From: NORML California <[canor m l] at [igc.apc.org]>
Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs
Date: 20 Jul 93 21:11 PDT
Subject: CDPRC Protests Bolinas LSD Bust

    BOLINAS, CALIFORNIA:  Drug reform activists are calling for an 
end to harassment of LSD and psychedelic drugs following the 
government's announcement of its biggest-ever LSD bust in 
Bolinas on June 29.  Local residents expressed shock at the 
arrest of Sage Appel, 50, Marcella Whitefield, 27, George 
Horvath, 33, and Neal Dry, 38. who were well-regarded in the 
community.  
     Bolinas, a countercultural enclave on the coast north of San 
Francisco, has been the object of ongoing DEA harassment and an 
involuntary training ground for narcotics agents, who ride 
through the hills in tie-dye shirts on trail bikes looking for 
marijuana gardens.
     The defendants, who are accused of operating a major 
nationwide LSD distribution network that sold over one million 
doses of crystal LSD to undercover agents over a period of four 
years,  face a minimum of twelve years to life under current 
federal sentencing laws.      
     California Drug Policy Reform Coalition spokesman Dale 
Gieringer denounced the government's persecution of 
psychedelic drugs.  "Twelve years to life for a consensual, non-
violent 'crime' is not acceptable.  No one thinks the defendants 
in question present any threat to the community.  Unlike our 
narcotics agents, they were basically honest, peaceable people, 
who provided a valued service to their customers.  At most they 
owe some back taxes."  
     Law enforcement described the Bolinas ring as a major 
nationwide LSD supplier that distributed over one million doses 
per month. However, defense attorney Tony Serra, a Bolinas 
resident who is representing George Horvath, accused the DEA of 
escalating the size of the ring by demanding ever-increasing 
amounts of LSD.  Government informants dealt with the ring for 
four years, busting it only when they were afraid it was about 
to go out of business.   Despite this, the government failed to 
achieve its long-standing goal of catching one of the handful of 
LSD chemists who are thought to be supplying the U.S. from the 
Bay Area.
     The CDPRC denounced the DEA's "creative conspiracy" against 
LSD.  "The DEA hates LSD because it epitomizes many of the best 
characteristics of the alternative drug culture:  it is non-
addictive, rarely causes crime or violence, and often begets 
strong spiritual feelings.  Moreover, it is distributed by people 
who have a strong ethical sense that is difficult for narcotics 
agents to penetrate."  The CDPRC noted that the risk of bad 
trips, while real, is comparatively low:  in San Francisco, where 
LSD is used by thousands of ravers every weekend, the Haight-
Ashbury clinic reports treating less than a dozen LSD cases a 
year. 
     The CDPRC is circulating a petition calling for an end to DEA 
persecution of psychedelics and demanding that psychedelics, as 
well as cannabis, be made legally available.  For copies, contact 
CDPRC: 2215-R Market St #278, San Francisco 94114 (415) 
563-5858.