Palm Springs: Benefit to Keep a Great-Grandma Out of Jail

MARIJUANA ANTI-PROHIBITION PROJECT

** AMERICAN HARM REDUCTION ASSOCIATION**

**Compassion and Common Sense**

**PO Box 739, Palm Springs CA 92263-0739**

Phone ~ 760-799-2055
http://www.marijuananews.org
~ email to lanny [at] marijuananews.org

PRESS RELEASE

Female & celebrity impersonators at CopyKatz Show Bar to stage
benefit to keep great grandma out of jail

Show and auction seeks to raise $5,000 to pay a lawyer to defend
senior citizen medicinal marijuana patients JoAnn and Rich McCabe
arrested by San Bernardino sheriff's officers

CONTACT: Lanny Swerdlow at 760-799-2055.

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 8, 2008**

Like many high desert senior citizens, JoAnn and Rich McCabe find
that marijuana provides safe, effective symptomatic relief for the
ailments of advancing years and use it specifically to manage their
arthritis, insomnia and chronic back and joint pain. For following
state law and doing what the voters of California said they could do,
they are now paying a terrible price - a price they cannot afford.

The San Bernardino District Attorney's office wants to put them in
jail for up to three years and has assigned a special prosecutor to
the case to make sure the 74-year-old great grandma does time. JoAnn
and Rich McCabe live in the high desert in a mobile home near Old
Women's Springs Road on the way to Landers. It is not an area known
for the density of upper income residences. With a special prosecutor
assigned to the case, they will need a lawyer steeped in medical
marijuana law - a specialty sorely lacking in the public defenders
office that is more use to defending robbers, car thieves,
prostitutes, drug prohibition violators and drunk drivers than elderly
medicinal marijuana patients.

Lanny Swerdlow, director of the Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project,
states "unfortunately lawyers with the knowledge to defend medical
marijuana patients do not come cheap - reasonable maybe, but not
cheap. We need to raise $5,000 immediately to retain a lawyer. I have
never tried to raise that much money before so we are very grateful
that the owner, performers and staff of CopyKatz Showbar have
volunteered to host a defense fundraiser to keep great grandma out of
jail."

Elyse Del Francia-Goodwin, owner of CopyKatz Showroom and Backstage
Bistro is outraged at the arrest of two senior citizens, especially a
great grandmother and has offered to hold a spectacular fundraiser at
CopyKatz.

Elyse is no stranger to the medicinal use of marijuana and says she
owes a debt of gratitude to marijuana for the relief it brought her
husband who suffered from Parkinson's disease. Marijuana was the
only thing that worked. It controlled his non-stop tremors and gave
him relief from his agonizing muscle weakness and helped prevent falls
that were always terrifying to Elyse. Her husband's use of marijuana
made life bearable for both of them.

Elyse's husband was not a criminal and neither are the McCabe's.
To that end, on Sunday, February 3 at 3 p.m. Elyse is hosting a McCabe
Defense Fund fundraiser for the CopyKatz. The female and celebrity
impersonators of CopyKatz are going to put on one very special show
with the most outrageous auction ever held in the Coachella Valley.
Everyone who comes to the fundraiser will have a great time and can
feel great about keeping a great grandma out of jail.

In addition to the sensational performers at CopyKatz, many of the
merchants in downtown Palm Springs are helping to raise defense funds
for the McCabes. Joy Meredith, owner of Crystal Fantasy and president
of the Downtown Business Owners Association, will be helping to
coordinate donations of auction items as well as encouraging
businesses to donate 10% of their proceeds on Sunday, February 3 to
their defense fund. "I would have trouble sleeping at night if I
didn't do something to help keep grandma out of jail."

The benefit JoAnn and Rich McCabe Defense Fund fundraiser will be
held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, February 3 at the CopyKatz Showroom and
Backstage Bistro located at 210 South Palm Canyon in downtown Palm
Springs. The event is open to the general public. A $20 cover charge
to attend will be requested with all funds from the cover charge and
auction going directly to the defense fund.