September, 20 2010, 02:20pm EDT
Second Trial Begins for San Diego Medical Marijuana Dispensary Operator
Desperate to convict, DA successfully blocks use of medical marijuana defense
SAN DIEGO, Calif.
Opening arguments began today for the second
trial in less than a year against Jovan Jackson, a San Diego medical
marijuana patient and dispensary operator who was arrested in a
multi-agency law enforcement raid in September 2009. Jackson was
acquitted by a jury in December of marijuana possession and
distribution charges stemming from a 2008 arrest. This time, however,
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis convinced Superior Court Judge Howard
H. Shore to deny Jackson a medical marijuana defense, seriously
limiting his chances of a second acquittal.
"After the embarrassment of losing the first trial against Jovan
Jackson, District Attorney Dumanis is desperate for a conviction," said
Eugene Davidovich, head of the San Diego chapter of Americans for Safe
Access (ASA), the country's leading medical marijuana advocacy group.
"Jackson should not have been denied a defense and should not be used
as a scapegoat for the District Attorney's misguided position that
medical marijuana sales are illegal." ASA filed an amicus 'friend of
the court' brief last month in support of Jackson, and his right to a
medical marijuana defense, although Judge Shore refused to consider it.
During jury selection last week, Judge Shore went so far as to order
Jackson's supporters to remove articles of clothing that displayed an
Americans for Safe Access logo, including tote bags carried into the
courtroom. The Judge, however, denied the prosecutor's request to bar
supporters from the courtroom altogether. "No matter how hard Dumanis
tries, she won't be able to keep the truth from the jury," continued
Davidovich. "The truth is that Jackson provided a much-needed
medication to San Diego patients in strict compliance with state law."
Jackson was the former operator of the San Diego medical marijuana
dispensary Answerdam
Alternative Care Collective.
Jackson's trial comes as both the San Diego City Council and County
Board of Supervisors are developing local medical marijuana
distribution laws that would regulate the same activity for which
Jackson is being tried. A San Diego grand jury issued recommendations
in June calling on city and county governments to implement the state's
medical marijuana law. In particular, the grand jury called for the
city and county to develop a "program for the licensing, regulation and
periodic inspection of authorized collectives and cooperatives
distributing medical marijuana."
As part of law enforcement's "Operation Green Rx," more than 60 people
were arrested in several raids. Yet, of only two cases the District
Attorney chose to take to trial, both resulted in
acquittals. In addition to Jackson's earlier acquittal, Davidovich was
also acquitted of similar charges in March of this year. "One would
think that after two trials, hundreds of
thousands of taxpayers' dollars wasted and her reputation damaged, that
Ms. Dumanis would reconsider her approach," said Davidovich in a
previous statement on the matter. Jackson's trial is expected to last
at least two weeks.
Further information:
San Diego grand jury recommendations on medical marijuana:
https://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/grandjury/reports/2009-2010/MedicalMarijuanaReport.pdf
Americans for Safe Access is the nation's largest organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research.
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That's also precisely what Sanders did during his opening remarks:
In the pharmaceutical industry today we are looking at an unprecedented level of corporate greed—and that is certainly true with Moderna. Today, while 37% of the American people could not afford the prescription drugs their doctors prescribe, 10 major pharmaceutical companies made over $100 billion dollars in profits in 2021—a 137% increase from the previous year. In these corporations, the 50 top executives made over $1.9 billion in total compensation in 2021 and are in line to receive billions more in golden parachutes once they leave their companies. In other words, Americans die because they cannot afford the outrageous cost of prescription drugs, while the drug companies make huge profits.
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"What does a lifesaving drug mean for a person who cannot afford to buy that drug?" Sanders asked. "Should people in America and around the world be allowed to get sicker and sometimes die because they cannot afford the outrageous and arbitrary prices that the pharmaceutical industry demands?"
"Do we not need to change the current culture of greed into a culture which understands that science and medical breakthroughs should work for ordinary people, and not just enrich large corporations and CEOs?" he continued.
Sanders urged people "to remember the contributions of great scientists like Dr. Jonas Salk who, in the 1950s, invented the vaccine for polio. Salk's work saved millions of lives and prevented millions more from being paralyzed."
According to the progressive lawmaker: "It has been estimated that if Dr. Salk had chosen to patent the polio vaccine he would have made billions of dollars. But he did not. When asked who owns the patent to this vaccine Dr. Salk said: 'Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?' What Dr. Salk understood was that the purpose of the vaccine he invented was to save lives, not to make himself obscenely rich."
Salk was not alone, as Sanders explained:
In 1928, Alexander Fleming, a scientist from Scotland, discovered penicillin at St. Mary's hospital in London. Fleming's discovery of penicillin changed the medical world and saved millions of lives.
When Fleming was asked about his role, he did not talk about the outrageous fortune he could have made through his discovery. Instead, he said: "I did not invent penicillin. Nature did that. I only discovered it by accident." He refused to make obscene profits from his discovery.
In 1921, Dr. Frederick Banting along with two other scientists at the University of Toronto invented insulin—an issue we're hearing a lot about today. When Dr. Banting was asked why he wouldn't patent insulin and why he sold the rights to insulin for just $1 he replied: “Insulin does not belong to me. It belongs to the world.”
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"In this moment of excessive corporate greed," said Sanders, "the moral vision of these great scientists is something that we might learn from."
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