MedicalCannabismustDismissChargesvsAngelaBrownMinnesota

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Angela Brown case coverage: supporters peacefully rally, lawyer asks for dismissal Posted: 18 Dec 2014 06:47 PM PST Madison, Minnesota bills itself as the "Lutefisk Capitol of the USA," complete with a statute of a giant codfish that may be as disgestable as the Norwegian Christmas delicacy. Also not going down easily? The charges against 38-year-old married mom of four Angela Brown, who is accused of child endangerment for administering medical cannabis oil to her son Trey, who lives with traumatic brain injury. She obtained the oil legally in Colorado, but was charged with a crime in Minnesota after her son's improved spirits were noticed in his school. Brown was in court yesterday for an omnibus hearing in which her attorney presented a brief and an oral argument on a motion to dismiss, along with over 20 people from as far away as Michigan who braved ice-covered roads in Lac Qui Parle County to peaceably protest the case. The supporters were joined by a gaggle of electronic and print media following the high-profile case, all of whom adjourned to The Pantry for a press conference and a little lunch. Call it The Emperor Wears No Clothes meets Lake Wobegon. Here's a digest of coverage from near and far. West Central Tribune Tom Cherveny reports in Madison mom maintains innocence in medical cannabis case (video): “How is endangering your child taking his pain away?’’ said Brown. “If someone answers that for me, fine, charge me, but until someone can explain to me how preventing pain is wrong, then I will continue to plead not guilty.’’ Lac qui Parle County filed two gross misdemeanor charges in June of endangering a child — permitting to be present when possessing a controlled substance and contribute to the need for child protection or services. The charges came after Brown had been asked at the Lac qui Parle Valley Schools what she was doing differently to account for her son’s improved performance. . . . In court, her attorney told Judge Thomas Van Hon that the child endangerment charge leveled against his client is intended for situations involving serious drug offenses, such as the sale of drugs or manufacture of methamphetamine in the presence of children. He told the court there is no probable cause for the charge here: “You can’t find a sale,’’ Hughes said. This was a mother-to-son relationship, and not an attempt to develop a customer, Hughes told the court. He also pointed out that she possessed only a small quantity of cannabis oil, and not enough to meet the threshold for the severe drug offenses intended in the child endangerment statute. Hughes also filed a motion seeking to dismiss the child endangerment charge in the “interest of justice.’’ He pointed out that Minnesota will allow the medical use of cannabis in July. He said there is “ample” evidence showing that Trey will qualify as a registered patient under Minnesota’s medical cannabis law. “In my opinion it is science fiction to claim cannabis has no medical use in the United States,’’ Hughes told the court. He pointed out that 33 states now have laws allowing its medical use. . . . Read the entire article and watch the raw footage of the press conference at the Tribune. Montevideo American News Nick Vespasiano reports in Angela Brown returns to court, challenges child endangerment charges: . . . Brown was greeted at the courthouse by several protesters supporting her decision to help her son. The protesters submitted a petition to the county with roughly 9,000 signatures pleading that the charges be dropped. The Browns are open to moving to Colorado where medical cannabis is currently legal and requirements for patients to qualify for the medicine are much less restrictive than those coming into effect in Minnesota next July. "We really just want to get in a state where it's okay to take care of him (Trey)," said Brown. She added her husband David is already applying for jobs in Colorado. Lac qui Parle County has until Jan. 2 to respond to Hughes' motions. “I am just ready for it all to be over with," said Brown. Star Tribune Jennifer Brooks reports in Minnesota mom fights charge she endangered her son with medical marijuana: . . .Trey was with her in the courtroom, and the 15-year-old smiled shyly at the banks of cameras and reporters who turned out for a case that has drawn national and international attention. Before he tried the cannabis oil, his mother said, the muscle spasms from his traumatic brain injury would leave him curled in a fetal position or in so much pain he would punch the walls or hit himself hard enough to break his nose and crack his collarbone. The improvement after he tried the marijuana tincture — which the family bought legally from a dispensary in Colorado — was dramatic, his mother said. “This simply is not a situation where someone has endangered their child,” said Hughes, an attorney from Oregon who volunteered to defend Brown. The statute, he said, was meant to protect children found in meth houses, not a child swallowing drops of cannabis oil to help with the seizures and pain he has suffered since being hit by a baseball line drive three years ago. Update: Brown commented on Bluestem's editor's personal Facebook post that "the oil was given to us" rather than purchased. Other sources (though not Bluestem's original copy) have reported that she is a mother of three; as we correctly note above, she is the mother of four children.[end update] CBS Minnesota Liz Collin at The Station Formerly Known As WCCO reports in Mother Fights Charges Of Giving Injured Son Marijuana: KSTP 5 Joe Augustine reports in Mom who Treated Son with Medical Marijuana wants Criminal Charges Dismissed: Fox 9 At Fox 9, Rachel Chazin reports in Mother who gave son marijuana appears in court: KMSP-TV KARE 11 Finally, as we move up the channels, John Croman reports in Minn. mom asks judge to toss medical marijuana case: Brown's defense attorney, Michael Hughes, moved for dismissal, telling District Judge Thomas Van Horn that the circumstances of the case don't match the statute being cited by prosecutors. Hughes said that law was designed to hold drug dealers accountable for selling drugs where children are present. "When you have a child endangerment charge that's leveled against a mom who actually is helping her child, that's the absurdity of this whole thing," Hughes told reporters afterward. "Six months from now her son could be a registered patient in Minnesota, and yet she's being charged with and threatened to be prosecuted and convicted of child endangerment." View the video at the link. Bluestem Photos Top: Flanked by television camera operators and supporters, Trey Brown leaves the Lac Qui Parle County Courthouse after his mother's hearing on Wednesday. Middle top: Angela Brown supporters in front of the Lac Qui Parle Courthouse on Wednesday. The temperature was in the low teens. Middle bottom: Descending the stairs from the third floor courtroom with her husband David, Brown joked that she felt she should wave--then did. Later, Brown said she just wanted to go home. Bottom: Brown gets a microphone clipped on her before the press conference at the Pantry Cafe in Madison, the Lutefisk Cafe. Friends among her supporters recommend the hot beef commercial. If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below: Email subscribers can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient. Related articles Some legacy, Tom Coburn: Representative Walz's statement on blocking of Clay Hunt SAV Act WaPo: one bland sentence about Tom Emmer MN Jobs Coalition received $355,000 from the RSLC; where'd that money trickle down from?

Antisocial engineers convert Minnesota state capitol to system of unheated unisex bathrooms Posted: 18 Dec 2014 10:09 AM PST In a recent email, the Child Protection League beat its collective breast about Moving Forward for 2015: That MSHSL decision challenges the very future of girls’ sports, and it opens the door to boys who identify as girls sharing girls’ locker rooms, bathrooms and shower facilities. Sadly, the MSHSL has entangled Minnesota's children into a dangerous, aggressive, and outrageous social agenda: forcing our culture, starting with the children, to treat boys who think they are girls as if they are, in every way, “authentic” girls, and girls who think they are boys as if they are, in every way, “authentic” boys. The bluenoses of the Child Protection League members may glow even brighter than a special at KMart when they and the rest of the general populace head to St. Paul for one of Minnesota's most cherished rituals of civic engagement: the citizens' rally at the capitol. Young children might get confused by the new arrangements. In Session preview: The year of the porta-potty?, Politics in Minnesota's Mike Mosedale reports: And then there’s the elephant in the room: restrooms or, more accurately, lack of said facilities. While the architectural cognoscenti still shower Capitol designer Cass Gilbert with props for his vision and execution, the dearth of restrooms has long been the subject of considerable griping, according to Curtis Yoakum, a spokesman for the Department of Administration. “That’s always been a big problem. It’s one of the most common complaints we get. The original design didn’t take into account that women would be in the Legislature,” Yoakum said. . . . in the short term, the problem is only going to get worse. The general public will have access to two single occupant unisex restrooms, which are located on the second and third floors of the Capitol, both on the east side of the House chamber. There are also two restrooms located in the basement, adjacent to the Rathskeller. But given the sheer volume of visitors to the Capitol,those limited facilities probably won’t be adequate. The solution? The ubiquitous and much maligned porta-potty. Currently, ten of the self-contained, plastic portable toilets – with no heat, no water – are lined up in the horseshoe driveway below the Capitol’s south steps. For those not inclined to answer Nature’s call in potentially frigid conditions, Yoakum said, an adjacent trailer with a toilet, heat and water will be an option. Social conservatives warned us that this sort of thing was on the way, but who suspected the revolution would be so quick. Or temporary. Photo: Portable toilets at the state capitol. Start the revolution without us. Photo by Mike Mosedale at PIM. If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below: Email subscribers can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient. Related articles

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