Jury begins deliberating in pot trial

In his summary Tuesday before the jury in the Aaron Anderson trial, defense
counsel Brian De Lima holds up a bag containing part of the shipment of
hemp seeds ordered by Anderson in 1991

By Crystal Kua

A Circuit Court jury was scheduled to resume deliberations this morning in
the trial of hemp activist Aaron Anderson.

Anderson ,60, is, charged with seconddegree commercial promotion of
marijuana in connection with a 25 pound shipment of hemp seeds he ordered
in May 1991.from a mainland company.

A police dog sniffed out the package after it arrived in Hilo via Federal
Express.

The defense contends that Anderson, who did not testify at trial, ordered
sterile hemp seeds.

But police Officer Dennis De Morales testified during the trial that he
grew marijuana plants from the seeds in order to test them.

Anderson was indicted in 1992 year on the felony charge.

Prosecutors have to prove that Anderson knowingly possessed more than 2
pounds of marijuana seeds.

Deputy Prosecutor Kay Iopa told jurors that Anderson knew exactly what he
was doing with the seeds.

"He ordered it. He wanted it. He had a purpose for it," Iopa said.

But Anderson's courtappointed lawyer, Brian De Lima, said that Anderson
bought the seeds from a legitimate company under the belief that the seeds
were sterile:

"How are you going to know if the thing is viable?" De Lima asked. "He
ordered sterile hemp seeds. That's what he ordered."

Iopa said that under the law, it doesn't matter whether the seeds were
sterile because marijuana is marijuana.

"Tomatoes come from tomato seeds, carrots come from carrot seeds and
marijuana plants come from marijuana seeds," Iopa said. "Seeds are
marijuana."

But De Lima said that the seeds didn't fit the definition of marijuana.

"What is the best evidence that this is not marijuana? Money

Everything translates green," De Lima said.

A police detective testified during the trial that marijuana seeds on the
street each sell for $1 to $5.

Based on the testimony, De Lima calculated that the shipment Anderson
ordered should have been worth between $500,000 and $2.8 million.

But Anderson paid $72 for the shipment of seeds. "This is not marijuana,"
De Lima said.

He also noted that hemp seeds are part of the stream of commerce locally.

The prosecution and defense also disagreed on whether Anderson actually
took possession of the box.

The prosecution said police stopped Anderson outside o Federal Express
office after employee handed Anderson the box

But the defense says that De Morales held on to the box never actually
handed it over to Anderson

De Lima used a pin to poke a hole into a balloon to illustrate what he
contends were holes in the prosecutions case.

But Iopa said that the prosecution proved all the elements c charge.

The jury received the case in the afternoon and deliberated until before 5
p.m. Jurors were expected. to begin deliberating again at 9 a.m. today.