cannabisnews.com: Murder in California Murder in California Posted by FoM on June 20, 2000 at 17:27:45 PT By Dan Mindus, NRO Source: National Review The Case of Peter McWilliams (1949-2000)Ushering in outbreaks of hysteria, Peter McWilliams, best-selling author and medical- marijuana activist, died on Wednesday. Some — mostly libertarians — are freely tossing around the word "murder" to describe the federal government's role in the 50-year-old McWilliams' passing. "What the federal government did is nothing less than cold-blooded, premeditated murder," charged Steve Dasbach, the national director of the Libertarian Party. Before we consign such talk to the Vince Foster lunatic fringe, perhaps some background would be appropriate. Unless otherwise noted, the quotes that follow are selected from three columns on the deceased crusader by the hardly hysterical William F. Buckley Jr. "For his illness [AIDS and cancer] he smokes every day. But after you do that for a few weeks you cease to get high. Marijuana becomes just something that stops nausea, eases pain, reduces interocular pressure, relaxes muscles, and takes the "bottom" out of a depression. So where do we go from here? To jail?" Exactly. "Six thirty in the morning, nine DEA agents crash into McWilliams' house finding him at work on his computer. They simultaneously tell him he is not under arrest and handcuff him. They spend three hours going over every piece of paper in his house (they find one ounce of marijuana, which is within the California legal limit) and walk away with his computer. That is the equivalent of entering the New York Times and walking away with the printing machinery." How is this possible, given that California's Proposition 215 exempted patients from criminal penalties for the cultivation or possession of marijuana? "The feds take the position that the California proposition is after all overridden by federal legislation." McWilliams is arrested and charged. "The U.S. attorney in Los Angeles intends to recommend that McWilliams spend the next 10 years in jail for violating federal drug laws….The meltdown is therefore now scheduled…One hopes that Peter McWilliams, something of a bird of paradise, is left alone to take proper care of himself." Sadly, this proved to be wishful thinking. The judge prohibited McWilliams from mentioning that he had AIDS and cancer, thus denying him the traditional common law defense that necessity, the need to prevent greater harm, forced him to break the law. This despite the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals's unanimous ruling in 1999 that "medical necessity" can be a viable defense for people accused of breaking federal marijuana laws. One would think such a ruling would apply to McWilliams, who suffers from a not uncommon side-effect of anti-viral AIDS drugs: nausea. Without marijuana, McWilliams simply couldn't keep his meds down. The judge further prohibited McWilliams from mentioning Proposition 215, for this was a federal case. Facing the prospect of a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence, and no plausible defense, McWilliams pled guilty. Bail was set at $250,000 and McWilliams's mother mortgaged the family home. "One aspect of the bail regulation would have pleased George Orwell: He has to submit to a daily urine test to establish that he has not taken marijuana. If such a test were to prove positive, back he'd go to jail, and the family house, presumably, to the auction block." According to McWilliams, "The Federal prosecutor personally called my mother to tell her that if I was found with even a trace of medical marijuana, her house would be taken away." And so, the meltdown. Fearing foreclosure on his mother's house, McWilliams stopped taking the marijuana that controlled his nausea. He was found in his bathroom, having choked on his own vomit. One might say that this is no more a murder than a plane crash, which can be blamed on the airline or the FAA. But there's the crucial difference of intent. Here, the prosecutors knowingly prevented McWilliams from taking the medication — marijuana — that he claimed was saving his life. Perhaps they didn't believe him, and perhaps they didn't know any better, but these are the arguments of a defendant arguing that he is only guilty of manslaughter in the second degree. Look in the papers tomorrow for more wisdom on the subject from Mr. Buckley. Contact Us: Submit a letter to the editor:E-mail: letters nationalreview.com National Review 212- 679-7330 215 Lexington Avenue New York, New York 10016 Related Articles & Web Sites:McWilliams.comhttp://www.mcwilliams.com Grow Medicinehttp://www.growmedicine.com/MapInc. Articles On Peter McWilliamshttp://mapinc.org/mcwilliams.htmUnnecessary Deathhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6109.shtmlLearning from Peter McWilliams http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6086.shtmlPeter McWilliams Backed Medical Use of Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6083.shtmlLibertarians Mourn Passing of M Marijuana Activisthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6078.shtmlPeter McWilliams Passes Away http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6069.shtml Pictures Of Peter McWilliams 1950 - 2000http://mischiefmarketing.com/mcwilliams/pics_01.html Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on June 21, 2000 at 13:39:52 PT: A POW's death by torture Has anyone considered the fact that McWilliams not only was murdered by the Feds, but he was actually *tortured* to death by them, both physically and psychologically?Any way you slice it, it was torture. Which violates many human rights treaties that the US is a signatory to. And is so quick to accuse other nations of violating.The ravages of his disease were held in check by cannabis. Of that there can be no possible doubt. The viral count test results prove that. Physical, legally admissable proof exists that that is the case. And likewise, legally admissable proof exists that when he was denied the use of cannabis, his died from the lack of it.But the dimensions of this go much further than Peter's denial of due process. (You aren't supposed to take a life without it, right? So what capital crime was McWilliams guilty of to merit a death sentence?) The political ramifications of this, if the foreign press get wind of it, are potentially explosive.Because the United States has demonstrably murdered a man in cold blood... for political reasons. No matter how wide-eyed innocent they may feign to be, no matter that they think butter won't melt in their mouth when they say they were only adhereing to the letter of the law, the more intelligent of them know they have just entered a mine field.Think about it for a minute. The US is always blowing its horn and banging the drum from it's supposed moral high ground about the human rights violations of other countries. It demands, with a straight face, that other nations adhere to the principles of human rights, law and due process. But in the McWilliams case, it has chosen to ignore the very rule of law that it demands others follow. Even worse, it has, with full knowledge of the facts in this case, actively sought the death of a politically outspoken citizen.If the DrugWarriors insist upon calling this a 'war', then they may very well reap what they have sown in their blind, vicious arrogance. What happened here, aside from being a gross example of judicially sanctioned murder, is also institutionalized sadism. The kind War Crimes tribunals are for adjudicating.There may yet be a day in the not too distant future when those who so publicly proclaimed they were bettering society by their actions stand accused of human rights violations before the International Court in The Hague. (Remember, the Nazi's at Nuremburg nearly all, to a man, denied their guilt. In their perversity, they honestly believed they were *doing the right thing* for human civilazation) Because Judge King and the other Federal minions, as surely as if they put a gun to their heads and pulled the triggers, have killed not just McWilliams, but so many others by their DrugWar... all to save lives. Or so we're told. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on June 21, 2000 at 09:52:43 PT Peter McWilliams Memorial Services Memorial Services for Peter McWilliams were held in Los Angeles on June 20, 2000. Family members asked that no pictures be taken at the services, but enclosed below are picture taken after the services and during the protest march that was held afterwards. Enclosed are four pictures that will show you a few views of the event. Although the services were scheduled last minute on a weekday, over one hundred people showed up. Steve KubbyPeter McWilliams Memorial Serviceshttp://www.kubby.com/McWilliams/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by DanB on June 21, 2000 at 04:35:27 PT: King George Dankhank--I believe his name is George King (I refuse to call him "Honorable"). And you're absolutely right.Everyone here is dead on. He and his ilk should be tried for war crimes when we win this thing.Peace,Dan B [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by dankhank on June 20, 2000 at 20:26:46 PT: Murder Most Foul Peter McWilliams was murdered by Judge Perry King, I think his name is ...Peter was murdered by the federal government.Peter was murdered ... HEMP n STUFF [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on June 20, 2000 at 19:38:00 PT: Peter McWilliams Peter McWilliams' murder by the federal government will eventually be recognized as a political crime against humanity. This development is one that should criticized by people of every party, and brought to the attention of every politician running for office as an example of intolerable government intrusion on human rights. It is only when the citizens of the USA and the rest of the world insist that these repressive policies end that patients will be able to employ this valuable, but vilified herbal medicine. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Joe Republican on June 20, 2000 at 18:28:33 PT Allies True Conservatives are appalled at the Drug War, and we need to hold the GOP party line to the fire over this. Big Government screws up everything it touches, and the police welfare state is no exception. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: