cannabisnews.com: Pot User Cites Police Threats





Pot User Cites Police Threats
Posted by CN Staff on September 19, 2006 at 08:06:59 PT
By Rod Thompson
Source: Star-Bulletin
Kailua Kona -- A Big Island religious and medical marijuana user, the Rev. Dennis Shields, says he was "intimidated and terrorized" by police serving a search warrant for marijuana on his South Kona property Friday.No arrests were made. Police Maj. John Dawrs said courts issue search warrants only when there is probably cause and the only way to see if there is evidence of a crime is to execute the warrant.
Arrested for marijuana in 1994, Shields argued freedom of religion, saying marijuana was a sacrament in his faith, called the Religion of Jesus. He was convicted on the grounds that marijuana was not required in his religion. Since then, his church made it a requirement.Shields also holds a state-issued card verifying he is a medical marijuana user.The Friday raid followed two recent police helicopter overflights of his property in which 24 marijuana plants were visible on his porch, Shields said.Shields said his wife and two of his grown sons live on the property, and all four hold medical-marijuana cards. Since state law allows seven plants per card holder, up to 28 plants would be legal, he said.When police arrived, they wanted to see the cards of other family members who weren't present, Shields said. He told them he had no copies of their cards because copying the cards is illegal.Shields told police to call a state registry to verify card holders at the property. After apparently doing so outside his hearing, police left, he said. They should have checked before coming, he said.They also made incorrect statements about the law, saying medical users can't have hashish, and each plant has to have an individual's name on it. Dawrs confirmed that hashish is allowed, and names are not required on plants.In 2004, John and Rhonda Robison of South Kona received $30,000 in settlement of a wrongful-arrest lawsuit after officers arrested them for not having names on medical marijuana plants.Note: Police search a home on the Big Island but make no arrests.Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin (HI)Author: Rod ThompsonPublished: Tuesday, September 19, 2006 Copyright: 2006 Honolulu Star-BulletinContact: letters starbulletin.comWebsite: http://www.starbulletin.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Reverend Dennis Shieldhttp://thereligionofjesuschurch.org/ MMJ Case Against Police Set for Septemberhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18269.shtmlMedical Marijuana Patients Seek Settlement http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17506.shtml
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Comment #9 posted by konagold on September 21, 2006 at 17:06:53 PT:
comments 8,7,6
AlohaTelarus: love to meet you too or anyone who has the same valuesno the herbicide did not do that to the banana the leaves naturally diewhig: that is NOT "the helicopter pissing a stream of disgusting yellow poison" that is the line or rope attached to the copter to haul in plants from the woodsin years past the DEA used the Hawaii Ocean View Estates [H.O.V.E. or just Ocean View] subdivision [for years it was the largest subdivision in the US; 22,000 one acre lots on much lava and then very sparsely populated] as a test bed and training area for pot eradication the aerial spraying of a combination of RoundUp, diesel and a coloring agent after dozens of residents of H.O.V.E. signed petitions complete wit scores of medical reports from a local Dr did this poising of the people stopI do know that the first flyby in march was the herbicide rig because growers in the neighborhood later reported that their plants had been sprayed that occasionsorry about the DLNR reference that portion of the post was pasted from earlier notesAlohaRev. Dennis Shields
http://thereligionofjesuschurch.org
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Comment #8 posted by Telarus on September 20, 2006 at 19:08:43 PT:
konagold
Wow. I'm appalled (but not that surprised) at the harassment that you and your family have gone through. Having been raised on the Big Island (Kona and Southpoint), the pics really made me miss the lush environment. Did that herbicide do that to your banana tree? That's a shame. I'm up in Portland OR right now studying (hey, it's the closet volcanic region I could find, eh?)I also follow a religion that supports the sacramental use of Cannabis. I know of another cannabist in Puna that subscribes to one of the email groups that I do. Good to know there's some reality seekers back home. I haven't been home in 7 years, and it's begining to get to me. If I do end up back on the rock, I'd love to meet you.Namaste,
Telarus, KSC
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Comment #7 posted by whig on September 20, 2006 at 12:11:43 PT
konagold
Those pictures of the helicopter pissing a stream of disgusting yellow poison are shocking.
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Comment #6 posted by whig on September 20, 2006 at 12:06:11 PT
DLNR
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Had to look that up.
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Comment #5 posted by konagold on September 20, 2006 at 11:51:41 PT:
notes from the front line
AlohaLife has been very fullThis is going to be sort of a time line, in part to tell the story, and in part to focus my recollection of pertinent events.3-14-2006A DLNR eradication helicopter landed less than 500 feet from my house at 12:02 this afternoon, after flying over my house and water tanks dangling the herbicide rig which dangles 100 feet below the chopper as it flew over my house at less than 500 feetPast incidents have shone this herbicide rig has leaked swaths through the forest of dead vegetation I feel terrorized it being over my roof and drinking waterI have called Kona police who informed me it was DLNR I called DLNR and the FAA to complain3-15-2006
I received a call from a FAA official around 5 pm yesterday afternoonHis first statement to me was that this was a helicopter on assignment to retrieve abandoned net and other marine debris from humpback whales.He retreated from this position when I informed him that I live at 2300 feet above sea level and the fact the copter had this poison rig slung from its belly.What he said next astounded me even further.If a government contract is involved the FAA can't enforce flying rules designed to protect the citizenry; where a private helicopter would be subject to sanctions, if a government contract is involved WE [the people] are unprotected from these DLNR caviler helicopter cowboys. He also said he gets about 15 complaints per eradication mission.He said that had they actually landed in my yard, as apposed to near my house in the pasture next door, there was nothing the FAA could do about it [reminds me of the usefulness of teat's on a mule].This is an additional reason for injunctive relief from a federal program purloining state agencies to circumvent reasonable laws protecting us from dangerous use of public equipment.This morning I received a call from DLNR.After listening to my complaint, particularly my feeling terrorized with this helicopter directly above my home dangling its herbicide rig over my farm land and my neighbors farm land and catchment systems and water tanks; I was told that this would never happen again specifically at my home and I was given an apology.I requested an apology from the pilot.I was told that was pending the interview of the pilot.7-13 2006DLNR copter lands 3 times 300 or so feet from the house the following URL goes to a photo album slide show of this tyrannyhttp://hawaiihydrogen.net/tinc?key=ETGAzEIs&fs_settings=1,0,1,5,800,740One can see the 100+ foot line with a round ball weight [two photos show the take off with this in the midst of 60 to 80 foot tall Ohia trees one can see one of the crew rolling it up at the end of its raidthe shot with the gutter and roof and the copter less than one hundred feet above my house trailing this weighted line through the tree tops and over my house represents to me the reckless endangerment of my self and my neighbors9-10-2006 [perhaps the day before or the day after] I hear a copter directly over head I observed what appeared to be photographic equipment in a military style helicopter circling my house it went over houses at a lower elevation than I for a very short time then it came back buzzed my house one more time before leaving obviously my house was the direct purpose of them being here9-15-2006About 3PM I hear large vehicles coming up our one lane unpaved farm road I notice they are marked POLICE and go to where my plants are and made sure I am under my numbers I pulled four seedlings [didn't need to it turns out but I just wanted to make sure] about this time I hear some one shouting hello I look out in my driveway and ther are NINE cops Five vehicles including two 2 ton stake bed trucks [I have since wondered if they were planning on taking my furniture] each cop was attired with bulletproof vest and side arm [did these supposedly brave men AND woman really think REVEREND Shields was going to shoot them -- or perhaps they feared that the plants, instead of getting one loaded, actually WERE loaded ] The head cheese [he never did introduce himself but did most of the talking] informed me that he had a warrant to search the place I asked how they got the warrant and he said it was from helicopter over flights identifying pot on my porch [ as the Dead sang ‘you got a warrant I guess your gonna come in’]He said that they knew where they were going by my name on the driveway however the warrant did not mention my name only generic instructions of how to get here [what I call third banana tree on the left type instructions due to the lack of accurate mapping and street signs and addresses in Kona]I informed him that I was legal he demanded to see all four cards as I showed him the 24 plants that I had showing the 8 mature [less than the 12 allowed] separated from the vegetative state plants and counting below the allowed number to 28in reply to his demand to see the cards I told him that it says right on the card that it is illegal to copy them so legally I am not allowed to even have proof that more than one registered patient is at this locale, I began to get my card in response to his request at which point he told me that I was "not in charge" here and that I was "beginning to piss him off" I replied that I had no intention of doing anything other than cooperating with himhe said that I seemed to be upset I replied that all of them here was naturally disturbing I asked his permission to enter my own kitchen to retrieve my wallet so that I could show him my card [I am reminded of a line from a Carole King song "you can’t talk to a man with a shotgun in his hand"]about this time my eldest son [29] arrived with his card and I asked why this had not called the registry number [as they should have before wasting all these resources on this shake down] as i did not have the cards I certainly could give him the names of the card holders so that he could check it outI was told to get a hold of the other card holders At this point I asked to call my wife so that she could present her card I had to leave a message on her cellI then called my middle son [25] to ask him to get here to show his card he was stuck in 5mph Friday afternoon traffic and was 45 minutes awayat this time I explained to the head of the group that not only was I covered medically but that I was protected religiously he said but that is not a law I replied that oh yes it was it is the First Amendment and State case law referred to as State V Blake and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act [which protects me from the Federal drug Nazis] that I fulfill the requirements of that law; I told him that I had recently talked to the prosecuting attorney of my case [who is currently still a DA here in Kona] who informs me that since our church has mandated the use of Cannabis Sacramentally that now I have greater Religious rights than I do medical rights in the State of Hawaii. That I had attended been invited into the Governors office when the Med Pot law was signed and have received a humanitarian award from the drug policy forum Hawaii [for my work in three legislative sessions and rallying Big Island Patients to come to Oahu to testify and the recounting of my stepsons battle with terminal abdominal cancer how cannabis relieved uncontrollable vomiting when chemo was given shortly after surgery with 100 fresh stitches in his gut]I told him I don’t sell I don’t distribute I only have this for me and my family and please just leve me alone I showed him my religion of Jesus Church Card that I had in the first raid in 1994 I directed him to read the back and observed him do soThe back of my card reads “I am a child of God, endowed with personal and inalienable rights and powers revealed by the Declaration of Independence and secured by the Constitution.“The first Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration act of 1993 empower the people To Establish Religion and exercise it freely.“As an officer of the law you have the right not to arrest, burden or interfere with my religious use of Cannabis because you have sworn to uphold the US Constitution” After coming back from my pot porch once again this head guy began to tell me that the plants needed to be individually labeled with the registered owners name [this is a lie and my friends John and Ronda were paid 30k for the cops arresting them over this lie last time the cops tried to intimidate patients in Kona]about this time the head guy and four other officers followed my son down to his house the other house on the property about 500 feet away shortly there after my wife called back to tell me the location of her expired card as her current one was with her; at this time i requested that I go look for her card of the officers that were watching me on my porch and I was told to hang on that that would probably not be necessaryAs I sat alone with the remaining officers, one of which was the officer who in 1994 took me off of my property and to jail for that case, his comment "you have really fixed the place up" "do you still play music?" [this question while standing next to the 20x30 foot stage with drum set and Hammond B3 and a wall of speakers and guitars] and after a while of waiting on my kitchen lani I asked if I could calm my self by playing a tune or two so I picked up my koa guitar played a little blues then 'kaliponi slack key' and then 'Fortunate Son' you know that the line "some folks born to wave the flag ooh they red white and blue, some one play 'Hail to the Chief' they point a cannon at you, but it ain't me ... " seemed fitting to the occasionAbout this time they came back from the lower house and informed me that we can’t have bubble hash bags to make hashAbout this time I asked if we were ok here and after going on about the plant labeling and the hash they said I was legal that some folks were taking illegal advantage I told him I don’t sell or distribute that I don’t sell Sacramenthis response was that I had to label the plants and get rid of the hash bagsand they left and on the way down my son had fought his way through traffic and about a half a mile down our one lane coffee road he had to pull off the road to let them by he stuck his blue registry card out the window got some snide comments from two explorer types and the two 2 ton stake bed trucks until the last car number 5 in this column of paramilitary dimensions, the one with the head cheese which stopped looked at the card and dead pan told him that it was expired and that they were all going to have to go back now; as the card he handed them has a 2007 expiration date he got flustered began to protest ‘no way’ and the said they 'were only joking' [ my family fails to see the humor of terroristic threatening]They returned the card to him.There are other parts in the after math of this to tell perhaps in another post if I have the timeMahalo for the good wishesAlohaRev. Dennis Shields  
http://thereligionofjesuschurch.org
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Comment #4 posted by whig on September 19, 2006 at 16:39:11 PT
Dennis Shields
Aloha.Cannabis is the sacrament of our church, by whatever name we call it, and under whatever set of organization. Many of us out here are unorganized, and there will be a test of the right to unorganized religion, someday.How dare the government make you prove that you are required by some organization rules to do what you are commanded by God?But people who profess a personal relationship with God are deemed insane, committed in institutions and forced (by virtue of their captivity and no other way to be released) to take neuroleptic drugs that dull the mind and burn the circuits.So therefore most of us have learned to be silent, and not speak of our divine recognition of one another, except here on CNews and in some other very special places. It is not a thing to be said to anyone who is uninterested in hearing it, unless it be overheard when between two or more of us who know one another.So important therefore it is to me to establish lines of communication between ourselves at all times, and to have a way to support our right to believe as we do by witnesses who can speak to our own righteous faith. I offer therefore to witness for anyone that I can, and speak as to my own certain knowledge of the eucharistic transubstantiation which brings man or woman and God into communion with one another in the consumption of cannabis.Mahalo
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on September 19, 2006 at 11:47:32 PT
Focus Drug Fight on The Demand Side
EditorialSeptember 19, 2006U.S. "drug czar" John Walters says half of the world's terrorist groups bankroll operations with profits from the illegal drug trade. His original confirmation hearing in 2001 was cancelled by the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Yet, in a meeting Monday with the Enquirer editorial board, Walters repeatedly referred to drug abuse as a "disease" and said attacking the problem on the demand side is the key to winning the fight against drugs.
 Snipped: Complete Article: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060919/EDIT01/609190310/1090
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Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on September 19, 2006 at 08:42:03 PT
Priorities
I hope when some poor family is trying to send their kid to college, or even to feed their kid, they realize that the Hawaii government spent thousands and thousands on helicopters to harass this guy.They'll spend thousands more on lawyers and the settlement for the illegal raid.What a sick, twisted place the US is. Your personal property and house are subject to raid by big, mean thugs anytime they feel like it. And you're forced to pay them all their salaries, basically working as a slave for a government that takes half of your income.Meanwhile, most people believe the biggest threat to us is a bunch of poor brown people halfway around the world 10 or 20 thousand miles away. The effectiveness of the propaganda and mind control is astonishing.
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Comment #1 posted by Max Flowers on September 19, 2006 at 08:28:42 PT
Sue 'em, Dennis
Sounds like a "wrongful raid" lawsuit to me... after spotting the plants, the cops should have checked the address against the medical cannabis registry. There is no plausible reason that the cops will be able to say they couldn't have done that. Therefore, the raid and search were unnecessary. Sounds like solid grounds for suing them. Moreover, Shields is no doubt somewhat well-known on the island, so obviously the cops knew who he was at the time the helicopter spotted the plants. Since they know he is a religious and medical user, that's more proof that the intent was to intimidate him.
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