hillraided

The MENDOCINO COUNTRY Independent
Posted 12/21/09

FEDS RAID HILL MMJ FARM IN POTTER VALLEY

BEFORE, AP photo July, (l) AFTER (r) Ukiah Daily Journal photo October 2009. The DEA was not pleased and raided a 19-plant greenhouse in Potter Valley.

Federal Asset Forfeiture;
    A legal notice filed in the Wall Street Journal on December 21, 2009 states that property was seized from Jim and Trelanie Hill as well as from Paula Laguna and Daniel Knowles on October 7, 2009 for forfeiture pursuant to Title 21, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 881, because the property was allegedly used or acquired as a result of a violation of the Controlled Substances Act (Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 801 et seq. The respondents can petition for remission or mitigation with the DEA by February 4, 2010, or contest the action in UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
    In case #10-DEA-524455, $11,210.00 U.S. Currency, Potter Valley, CA, Laguna, Paula Ann and Knowles, Daniel Patrick, 10/07/09
    In case# 10-DEA-524465, $17,000.00 U.S. Currency, Potter Valley, CA, Hill, Trelanie May and Hill, James, Harold, 10/07/09
    In case# 10-DEA-524469, 1999 Caterpillar 416C Backhoe, Ser No 5YN05826, Potter Valley, CA, Hill, Trelanie May and Hill, James Harold, 10/07/09
    Paula Laguna and Jim and Trelanie Hill have in common that they sued the County of Mendocino over marijuana. Laguna, of Westport, along with George Hanamoto of Willits sued Mendocino County to stop Measure B from going on the ballot in early 2008. After an appeals court invalidated the per patient plant limits in SB420, the plaintiffs represented by Edie Lerman and David Nick obtained a temporary stay against Measure B which lasted from June through the rest of the year.
    The state Supreme Court is expected to uphold the invalidation of per patient plant limits for all purposes except for membership in the state’s voluntary ID card program.
    Jim and Trelanie sued the County in September of 2009 to invalidate its marijuana nuisance ordinance Chapter 9.31 of the county Health and Safety Code which limits cooperative gardens to no more than 25 plants per legal parcel. A hearing is set for February. In the unlikely event that the court grants a stay, the amended version of 9.31 which provides for a highly conditional sheriff’s permit to grow up to 99 plants will also be stayed.
Thanks to Eric Sunswheat for the tip!

The Raid:
        On October 7, 2009 the federal drug enforcement aadministration executed a search warrant at the Potter Valley farm of Jim and Trelainie Hill, high-profile medical marijuana growers featured in nationally syndicated Associated Press newspaper article that summer on marijuana in California.
   What's more, the Hills are lead plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging Mendocino County's marijuana nuisance ordinance. In addition, they bankrolled a temporarily successful lawsuit to delay enforcement of Measure B in Mendocino County last year which limits local per patient possession limits to the lowest state figure of 6 mature plants.
    No arrests were made in the raid, but the investigation was ongoing, according to a DEA press spokesperon. The agency obtained a search warrant for the property through the Northern California Federal District Court.
   The DEA and US attorney's office in San Francisco refused to release any information on the case as of October 9. Likewise, presumed defense attorneys Nick and Lerman were silent at presstime.
      Local police estimated in press reports that several hundred pounds of marijuana were taken and as many as 200 plants were eradicated when the warrant was served. But in a subsequent article in the Ukiah Daily Journal, the Hills claimed the feds got only 19 mature plants. No federal charges are expected to be filed.
      In July, the Associated Press published a nationally syndicated article titled "California
Sprouts Marijuana Green Rush'" that among many other sources featured photos and quotes from Jim Hill about his Potter Valley operation.
   "On a property flanked by vineyards, Mendocino County farmer Jim Hill grows marijuana for up to 20 patients, including himself and his wife. He believes passionately in marijuana's purported ability to treat the symptoms of diseases ranging from cancer to Alzheimer's; he says his wife suffers from a serotonin imbalance, and he uses the drug to treat digestive problems and intestinal cramping.
   "Hill's plants enjoy careful nurturing in a temperature-controlled greenhouse. On a recent spring day, his college-age son spread bat guano to fertilize two dozen 6-foot-tall plants.
   "Hill is 45 years old; he says he spent $10,000 to set up the garden. Patients receive their drugs free in exchange for helping with his crop.
   "It's kind of like living on an apple orchard," Hill said. "You don't pay for an apple."

A Statement from the Growers:
   The Hills issued the following by email after the raid. "Our interaction with the DEA was professional and courteous. We were never handcuffed or manhandled. They treated us both with respect. We were never threatened or intimidated.
   "Trelanie and I both feel that the hearts of the DEA agents were conflicted when it became obvious that the medicine was intended for patients of a true medical collective.
   "Unfortunately federal policy dictates these actions without regard for the suffering of the patients. My heart bleeds for those patients that counted on this collective for their relief. Another burden imposed upon the sick and dying.
   "The silver lining in this cloud may be that everyday we are getting closer to a time where patients' obstacles to obtaining relief through the use of this wonderful plant will only be mother nature and not politics. Let us hope this day is near.    "The outpour of support has been incredible and for that we are very grateful. Let freedom grow!"

Obama Medical Cannabis Policy in Question:
   As the Hills are publicly associated with medical marijuana causes and claim to be part of a cooperative or collective, the federal raid on their farm again calls into question whether the DEA is complying with the announced policy of the Obama administration to leave enforcement of medical marijuana law to the states.
    Three weeks after Attorney General Eric Holder first signaled an end to DEA raids against medical marijuana providers last spring, he reiterated those remarks. In response to a question posed at one of his weekly press conferences, Holder said federal agents would only target medical marijuana distributors who violate both state and federal law.
    In response to a question, Holder said the Justice Department will no longer raid medical marijuana dispensaries in states where they are legal under state law. The announcement underscored an Obama campaign promise, and if carried out would mark the end of 13 years of stubborn federal resistance to state medical marijuana programs.
    But DEA raids of medical marijuana facilities in California continued after Obama's election in November and even after his inauguration in January. Holder was asked if those raids represented Justice Department policy under å these to continue?" aåå reporter asked, noting that the president had promised to end the raids in the campaign.
    "No," Holder responded. "What the president said during the campaign, you'll be surprised to know, will be consistent with what we'll be doing in law enforcement. He was my boss during the campaign. He is formally and technically and by law my boss now. What he said during the campaign is now American policy."
    Nearly 75 million Americans live in the 13 states where medical marijuana is legal. But because of the federal government's refusal to recognize state medical marijuana laws, dozens of dispensaries in California have been raided by the DEA, typically in over-the-top paramilitary-style operations. More than a hundred people are facing prosecution, sentencing, or are already imprisoned under draconian federal marijuana laws because of their roles in operating dispensaries.
    During the campaign, Obama said: “When it comes to medical marijuana, I have more of a practical view than anything else. I mean, my attitude is that if it’s an issue of doctors prescribing medical marijuana as a treatment for glaucoma or as a cancer treatment, I think that should be appropriate because there really is no difference between that and a doctor prescribing morphine or anything else.
    “I think there are legitimate concerns in not wanting to allow people to grow their own or start setting up mom and pop shops, because at that point it becomes fairly difficult to regulate. And again, I am not familiar with all the details of the initiative that was passed and what safeguards there were in place, but I think the basic concept that using medical marijuana in the same way with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors, I think that’s entirely appropriate.”