Dismissal sought in charges against cannabis club owner
By MICHELLE LOCKE
OAKLAND Lawyers for Cannabis Buyer's Club founder Dennis Peron asked a
judge to dismiss drug charges Monday, arguing that the case was politically
motivated and became moot when voters approved marijuana as medicine.
"This is a test case whether we really did change the law," Peron said
outside the courtroom. Alameda County Superior Court Judge LarTy Goodman
said he would issue a ruling May 12. But defense lawyer David Nick said he
was hopeful the motion was "going to go our way."
A victory here, Nick said, would show "that medical opinions should
prevail over political ideology~"
Peron, along with five others, was arrested last year on felony
charges of conspiracy, possession of marijuana for sale and the
larg~scale sale and transportation of the drug.
The defendants maintain the raid was orchestrated by Attorney
General Dan Lungren as part of his opposition to Proposition 215, the ballot
initiative legalizing marijuana for medical use. Lungren denied that.
In court Monday, the alleged political slant to the case was one of
several arguments defense lawyers made for dismissal.
They also claimed that the case should go back to the grand
jury to give it a chance to look at the evidence in light of the new
law. Defense lawyers further charged that state prosecutors held back
evidence favorable to defendants in the first hearing.
State prosecutor Ron Bass argued against doing that. He said
activities at the Cannabis Buyer's Club went far beyond the conduct
legalized by Prop. 215.

Published in the Contra Costa Times;fax:15109330239, Oakland Tribune,
and other SF Bay area papers on April 15, 1997