Report from Eddy Lepp's 9/16 Court Date

>From: vanessa at crazybrain.org
>Subject: Eddy Lepp Appears in Federal Court - September 16th, 2005
>Date: Sat, 17 Sep 2005 20:56:05 -0700 (PDT)
>
>Reverend Charles "Eddy" Lepp, along with co-defendant Daniel Barnes,
>appeared in court at the San Francisco Federal Building yesterday morning.
> What followed was three hours of compelling testimony from various
>witnesses, including Eddy himself, aimed at convincing Judge Patel to
>allow Eddy to use cannabis during his pre-trial release. The court heard
>the examination and cross-examination of Eddy Lepp and addiction
>specialist Dr. Eugene Schoenfeld, and then scheduled the testimony of two
>Rasta practitioners to be heard on Friday, October 14th at 9am.
>
>Yesterday's proceedings began with Eddy's lead attorney, Tony Serra,
>informing the judge that the motion for the return of property was now
>irrelevant, as the material in question was presently inside the building,
>and the defense had been invited to retrieve the material following the
>morning's court appearance. Serra told the judge that the issue of the
>return of property was moot, unless upon evaluation the defense was
>dissatisfied. When the judge inquired about this, Serra explained that,
>while held as evidence, objects have a tendency to "disappear" but that he
>was optimistic that everything would be in order.
>
>Serra also referenced the filing of a motion of franks, in which the
>defense would be factually contesting that a search warrant had been
>served during Eddy's August 2004 raid. In preparation for this, the judge
>questioned the prosecution and the defense about the number of witnesses
>they would call for this matter, and then instructed each side to be
>prepared to give this testimony when the time came to address the motion
>of franks.
>
>Having dealt with these two motions, the defense began calling to the
>stand witnesses who would testify that Eddy should be permitted to use
>cannabis during his pre-trial release based on two grounds: medical
>necessity and freedom of religion. The witnesses were questioned at
>length by the defense, the prosecution, and the judge. Their testimony
>painted a portrait of a man's life drawn by intersecting his history and
>his health, and then brought the picture solidly into the third dimension
>using the colors of his beliefs and his compassion.
>
>Eddy himself was the first witness to take the stand. Appearing as calm
>and centered as ever, he described to the court with deep conviction the
>details of his religious beliefs and practices. Defining the Rasta
>religion as a faith based on health, truth, and the good of the whole,
>Eddy added insight to his descriptions with illustrations, "We have a
>saying : If you are a Rasta man with a bowl of rice, and the man sitting
>next to you is hungry...well, then you no longer have a bowl of rice, you
>have a half of a bowl." He spoke of the practice of the religion being
>ongoing and fully absorbing - that Rasta is not a religion that requires a
>nightly prayer or a weekly observance, but living a lifestyle of constant
>consciousness and fulfillment. The use of ganja, Eddy told the court, is
>essential to his practice of this religion, as it allows him to "reach a
>spiritual plateau where he can communicate with the most high." It is
>this communion that gives perspective to the Rasta practitioner's effort
>to improve the world, as in Eddy's description of morning ceremonies at
>the ministry during which attendees commonly come together in lengthy
>discussions of global social and political problems.
>
>The strength of Eddy's devotion was demonstrated while describing the
>history of his involvement with the Rasta religion. Eddy described
>himself as being a Rasta since birth, because the values and the beliefs
>of the Rasta religion are the same values and beliefs with which he was
>raised. A shattering of this faith followed his experience in the Vietnam
>War, beginning with a blurring of the distinction between right and wrong,
>and finally escalating into life-threatening drug and alcohol abuse. Eddy
>referenced a point at which this lifestyle demanded of him a choice to
>either die or change...at which point he decided to make a change that
>marked the re-affirmation of the beliefs of his early life, as well as the
>search for further enlightenment within religious community. An important
>part of this devotion, according to Eddy, is helping others through the
>spiritual and medicinal use of cannabis. He described the day when he
>made the dedication to helping people in this way. "They had just cut my
>wife's throat open from ear to ear," he said. "Then the doctors said
>they hadn't gotten all of the cancer and they were going to have to cut
>her open again. So I went out into my garden and smoked a joint, and I
>asked god to give Linda strength. I said to him that if he would give
>Linda strength, then I would devote myself to spreading the word of the
>sacred plant. I have not to this day broken my word to god, and I will
>not ever break my word, no matter what happens, and no matter what is said
>here in this court." When questioned about his ability to practice his
>religion while abiding by the current release condition that he is
>forbidden from using cannabis, Eddy explained that sacraments are still
>being made and that his ministry has not suffered. "It is me personally
>that has suffered," Eddy explained. "For a Rasta man not to have his
>ganja is unthinkable."
>
>The prosecution followed with a line of questioning that appeared to be
>aimed at diminishing Rasta as a religion and questioning the motives of
>Eddy's religious beliefs. After hearing about Eddy's morning ceremonies
>at his ministry, Prosecutor Hall asked Eddy, "So is the Rasta religion
>really just a get-together, then? Are there no buildings for the Rasta
>religion?" Eddy explained that "you don't need a building for Rasta,"
>since a religion that is based on lifestyle travels with the practitioner
>everywhere, and because a religion that is based on identifying with
>Mother Earth is often practiced in nature. The prosecutor then asked if
>Eddy had embraced the Rasta religion because it justified his use of
>marijuana. Eddy replied clearly and firmly in the negative, and when
>questioned further about his motivations, explained, "My motivation has
>been to do the work of god. That's all."
>
>Medical necessity was the second part of the argument to allow Eddy to use
>cannabis during his pre-trial release. During questioning by the defense,
>Eddy described the problems with his health and the ways in which he
>benefits from the medicinal use of cannabis. He spoke of a
>golf-ball-sized tumor being removed from his temple a few weeks ago,
>degenerative nerve disease, arthritis, migraine headaches, gastroesophigal
>reflux disease, severe back spasms resulting from a fractured disc, and
>post-traumatic stress disorder. The defense submitted as evidence a long
>list of prescription drugs Eddy has taken to treat his illnesses, and Eddy
>gave testimony to the ways in which prescription drugs have not only been
>minimally effective for him, but also have resulted in a great deal of
>negative side effects. Cannabis, in contrast, is the only medicine that
>treats all of his conditions simultaneously, and without the negative side
>effects of other medications. According to Eddy, the Marinol he has been
>prescribed since his release from jail has been a very poor substitute for
>cannabis.
>
>Eddy's testimony was corroborated by expert witness Dr. Eugene Schoenfeld,
>who was called to the stand following Eddy's cross-examination. An
>addiction specialist, Dr. Schoenfeld gave medical legitimacy to Eddy's
>descriptions of his health and the benefits of medicinal cannabis. The
>prosecution's cross-examination of the doctor, however, relied almost
>obsessively on making out-of-context quotes from the 1999 publication of
>"Marijuana and Medicine, Assessing the Science Base." After bumbling
>through a few mispronunciations and demonstrating to the court his
>ignorance of the meaning of the word "thermal," Prosecutor Hall seemed to
>lose a great deal of ground in his questioning. Dr. Schoenfeld
>competently defended his view on the medicinal use of cannabis, and added
>to the testimony the opinion that there was no other reasonable
>alternative medication for Eddy available in the United States. Judge
>Patel then asked the doctor a series of questions about cannabis delivery
>methods, including numerous inquiries about the use of cannabis
>suppositories, before dismissing him from the stand and scheduling the
>next court appearance.
>
>Following the proceedings, Peter Keyes and Vanessa Nelson protested
>outside the federal courthouse with a banner that read "Compassionate
>Coalition Supports Eddy Lepp." While awaiting his appointment to reclaim
>his seized property, Eddy joined in the protest and expressed his
>gratitude for the support. He smiled with genuine joy and wrapped himself
>playfully in the banner while cameras flashed. Seeing him in high spirits
>was a greatly uplifting feeling, especially in light of all the hardship
>he has endured in this fight. Much of that joy probably comes from
>knowing that he will win no matter what happens, because being victorious
>means helping others... and that's exactly what Eddy has done.
>
>Come and support Eddy at his next court appearance. He is facing four
>life sentences and two 20-year sentences, as well as 17 million dollars in
>fines.
>When: Friday, October 14th, 2005
>Where: San Francisco Federal Building, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San
>Francisco, CA
>