Stephanie Landa Turns Herself In
In February of 2002, Stephanie Landa, Kevin Gage, and Thomas Kikuchi attended a Medical Marijuana Task Force meeting with the SFPD that included narcotics officer Sgt. Marty Halloran and Capt. Kevin Cashman, then head of the SFPD narcotics unit. They were advised that the Board of Supervisors had designated San Francisco as a medical marijuana sanctuary, and that police wouldn’t cooperate with federal law enforcement. Landa was told that as long as they used licensed electricians, kept their medical marijuana garden within city limits, and sold only to medical marijuana dispensaries, they would have no trouble. She said Cashman presented them with a handout noting that there was no medical marijuana plant limit in San Francisco. After more assurances from then-district attorney Terence Hallinan, Landa and her partners borrowed $250000, moved from Los Angeles, secured a business license, and began creating a nonprofit medical cannabis collective. In April 2002 they rented a warehouse for an indoor garden, and began growing 40 strains of cannabis to treat different conditions. “We wanted to be near them so they could protect us as promised,” Landa told us. Four months later, a group of plainclothes San Francisco police officers burst into the warehouse, threw Landa and Gage to the ground, and pointed guns at their heads.
I just found this video. Well, I always thought of SF as a sane and fair city with no time to persecute victimless crimes…I’ve been to a NORML fundraiser at Hallinan’s Victorian mansion many years ago. WTH happened????
I am interested in Stephanie Landa’s case because I believe she sounds honest.
Now, I would like to be able to evaluate how sincere the DA sounds. Is there a tape on this person?
I really have to apologize for my rant of a year ago. I know good people are trying to fix this problem, and I am very aware of the extent to which our political system has been rigged against us. That is true for both Canada and the USA.
Good governance is outcome oriented and evidence based, not the product of religious prejudice. BTW your numbers *are* encouraging.
“How the American people can tolerate this crap is beyond me.”
What are you suggesting we do about it? If there was something anyone could do, I am sure it would be done. Aside from the judge who probably has an ex-wife that smokes or something. Maybe he’s jaded cause his kid smokes or because he can’t and he’s just jealous. I believe the numbers were about 50-50 for and against here. However they were closer to 75% for medical uses.
These people you speak of, are they first time offenders or chronic offenders? I doubt a first time offense of growing 1200 plants would get you 10 years. Also have you heard of the grow in the abandoned Molson Brewery in Toronto? It was more than 1200, believe me. Either way it is a damn shame this lady is spending more than a day in jail. In the future, we will look back in time and think how stupid we were to jail people over weed.
BC Bud
You’re completely uninformed, Releasethehoundz. There are people serving 5-10 years in Canada right now for growing as little as 50 plants in BC. Furthermore, an indoor grow of 1200 plants is a very large grow by any standard in the world. Finally, 1200 is just the number the authorities came up with, but in reality the indoor grow she and her co-defendants had was probably the largest in North American history. And it was medicinal quality, not that “beasters” crap that BC produces these days.
Come to BC. Theres no way you would get 48 months or whatever for growing 1200 plants.
ahahah 1200 plants is nothing.
How can this shit happen? put innocent people in
jail for something they should be thanked for?
I agree. Look at San Francisco. No body complains about the police or government, because they are fair and progressive. The Police Commission (refer to the next video a-la Dave Campos) is all for leagalizing dope and creating a firearm free city. Dope everyone up and then take their guns away, just like San Francisco. Once we are all high and defenseless, then we’ll have the government by the balls. I will also write a letter to Congress requesting that they make me a slave right away.
In the USA, justice and injustice are synonyms. How the American people can tolerate this crap is beyond me. And of course this should be legal, of course prop 215 should prevail over federal jackboots. Sick sick sick.
legalize it (prohibition has done more dmage than cannabis itself could ever do)
fight the power.
so sad, so sad
I will be writing letters to congress regarding your case.
This is pure and simple entrapment.
The work you were doing is of major importance to the medical cannabis community.
You will be the topic of discussion at my next NORML meeting, I will bring these videos and whatever info I can find to share with others.