"It Can't Happen Here" Chapter 7

Dustin Costa when
he attended Calaveras
High School in the 1960's

   by Dustin Costa who is in a Colorado Federal Prison for growing marijuana in California.

   Chapter 7

      Congress passed a bill in 1999 declaring, "It is the sense of Congress that marijuana has no medical value and must remain
a schedule I narcotic," together with a laundry list of other ill considered "reasons" why marijuana should never have the support of government.

   In effect, what Congress did was to make it illegal for the government to consider marijuana in anything other than a negative light.  A real-life catch-22.

   From 1996 until very recently, the State of California and most of its local governments (largely
financed by Uncle Sam) engaged in a full court press to intimidate, arrest, prosecute and imprison citizens engaged in a lawful activity under  state law.

   It was during this time, in 1999, that I was arrested for marijuana manufacture and sales for the first time, by Modesto's federally-funded narcotics police.

   After several court appearances, my pro bono attorney (out of Tony "True Believer" Sierra's office in San Francisco) suggested I take a plea deal.

   The offer was that my case would be "dismissed" if I entered a plea of no contest and attend drug classes for a few weeks.

   I protested that I was innocent under California law and still wanted to take it to trial.

   (to be continued)