Source: http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/mesa-county-judge-upholds-homemade-hash-oil-ban
Timestamp: 2017-07-26 22:43:15
Document Index: 61784857

Matched Legal Cases: ['ART 1', 'art 2', 'ART 3', 'ART 4', 'ART 5', 'ART 6']

Mesa County judge upholds homemade hash oil ban | GJSentinel.com
Mesa County judge upholds homemade hash oil ban
Siding with arguments by Attorney General John Suthers’ office, a Mesa County judge Wednesday refused to strike down a state law in a fight over home making of marijuana hash oil.
District Judge Richard Gurley issued a one-sentence order denying a motion in the case against 70-year-old Grand Junction resident Eugene Christenson, which asked the judge to rule unconstitutional Colorado’s statute on unlawful manufacturing of marijuana concentrate.
The judge’s order cited “reasons stated by the Attorney General’s Office” for denying the motion, offering no further comment.
Gordon Gallagher, Christenson’s attorney, declined comment on the decision.
Suthers’ office filed briefs in Christenson’s case, and a similar dispute pending before a Denver County judge, arguing Amendment 64 didn’t immunize people from prosecution for making hash oil in their homes. Hash oil is the byproduct of extracting THC from marijuana plants with butane. The method has been blamed for numerous explosions in Colorado.
In interpreting Colorado’s constitution, judges must consider whether interpretation of a law leads to “absurd results,” Suthers’ lawyers argued.
“The defendant agrees that his actions resulted in an explosion, injuries, damage and potentially put others in danger,” a filing reads. “He nevertheless insists that the voters created a constitutional right protecting butane-fueled explosions in kitchens and garages throughout the state. However, this court should reject the defendant’s interpretation because the voters would not have understood the amendment to authorize such irresponsible and dangerous use.”
Christenson has pleaded not guilty to arson and reckless endangerment stemming from a March 2014 explosion at his home while making hash oil. Christenson isn’t accused of possessing more marijuana than Colorado law allows, Gallagher noted.
“The clear and unmistakable language of the Colorado Constitution is that it is legal in Colorado to process marijuana and marijuana concentrate and that such actions shall not be criminal offenses,” Gallagher wrote in his motion.
Christenson’s case is scheduled for trial in February.
By John Wilkenson - Saturday, January 10, 2015
PART 1. I have several serious problems with this story, so let’s take a closer look at both the facts and the deeper issue, which I consider to be the fundamental constitutional liberty right of self-ownership and self-medication.
I would suggest that any person who wants to understand what is really going on in this case read the Denver Post’s 12/30/2014 version of the story titled “Colorado attorney general says making marijuana oil at home is illegal,” (see http://dpo.st/1FBNbmR) written by John Ingold.
My main objection to the Sentinel’s version is that it doesn’t present enough specific facts to allow interested readers to formulate an informed opinion as to whether or not their public so-called “servants” are doing a good constitution-friendly job, let alone understand the core underlying issue/s.
The headline implies that the accused was violating some kind of “homemade hash oil ban.” The Sentinel said “Christenson has pleaded not guilty to arson and reckless endangerment.” Logic would lead one to believe that the only charges were arson and reckless endangerment, yet according to the Sentinel, the accused’s lawyer said his client “isn’t accused of possessing more marijuana than Colorado law allows” and filed a motion to have Colorado’s statute on unlawful manufacturing of marijuana ruled unconstitutional.
In contrast, the Denver Post said, “Eugene Christensen, is charged with arson, reckless endangerment and manufacture of marijuana concentrate. The last charge is a Class 3 drug felony, punishable by two to four years in prison.” So, why didn’t the Sentinel’s version mention the class 3 felony charge? Go figure. From what I can glean from superficial MSM reporting, a guy who didn’t do his homework well enough had an unlucky accident without the requisite mens rea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mens_rea) to support criminal charges.
For interested persons, Colorado arson statutes are: C.R.S. 18-4-102 - First degree arson, C.R.S. 18-4-103 - Second degree arson, and C.R.S. 18-4-104 – Third degree arson. Colorado’s reckless endangerment statute is C.R.S. 18-3-208, which says, “A person who recklessly engages in conduct which creates a substantial risk of serious bodily injury to another person commits reckless endangerment, which is a class 3 misdemeanor.” The Denver Post addressed John Suthers’ highly questionable interpretation of Amendment 64.
Interested persons can find these statutes at the LexisNexis website, read both the statutes and the appellate court decisions interpreting them. By doing that, interested persons can judge for themselves whether or not the relevant public so-called “servants” are doing a good, constitution-friendly job of administering the law and the intent of Colorado voters, or whether they should be voted out of office at the earliest opportunity.
Part 2. Being a self-ownership “heretic” and free-speech absolutist, it is my view that it is John Suthers’ job to enforce the Colorado Constitution, not strategically (my opinion) misinterpret it in such a manner that Judge Gurley can use that strategic (my opinion) misinterpretation as “law” upon which to base his denial of Gordon Gallager’s motion. I would like to write more about the motion, but I haven’t yet read it.
I suspect John Suthers is an anti-Amendment-64 zealot who is determined to do all he can to alter and weaken Amendment 64 via strategic (my opinion) misinterpretation rather than by due process of law pursuant to Article XIX, Section 2 of the Colorado Constitution.
(Full disclosure: I am a 70-year-old teetotaler who smoked enough “pot” in his ignorant wannabe-hippie youth to know for a first-hand fact that the FBI’s 1936 propaganda film “Reefer Madness” is a laughable lie designed to help oligarch William Randoph Hearst eliminate competition by destroying a then-viable hemp industry.) One of the most difficult parts of the overall problem is that, among the proudly and combatively ignorant, even talking about “hemp” “marijuana”, “pot” or “weed” in non-demonizing language is considered taboo. As a result, there is a gigantic society-wide general ignorance on the subject of hemp/marijuana. Another big problem is the lack of standardization of terms. There are numerous terms related to the Cannabis plant which are confusing to many people. The reason I know that to a moral certainty is because I, too, was ignorant until I started to do the research necessary to write a well-documented educational essay on the subject. Just a few of the terms interested people might want to look up are: Cannabis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis Cannabis Sativa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_sativa Cannabis Indica http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_indica Cannabis ruderalis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_ruderalis Cannabinoid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabinoid Cannabidiol (CBD) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabidiol Endocannabinoids http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabinoid#Endocannabinoids Phytocannabinoids http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabinoid#Phytocannabinoids Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrahydrocannabinol
(NOTE: While Wikipedia is by no means authoritative – verify everything—it is a wonderful time-saving gateway to online research.)
Another one of my major concerns is that Eugene Christenson might not have enough money to take the case all the way through the judicial system, which would result in Suthers and Gurley strategically (my opinion) using a bad case to make bad law for purely political (my opinion) purposes. Conscience will not allow me to simply remain silent and watch that happen.
PART 3. With absolutely no offense or disrespect intended whatsoever, one look at an official photo of Judge Richard Gurley tells me that, as a sufferer from what (from the photo) appears to be clinical obesity, he apparently doesn’t know all that much about health and wellness—at least not remotely enough to be trying to tell other people (such as me) how to run their own lives and make their own decisions regarding homeopathic health alternatives and choices. Accordingly, from an intellectually honest point of view, it seems logical to assume that what we are dealing with in this particular situation are merely the “politics” (aka human manipulation) of money, law, medicine, ad infinitum, which, in over 2000 years of recorded history, has gotten our species (except for the psychopathic 1%) exactly nowhere.
Another main reason the “marijuana” issue is complicated is because, although there are differing strains, notably sativa, indica, and ruderalis, the very same genus (“cannabis”) of plant which produces the so-called “marijuana” which politically cutesy ignoramuses want the “law” to keep their kids from smoking also simultaneously produces the life-saving, longevity-enhancing THC and CBD which fights against (or even outright kills) some kinds of cancer sells, in addition to having other important medical uses. The anti-self-ownership federal government which flat-out lies and says cannabis has no legitimate medical uses is the same government that still lies about the assassinations of JFK, RFK and MLK among countless other neofeudalistic propaganda lies. The truth is that the same cannabis plant which produces cancer-killing THC also produces countless other excellent products which are very useful to humans, in addition to putting nutrients back into the soil. Of course, partly because there is a plethora of important information that Big Pharma, Big Medicine and Big Cancer don’t want us to know about, many willfully, even combatively, ignorant individuals don’t understand these issues or even want to openly talk about this kind of stuff. They just want to engage in their cutesy little “legal” and “political” manipulations and demonizations to get their spoiled-brat little ways under the fraudulent pretense of “for the children”. In contrast, I am only trying to heal myself and extend my lifespan with alternative homeopathic remedies. I believe I have a fundamental constitutional liberty right to do exactly that. I believe there are millions of others like me, and I want them to have free access to all the information they need. I also believe I have a fundamental 1st Amendment freedom of thought/speech right to public share as much information as possible and publicly express my opinions about the public so-called “servants” who would try to suppress dissent and keep the public in a state of dependent ignorance and subjugation.
PART 4. Another “marijuana” complication results from the fact that I believe it was primarily so-called “recreational” users whose hard work resulted in the passage of Amendment 64 in the first place. Lots of shallow-thinking ignoramuses have a problem with recreational users. I don’t, because 1) I believe in a cause-and-effect material universe where we have to actually LIVE the consequences of our actions (e.g. poison WILL harm your health and shorten your lifespan, thereby functioning as its own most effective punishment/deterrent), and 2) I believe in a constitutional right of self-ownership which allows people the freedom of choice to harm their health by ingesting poisons into their body. The inextricable corollary is that, if I want the right to self-medicate myself with the very same plant, I have to cheerfully extend the exact freedom I desire to the “recreational” users. (Of course various self-righteous and hypocritical control freaks will always ignore the fact that tobacco and alcohol, which do far, FAR more physical and monetary harm than cannabis, are “legal”.)
I’m betting that Richard Gurley and John Suthers are not aware of even the tip of the iceberg regarding corruption in the Big Pharma, Big Medicine and Big Cancer industries, or that unpaid medical debts (via inflationary health care costs) are a leading cause of bankruptcies.
I’m also betting that Gurley and Suthers are both unaware (or do not care) that thousands of people know from firsthand experience that the THC kills certain kinds of cancer cells, most notably Basal Cell Carcinoma (a type of skin cancer), and that so-called “hash oil” (contains THC) – which must be contrasted from so-called “hemp seed oil” (does not contain THC) which is used in cooking and nutrition – has flat out “cured” Basal Cell Carcinoma in many people. I myself have two little suspected spots of Basal Cell Carcinoma on my body and was researching into the possibilities of “legally” growing the plants to make the medicine I need without unnecessarily confronting the politically-cutesy Flat-Earth control freaks in Big Government, Big Pharma, Big Medicine and Big Cancer. So I think I can safely guarantee you this issue is not going to go away any time soon. As a matter of fact, the more people discover the truth about how they have been duped and raped by Big Pharma, et al, the louder and more persistent the public outcry will be.
The key to solving America’s health care problems lies in education. I am working on a “hemp/marijuana” aggregation to accomplish just that, and I am seriously researching self-medication. I find the subjects absolutely riveting. I will post the URL when I finish the essay (which contains copious links to relevant videos, book, articles, websites, etc).
PART 5. America is supposed to be a free county, but over a mere two centuries it has devolved into a full-blown “obey or die” police state where the U.S. Constitution and Rule of Law are de facto dead. The list of major government lies, JFK, RFK and MLK to name but three, is literally endless. As Antonin Scalia himself has noted, judges lie constantly about the historical meaning and intent of the social contract. I, for one, don’t want to remain silent and let pandemic judicial lying interfere with my fundamental constitutional liberty right of self-medication.
In simple terms, the bottom line for me is this: since, according to America’s social contract (and also the Colorado Constitution), I am supposedly living in a so-called “free” country and “open” society where we can freely speak publicly to issues which concern us, I have a FUNDAMENTAL liberty right to grow naturally occurring Creator-made plants in my back yard, and then process those plants into wonderfully effective medicine which I can then rub on my Basal Cell Carcinoma spots and heal myself without signing my home and land over to the government-licensed allophatic guessers in white coats and their central bankster patrons to pay unconscionably high Big Pharma and Big Medicine expenses.
In defense of Suthers, Gurley et al, it doesn’t help when pro-home-remedy folks either don’t know enough about what they are trying to do, or don’t exercise enough care in manufacturing the product/s they are trying to produce. In committing said failure, they open a gigantic hole for anti-self-medication zealots to work their wannabe-clever manipulations and demonizations against the public’s right to life-saving, money-saving information and policies.
According to the Denver Post, Suthers said, “To decriminalize dangerous and unreasonable behavior in which people are getting hurt and houses are blowing up defies the intent of the voters.” What a load of manipulative, opportunistic crap!
The Sentinel doesn’t help by failing to say whether or not Christenson was a recreational user or a medicinal user, and there IS a huge “political” difference. The Sentinel also doesn’t say whether or not the property Christenson’s concoction exploded on belonged to him. If it did, according to my interpretation of Colorado’s arson statutes, Colorado’s arson law does not apply to the reported facts of the case. Sort of like “felony menacing” didn’t apply to pointing a banana at the cops in the infamous “Banana Man” case.
(NOTE: Article 2, Section 10 of the Colorado Constitution says in pertinent part: “Freedom of speech and press…every person shall be free to speak, write or publish whatever he will on any subject, ... and in all suits and prosecutions of libel the truth thereof may be given in evidence, and the jury, under the direction of the court, shall determine the law and the fact.”)
PART 6. Lastly, ladies and gentlemen of the Mesa County public opinion jury, I want to borrow from the syntax of the Declaration of Independence to explain why “a decent respect [for] the opinions of mankind requires that” I “should declare the causes which impel” me to such blunt language in presenting my case and demonizing various anti-constitution, anti-self-ownership, anti-self-medication cutesy pies.
I like to ask the question: “If you and your criminal cronies could legally counterfeit money, how long would it take for your group to own everything real in the world?” Unfortunately, most “normal” people don’t understand the ramifications of allowing an anonymous cabal of transnational central banksters to create infinite amounts of fraudulent interest-bearing digital legal-tender “money”. The oligarchs and their political-class toadies can (and do) create whatever amounts of computerized musical-chairs monetary numbers it takes to buy whatever amounts of corruption they want at whatever levels of government they need it to stay in power and control and “engineer” society to their liking and personal financial benefit – and everybody else’s detriment. This type of dangerously psychopathic criminal scum are self-evidently anti-constitution, anti-self-ownership, anti-self-medication.
To combat such an extreme level of political manipulation, it is necessary to polarize society around an issue. For example, blacks-as-chattel slavery was not abolished until John Brown said in effect, “we are going to start killing slave owners until slavery is abolished.” Of course he was hung for his moral courage and insight.
The embarrassing fact is, true progress in medicine has always, without exception, been violently resisted by medical “authorities” who cling to the erroneous beliefs of their time. For example, there were huge fights about whether or not doctors should wash their hands before assisting in childbirth right after they had worked on some bacteria-laden autopsy.
The sad fact is, in defense of freedom, SOMEBODY has to speak up and “tell it like it is” in blunt, transparent and accountable language before any political candidates will have the courage to run for office using the same blunt, transparent and accountable language to publicly discuss the important issues of the day and affect meaningful political change.
Lots of world-class doctors and scientists know that what I have said is true, but lots of them are too afraid to say anything because they will lose their funding and/or medical licenses for daring to go against the Big Pharma, Big Medicine and Big Banking establishments. So they tolerate the lies in deference to retaining their livelihoods.
Therefore, I made a fully-informed decision to say exactly what I have said to stimulate free and open public discussion of the crucial core issues of self-ownership and self-medication.