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(This was originally posted at Liberty On Tour on September 10th.)

SAN DIEGO, CA – Last week we covered a fundraiser for medical marijuana victims put on by the Human Solution – a non profit organization that helps such victims. Though the fundraiser was for another victim (video to produced later) of the drug war, we did meet Ken Andersen and Jodie Carlier. Who had been arrested in Arizona for possession of ‘narcotics’ that were prescribed to them via a doctor.

It’s an all too familiar story, the cop claims Ken was tailgating (even though the cop followed him for approximately two miles), pulls him over and states he smells marijuana. Like Ken says in the video below, “it was all down hill from there.” He and Jodie were arrested and charged with felony possession of a narcotic, which could put them behind bars for over a decade.

When we met them it was the day before they were to accept a plea deal by the district attorney (three yrs probation) though the judge could still sentence them to years in prison. After speaking with them a while I encouraged them to fight the charges and demand a trial. What jury could convict two medically ill people of felony possession when they were within their prescription requirements?

The next day I got a call from Ken who stated that they decided to reject the plea deal and are scheduled for court on Nov. 3rd at 9am. The reason for being stopped in the first place is weak. The charges that Officer Murry pinned on them are weak and the deal the DA attempted to force on them is weak.

Today I called the Arizona Highway Patrol to ask about this case and spoke with Officer Klavitter. Not only did she think it was OK to lock peaceful marijuana users in a cage but she also noted how oxycontin and vicodin are perfectly legal – as long as you have a prescription. Does that make any sense?

If you’d like to show support for Ken and Jodie please call one of the following numbers below.

District Attorney’s Office: 928.524.4026

Officer Holliday (Top Cop of AZ highway patrol): 602.223.2464

and

Officer Murry (arresting officer): 602.223.2504

Though everyone should be able to decide what you can or cannot put in your body, these folks were following the laws of California medical marijuana patients. Should they be deprived of their meds while visiting out of state? I don’t think so, these are peaceful people who don’t belong in a cage.