200 JOIN SANTA ROSA PROTEST OF FEDERAL POT LAWS

Medical Marijuana Advocates Close Entrance to U.S Office
Building

There was surprisingly little smoke in the air as close to 200 people
marched on federal offices in Santa Rosa on Thursday to protest U.S.
laws that conflict with California's medical marijuana law.

The most obvious among a few to light joints was Charles "Eddie" Lepp,
whose health problems helped him win acquittal on marijuana
cultivation charges from a Lake County jury in 1998.

Lepp said he wasn't smoking to underscore a point.

"I light up any goddamn time and any goddamn place I want to," he
said, strolling before the entry to the Sonoma Avenue building that
houses the local office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

The demonstration, which began with a march from Juilliard Park,
succeeded in closing the federal building's front entrance for about
90 minutes.

"DEA, go away!" protesters chanted.

"Arrest terrorists, not patients," one sign said.

"Arrest my suffering, not me," said another.

One woman used a walker. Some were in wheelchairs, including Gary
LaBonte, an 11-year-old cancer patient who said he has been using
Marinol to help ease his pain and improve his appetite during
chemotherapy. Marinol is a legal, prescription pill that contains the
active ingredient of marijuana.

"This is an issue that goes across age lines," said LaBonte's adult
friend, Michael Ellenwood, who said he uses marijuana to ease the pain
and muscle contractions of muscular dystrophy. "It goes across
economic lines. It goes across social lines. It's a medical issue and
should be treated as such."

A single counter-protester carried a sign highlighting "the flaw in
the law." Doug Bowman said he voted for Proposition 215, the 1996
initiative that legalized medical marijuana use in California, but now
believes it's exploited by criminals without legitimate medical claims.

The demonstration was one of at least 55 DEA offices around the
country, but organizers said the Santa Rosa protest had added momentum
because the agency shut down a marijuana-buyers club on West College
Avenue last week.

Two men were arrested there on suspicion of cultivating
marijuana.

California juries have acquitted defendants who claimed medical
necessity under Proposition 215, but federal courts have refused to
recognize a medical defense to marijuana charges.

A federal judge recently ruled that clubs like the Aiko Compassion
Center in Santa Rosa have no constitutional right to distribute marijuana.

More litigation is expected.

Six of the Santa Rosa protesters had planned to seek arrest through
undisclosed acts of civil disobedience but were thwarted by the
building's closure.

Acting Santa Rosa Police Cmdr. Nick Sensley persuaded them not to go
through with the plan, saying police would only make arrests if
federal officials asked for them.

"They're not going to do that, so we're not going to do that," Sensley
said.