COUPLE FACES FEDERAL POT CHARGES

Friday, January 16, 2004 - An Oakland man who went to state court this
week to mount a medical defense to marijuana charges was instead
handed over to federal authorities, who have filed charges that could
put him and a co-defendant behind bars for the rest of their lives.

David Davidson, 52, an Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative member, and
Cynthia Blake, 53, of Red Bluff are to be arraigned today by U.S.
Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows of Sacramento.

They're charged with manufacturing more than 100 marijuana plants and
conspiracy to cultivate more than 1,000 marijuana plants. The former
is punishable by five to 40 years in federal prison; the latter by a
mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life.

William Dolphin, spokesman for Berkeley-based Americans for Safe
Access, said Davidson and Blake are a couple, and he was at her home
when police raided it July 29, seizing a few dozen marijuana plants. A
subsequent search of Davidson's Oakland home revealed more marijuana.

Davidson and Blake both have doctor's recommendations to use
marijuana. But Tehama County Assistant District Attorney Lynn Strom
unexpectedly announced the state would drop its charges against the
pair, and she and the pair's lawyers went into a judge's chambers to
discuss why. When they did, Tehama County Sheriff's deputies -- acting
on federal authority under a local-federal drug task force's auspices
- -- arrested the pair on the federal charges, issued last week by a
grand jury in Sacramento.

Americans for Safe Access is urging activists to stage demonstrations
at noon today outside federal office buildings to protest the arrests,
which ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer called "utterly
outrageous."

Sherer cited a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last month
which found federal officials should be temporarily barred from
treating California medical marijuana patients as criminals.

"And now they are tricking defense attorneys to separate them from
their clients. How many rights have to be trampled before we fix this?"