STATE POT PROSECUTION NOW A FEDERAL CASE

Medical marijuana advocates are accusing state and federal lawyers of
vindictive prosecution for arresting two drug defendants on federal charges
while they sat in a Tehama County, Calif., courthouse.

The proponents say it's another example of the feds meddling in a case that
would have been dismissed under the California medical marijuana law.
Prosecutors counter that the amount of dope warrants federal involvement.

Defense lawyers accuse a Tehama County prosecutor of unethically "luring"
them out of a courtroom last week while sheriff's deputies arrested their
clients in court. A Tehama County assistant district attorney said Friday
that the county followed normal procedure.

The case began more than six months ago, when David Dean Davidson, 52, and
Cynthia Barcelo Blake, 53, were arrested after police seized marijuana from
property in Tehama County and Oakland, Calif. The Tehama County district
attorney's office prosecuted the couple on state charges until last week,
when those were dropped and the office of Eastern District U.S. Attorney
McGregor Scott took over.

Their attorneys said Davidson uses marijuana for back problems and
depression, Blake for depression and insomnia. Both have doctors'
recommendations. Depending on which lawyer you ask -- prosecution or
defense -- the amount of marijuana seized from the couple was either more
than 1,000 plants ready for wide distribution, or just enough for personal
medical use.

The federal charges in the case, U.S. v. Davidson and Blake, 04-0004,
accuse the couple of conspiracy to distribute at least 1,000 plants and the
manufacture of at least 100.

U.S. Attorney Scott and Tehama County Assistant District Attorney Jonathan
Skillman said Friday the case was ripe for federal prosecution. Besides
involving what authorities believe is a substantial amount of marijuana,
the case spans two jurisdictions -- Oakland and Tehama -- which the small
DA's office, "with limited resources," isn't used to handling, Skillman said.

The defense said that's poppycock.

"What was so egregious about the state prosecutor's actions is that she
deliberately skirted state law," said Omar Figueroa, who, along with J.
Tony Serra, represents Davidson.

Shari Greenberger, who practices with Figueroa and Serra at the Law Offices
of Serra, Lichter, Daar, Bustamante, Gilg & Greenberger in San Francisco,
represents Blake.

Figueroa said Tehama County prosecutor Lynn Strom, who handled the state
case, handed off the prosecution because she is afraid of losing. Serra
said that amounts to vindictive prosecution because Davidson and Blake will
no longer be allowed to assert their rights under the state medical
marijuana law.

That accusation isn't new to the debate over medical marijuana. Advocates
say they're frustrated when locals either hand off cases or when the feds
get involved without being asked. In this instance, Scott said Tehama asked
his office to get involved.

It is not known if the Tehama County judge knew Davidson and Blake were
being plucked from the courtroom.

Serra and the other lawyers hope the recent 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals decision, Raich v. Ashcroft, 03-15481, will help their position now
that they're in federal court. The case said that growing marijuana for
personal use, if it doesn't enter into commerce, does not constitute a
federal offense.

The defense attorneys spoke Friday outside the federal courthouse in
Sacramento, where they were accompanied by a handful of people holding
signs advocating medical marijuana. The group called on Strom to resign for
her handling of the case and for the way the arrest went down.

According to Figueroa and Greenberger, Strom announced in open court Jan.
13 that the state charges were being dropped and then invited the defense
lawyers back into judge's chambers. Once there, deputies swarmed into the
courtroom and spirited away their clients, the defense lawyers said.

Strom could not be reached for comment, but Skillman spoke on her behalf,
saying she did nothing wrong.

Although they admit they couldn't have stopped the arrests, Figueroa and
Greenberger said it would have been more appropriate for them to have
surrendered their clients. They at least would have liked the chance to
advise their clients of their rights, they said.

Skillman said he didn't understand the defense attorneys' problem.

"They weren't told beforehand, and that's just the way it goes," he said.