotics Task
Force illegally obtained the search warrant that resulted in her arrest.

Members of the drug squad raided her mobile home on Nov. 13, 2002, based on
statements her daughter made in a kindergarten class.

Officers also used as evidence for the warrant a letter to the editor
published in The Birmingham News. The letter signed by Nall calls for
marijuana users to come out of the closet and change laws against it.

Tallapoosa County District Judge Kim Taylor, who signed the search warrant
and presided over Tuesday's trial, refused to throw out the warrant and
found Nall guilty.

Nall maintains her innocence and said it was wrong for police to target her
because she speaks out on an issue.

"I have every right to say that the drug laws in this state are unjust,"
Nall said in an interview Wednesday. "American laws are based on vigorous
and public debate, and the Tallapoosa County Narcotics Task Force has taken
it upon themselves to decide what the citizens of Alabama can and cannot
write on the editorial page."

Damon Lewis, the assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case, said
it would be improper for him to comment with an appeal pending.