FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Catrina Coleman, The Human Solution: 951.704.2594
Christopher Glew, Attorney for Joe Grumbine: 866-648-0004

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA – Los Angeles County can sleep better knowing hundreds of thousands (if not millions, an exact estimate is difficult to gauge) of their tax dollars were spent on a SWAT style raid involving 120 armed officers, dogs, and helicopters, as well as a lengthy investigation and prosecution of a man the courts had already determined was in full compliance with California law.

In December 2010, Joe Grumbine, a peace loving family man, talented organic gardener (see www.willowcreeksprings.net) and founder of The Human Solution (www.the-human-solution.org), a nonprofit citizens’ education and advocacy group, received bail of $260K from Judge Arthur Jean, more than the country recommends for rapists, kidnappers, and child molesters,  for operating a legal medical marijuana collective.  He found himself shackled and dragged off to jail where he spent 4  nights before his bail was reduced to 120K.  

Medical marijuana advocates, friends, and supporters were so outraged at the injustice they dug into personal savings and retirement accounts to bail Grumbine out of jail.

Grumbine, who has no prior legal convictions for anything, thought his legal woes were over back in 2008 when a Riverside County court found his medical marijuana collective in full compliance with California law.  Five weeks later the SWAT raid took place and seventeen people were arrested. A year later only Grumbine and partner Joe Byron face actual charges.

Grumbine believes prosecutors sought excessive bail in order to pressure him to take a felony plea bargain. As long as there is any kind of conviction, it goes down as a win in the district attorney’s books.  But because he steadfastly maintains he hasn’t done anything wrong, a felony plea bargain is not an option Joe Grumbine is willing to consider.

“I have worked too long and too hard for too many people who have gone through the legal hell that I am now going through to sell out my principles and admit to a felony I did not commit,” he says.

 “During the raid, one of the agents actually told my wife that all marijuana users should be put down like animals. This kind of outrageous abuse has to stop and my taking a plea bargain for something I didn’t do will not help that cause,” maintains Grumbine.

Despite medical marijuana being legal in California since the passage of Prop 215 in 1996, and despite the Obama administration’s promise not to prosecute medical marijuana cases, the legal harassment of patients and collectives continue and law abiding citizens like Joe Grumbine get caught in the crossfire.

Medical marijuana patients and advocates, all wearing The Human Solution’s signature green ribbons and some in wheelchairs, attended  Grumbine’s December 10 bail reduction hearing and are vowing to remain vigilant throughout Grumbine’s trial. 

Those who support safe access to medical marijuana for patients as well as the members of the media are encouraged to attend the start of his preliminary hearing on February 7.  . The hearing is set for fill in the blanks here  in Long Beach Superior Court House, 415 W Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach, CA.

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 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Catrina Coleman, The Human Solution: 951-704-2594; www.the-human-solution.org
Christopher Glew, Attorney for Joe Grumbine: 866-648-0004; www.glewkimlaw.com

LEGAL MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROVIDERS GET HIGHER BAIL THAN KIDNAPPERS, RAPISTS, & CHILD MOLESTERS

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA – Outraged medical marijuana patients and advocates want to know why two nonviolent legal nonprofit collective operators received higher bail than Los Angeles County recommends for kidnappers, rapists, and child molesters.

On Wednesday December 8 Judge Arthur Jean imposed 260K and 340K bail respectively on Joe Grumbine and Joe Byron, two nonviolent medical marijuana collective operators who have voluntarily cooperated with authorities at every step in their more than year long legal ordeal. 

In December 2009, despite paying their taxes to the California State Board of Equalization and being in full compliance with Attorney General Jerry Brown’s medical marijuana  collective guidelines, the pair’s  nonprofit medical marijuana collective and everyone known to be associated with it were rounded up in a terrifying SWAT style raid involving no less 120 officers in four locations in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties.

Grumbine, a patients’ right advocate and director of the non-profit education and advocacy group The Human Solution ( www.the-human-solution.org) believes the excessive bail is the prosecution’s attempt to bully him into accepting a felony plea bargain for a crime he did not commit. 

Twenty or so medical marijuana patients, all wearing The Human Solution’s signature green ribbons and some in wheelchairs, attended the bail hearing.  A shocked and tearful crowd left the courtroom after the excessive bails were imposed and Grumbine and Byron were shackled and taken to prison.  A significantly larger crowd of  supporters overflowed the courtroom during the pair’s  December 10 bail reduction hearing where Grumbine’s bail was reduced to $120K, Byron’s to $300K.

Outraged citizens, those who support safe access to medical marijuana for patients, as well as the members of the media are encouraged to attend the start of Grumbine and Byron’s preliminary hearing on February 7, 2011. The hearing is set for fill in the blanks here in Long Beach Superior Court House, 415 W Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach, CA.

Supporters believe that every citizen, regardless of their stance on medical marijuana, should be concerned about this egregious abuse of power and the  reckless waste of public resources and funds involved in prosecuting this case, especially when California is experiencing rampant budget cuts and financial woes. 

As to the excessive bail amount, the numbers speak for themselves.  A quick perusal of the list below shows just how much Los Angeles prosecutors hate medical marijuana, despite California voters legalizing it way back in 1996.  Grumbine ultimately received 120K bail, Byron 300K.   Below are the recommended bail amounts for various serious crimes as set by the County of Los Angeles (read the entire list at www.lasuperiorcourt.org/bail/pdf/felony.pdf ).

Crime                          Recommend Bail According LA County

Assault with Chemicals                                                 $50K

Assault with a Firearm                                                  $50K

Lynching                                                                       $50K

Residential Burglary                                                      $50K

Pimping a Minor Under 16                                            $75K

Arson of Structures or Forest Land                               $75K

False Imprisonment                                                       $50K

Rape                                                                            $100K

Kidnapping                                                                   $100K

Vehicular Manslaughter DUI with Gross Negligence      $100K

First Degree Robbery                                                   $100K

Car Jacking                                                                  $100K

Child Stealing By Use of the Internet                             $100K

Willful Harm of a Child Likely to Produce Death            $100K

Oral Copulation with a Minor Under 14                        $100K

Sale of More Than 50lbs of Marijuana                          $100K

Human Trafficking of a Victim Under 18                        $150K

Child Molestation with a Prior Conviction                      $150K

Rape with Violent Force                                               $250K

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