Please copy and re-distribute this announcement.

Todd McCormick is being held in federal prison for failing to comply to the conditions of his bond when he allegedly tested positive for THC due to his use of legally-prescribed Marinol.  Todd is one of the first patients to be prosecuted under federal law for cultivation of marijuana in California since the passage of the Compassionate Use Act in 1996. If the feds succeed in convicting him of cultivation, no patient will be safe from the persecution of the feds.  Please help protect Todd and the rights of all other patients!

Phone numbers, in order of importance:
1) White House comment line: (202) 456-1111

2) U.S. Department of Justice -- Attorney General's Office
Ask for the comment line: (202) 514-2001

3) Senator Barbara Boxer        senator@boxer.senate.gov
DC: 202-224-3553
CA: 415-403-0100 or 310-414-5700 Fax: 310-414-0980

4) Senator Dianne Feinstein     senator@feinstein.senate.gov
DC: 202-224-3841 Fax: 202-228-3954
CA: 619-231-9712 or 310-914-7300 or 415-536-6868

SAMPLE MESSAGE:
"I'm calling on behalf of Todd McCormick, a medical marijuana patient who is has been imprisoned by federal law enforcement in Los Angeles for taking a legally-prescribed drug called Marinol.  I would like the federal government to release Todd from jail until his trial, to allow him to take Marinol for his pain, and to stop persecuting medical marijuana patients in
California altogether.  Additionally, I would like to see Federal Magistrate Judge James McMahon investigated for practicing medicine without a license when he ordered Todd not to take Marinol."

Todd McCormick, 27 years old, had cancer nine times before the age of ten. He uses marijuana to combat the constant pain he experiences due to his childhood cancer treatments and to help stimulate his appetite.

In 1995, he obtained an prescription for marijuana from a physician in Holland. After the passage of Prop. 215, he moved to Los Angeles and began to cultivate cannabis to supply his medical needs and further his botanical research.  In July, 1997, he was arrested and charged with cultivation.  He was released on $500,000 bail.

On April 2, 1998, eight U.S. Marshals raided Todd's home to arrest him for violating the conditions of his bond by allegedly testing positive for THC.  Todd had passed hundreds of urinalysis tests since his arrest in July, but he had recently been taking a legally-prescribed drug, Marinol, which is a synthetic form of THC.  Todd had quit taking Marinol after a March 17 court ruling in which Todd was ordered not to use "any form of marijuana, including any synthetic marijuana, any products that contain marijuana derivatives including but not limited to hemp seed oil, marinol [sic], or any other product containing cannabinoid derivatives, either with or without prescription."  However, drug experts know that Marinol will cause urine to test positive for THC for weeks after the patient has stopped using it.

At a hearing on April 3, the prosecution was not prepared and had no evidence to introduce that Todd had violated the conditions of his bail. Despite this, Todd was ordered by Federal Magistrate Judge James McMahon to remain in federal custody until April 22 to allow the prosecutors to get their act together. An emergency hearing has been called for April 14.

Todd's trial is set to begin on May 27.  He faces a ten-year mandatory minimum prison sentence and millions of dollars in fines.