Dana Beal (immediately to right of Madeline Martinez in red) at Russ Belville's "Tools for Activists" breakout panel at NORML CON 2009
(CelebStoner) New York marijuana activist Dana Beal has been arrested again in the Midwest, this time with 150 pounds of pot. Nebraska police apprehended Beal and two others in a van on Wednesday in Ashland near Interstate 80 (just West of Omaha) after the vehicle was stopped for driving erratically. Bail was set at $500,000.
Beal was last seen in San Francisco at the NORML Conference. Presumably, he was driving back from California when the bust took place.
The Cures Not Wars founder has had numerous run-ins with the law, the most recent of which came last June when Illinois authorities confiscated a small amount of marijuana and $150,000 from him. This past May, Beal pled guilty to the pot charge and paid a fine, but the cash was not returned.
Beal organizes the annual Global Marijuana March each May.
Dana Beal was in the front row of my break-out session Saturday at NORML CON. Before we started he asked for a moment to address the attendees regarding the Worldwide Marijuana March.
It was my first opportunity to meet him and thank him personally for the march. It was at the Portland March in 2005 where I first met Madeline Martinez and this whole crazy career of mine started into motion.
One hundred fifty pounds of cannabis, huh? Unless that’s personal use for a lifetime, it looks like Dana was trying to make a living off of prohibition. When you’re a high-profile activist, a trafficking bust like this doesn’t really help the cause much. It kinda erodes the moral high ground to be rallying to end prohibition because it gives young people a criminal record on the one hand, but then profiting from the black market excise tax those young people will pay to buy marijuana on the other hand.
I hope everything goes well for Dana; he is a very nice gentleman and I’d like a chance to see him again someday.
Topics: CelebStoner, CelebStoner.com, Dana Beal, Nebraska, NORML CON 2009, Omaha, trafficking
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Cops plant drugs just like they plant throw down guns. Dana Beal is a high profile target. Having several bags of pot out and open should raise a red flag that it was a set-up. You said he chastized you in San Fransisco, maybe you set him up for a profit. Just saying it could happen. Don’t convict him for the cops in a high profile radio show.
Bud
I was in jail with them in saunders just last month. Ryan and Statzer need help and support. Ryan is diabetic they are giving him meds. But still the diet isnt that good. Send them letters they want to hear from all of you. And tell them Jeremy talbot said good luck. and tell them to call me when they get out and send some love, 402-476-1387
Thank you for telling the truth about Saunders County Jail. As promised, when I made bail I sent all my old leftover paperback books (95 lbs of them) to the library at the Saunders County Jail.
The Jail Library is so lamely inadequate that my donation will increase the titles in that jail library by about 30%. I figured that donating the old books I don’t read anymore was a public service.
The only reason marijuana’s illegal is because “Oxycontin and the like” are cash cows for political donors. We legalize and tax highly addictive drugs that serve little medical benefit, resulting in millions of addicts and ruined lives. In order to do this we MUST make it illegal to partake of naturally occurring, easy to grow, less addictive drugs with no patents.
Fully Informed Jury Defense is in order.
Okay here goes…
Even IF I was gonna’ drive 150 pounds from point A to point B, my very first thought would be… “Can you see it if you walked up on me(it)and do I stand a chance of a cop seeing it?”
How do the cops know Beal was coming back from NORML CON in San Francisco? Where he is coming from is completely irrelevant. They will try the ‘State Line’ card but must fail, as who is to say Jimmie Hoffa III didn’t leave the stash for them on that side of the State line? … What if someone is just talking to much. ‘If ya’ ever get busted by the police – SHUT THE HELL UP.’
I don’t believe anyone should go to jail for Cannabis period.
All they really needed was to switch drivers.
I met Mr. Beal in San Francisco (Thats me in the foreground). I was rather shocked when he asked if he could say a few words about the march. He sat down, turned his chair and was either staring directly at me or the lady sitting next to me.. The WHOLE time. Kinda’ freaked me out. Check out the photo.
All those who oppose should get off Russ’ back. Don’t shoot the messenger. I was there Russ, it was kinda strange.
I wish Mr. Beal all the luck, and hope that he has good legal representation, and that he is not an innocent victim like Eddy Lepp.
Dana Beal is in the Saunders County Jail, write him at Irvin Beal #6669, Saunders County Jail, 387 North Chestnut, Wahoo, Nebraska 68066 needs 50k for bailman…court date is Nov. 10 otherwise…he can call collect,you can visit him, but no one will give …him a message…402-944-2222 and transfer to the jail..he is in a dorm with 18 other “drug offenders.
I just read a news account where they had marijuana in view when pulled over, then searched. The first rule of smuggling is never smoke in the car or have anything out in view. something smells rotten….
I agree with you Rev., Dana stopped by here earlier this year when he had a case here in southern Illinois. The Feds took $150.000 cash from Dana in that bust.
THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!!! FREE DANA BEAL
as an ex-smuggler I would never attempt it in today’s climate…..
>Authorities said Ryan and Statzer are being held on $100,000 bond each. Beal is being held on $500,000 bond.
There is something very smelly from what I read thus far… Dana’s companions in the van are charged similarily but have 20% of the bail bond?
Beal has a prior record for marijuana offenses; that probably leads to a greater bail amount.
I am appalled by your comments, Russ. Your blind acceptance of what the (police supporting) media in Nebraska say is very disturbing. That police officer lied. I think I know more about what happened than you do, and I will say right now, that you are NOT helping.
So, uh, the police lied about there being 150 lbs of marijuana in a van you and two other men were in?
If you want to talk about helping or not helping, take that log out of your own eye before you comment about the splinter in mine. I have to defend medical marijuana in the media every day, telling people “No, it doesn’t lead to diversion to interstate trafficking and commerce!” and then I have you and Dana make me into a liar.
Dana chastized me at the DPA Conference this weekend, saying the marijuana was legal where he picked it up and legal where it was going. Yeah, I replied, and quite illegal where you were busted. And even if all the marijuana was truly going to the sickest and most debilitated, the media angle will make it look like “entrepreneurs” looking to make a buck by exploiting the lax nature of one state’s medical marijuana laws to supply the newly-emerging demand of another state’s. The bust once again provides ammunition to the opponents crying “abuse” of the system that may lead to more restrictions in the states that have medical marijuana and more vetoes to the states trying to pass it.
OK Russ,
This is it.
When the Nebraska Newspapers, (Which support police statements without question or cause…) say that the Police saw “Open bags of marijuana in plain view”, they (the Nebraska Press) are repeating a lie made by the Police.
What’s more, when you repeat this statement in your column, YOU are repeating that lie, AND supporting the Police. STFU!
You are merely supporting the Man when you say stuff like that, and you are NOT being “Radical”.
Russ,
Thanks for taking a minute to reply to my comments.
We don’t have to defend Dana for trafficking 150# across state lines. The report did not state that he had crossed state lines with the 150# of cannabis. The meat of the report states only that Dana was in possession of 150# of cannabis when he and two other people were apprehended in Ashland, NE, after the vehicle was stopped for driving erratically. Now, my reason makes me suspect that he did not have the 150# of cannabis on his person, so it may be that he was no more in possession of the cannabis than the other two people. I guess he could have been sitting on it. But, that was not reported. However, there is nothing to suggest that it was actually Dana’s cannabis. He may not even have been aware that it was in the vehicle. It might have been put there, unknown to Dana, by one of the other two occupants of the vehicle. Or, maybe they had picked up a hitchhiker who forgot to take his package when they dropped him off. We just don’t have the facts.
There is nothing in the article that suggests a commercial purpose for the cannabis. The owner of the cannabis may have intended to give it away, to sell it for only enough to recoup expenses, or to make wildly outrageous profits selling single marijuana cigarettes to school children who spend their lunch money to feed their addiction to marijuana. We just don’t know. This medicine could have been picked up in Lincoln, NE (a hot bed of cannabis production, no doubt) with the intent of delivering it to a consortium of needy elderly medical users in Omaha, where needy elderly medical cannabis users are known to congregate. There may have never been any intent to cross a state line with that cannabis. It might be better to avoid accusations that are not based on known facts. It is the burden of the government to make the formal accusations, and to prove them.
But, what about the erratic driving? That could be a danger to innocent lives. Surely, it could. But, let’s first remember that it is just an accusation. What might a cop consider “erratic driving” if he was interested in investigating the contents of a van, especially if the van had out of state license plates? Even if the van was genuinely driving erratically, the report does not say that Dana was driving. Perhaps Dana had been in the front passenger seat and suddenly realized that the driver may have had an excessive amount of alcohol before taking control of the vehicle. Dana, in an effort to protect innocent lives, may have tried to take control of the vehicle. But, his struggle with the belligerent drunk behind the wheel might have briefly caused the vehicle to appear (to a cop) as if the vehicle was on an erratic course, rather than being saved from an erratic course.
It might also be that this was a sting, targeted at Dana because he is a top level activist. In such a case, the driver might have been working with the police, providing information about the vehicle and agreeing to drive “erratically” at a predetermined location where a cop was to be stationed. After the bust, the two unidentified occupants would plea bargain to testify against Dana and put him in prison for the remainder of his life, and in return would receive a very stern lecture from the judge and some $$$ under the table. Though this is entirely speculation on my part, we all know that it is a scenario based on stories ripped from today’s headlines. It is very suspicious to me that the other two occupants of the vehicle remain unidentified. Hmmm… On the way back from San Francisco, you say? Does anyone know the whereabouts of Keith Stroup and Paul Armentano on the night in question?
(Note: Names used in these speculative scenarios were picked randomly (somewhat), for satirical purposes, from the NORML website and this use is not intended to actually suggest that anyone with those names were actually in the van at the time the vehicle was stopped, or that anyone with those names had anything to do with the arrest under discussion.)
I do think that the public relations effort to legalize cannabis is harmed when accusations of profiteering and interstate trafficking are directed toward a high-level activist, though there is no information to justify such accusations in the CelebStoner article which initiated the discussion.
I would also like voice my opinion that the black market excise tax is no worse than the “legalize it and tax it” tax. Both are unjustifiable. I could argue that the “legalize it and tax it” tax is ethically worse than the black market tax. While the black market tax is the result of natural market forces, and might be considered as a reward to those who are willing to resist oppression, the “legalize it and tax it” tax is a capitulation of tribute to the oppressors and will, if implemented, institute a great barrier to the effort to realize freedom for the citizens of our country.
-ED
As always, ED, a very well thought out analysis. Though I think when you’re in San Francisco one day and then busted in Nebraska the next, it seems more likely to be California marijuana, just due to ease of access.
However, I don’t consider prohibitionary markets to exhibit true market balancing forces. I can’t vote for the legislators who would set the excise tax in a prohibitionary market. If I’m in Mooseknuckle, South Dakota and my dealer wants to charge $420 an ounce, it’s buy that or go without. If he wants to raise it to $450, it’s buy that or go without. If there were truly competitive forces at work, shouldn’t one dealer undercut another for business? But that never happens; if one guy is selling it for $60/eighth, every other guy is. When is the last time you ever saw the price of weed go anywhere but up?
“Tax and regulate” taxation should really just be called “regulation”. If marijuana is a legal commodity, it will be taxed, just as every single other legal commodity (save food and medicine in some states) is taxed. Now, there could be a question about exorbitant “sin taxation” on marijuana, like these $50/ounce proposals, but once it is legal, the level of taxation is something that can be debated, and if government officials overtax it, we can vote them out of office. Imagine someday hearing a campaign commercial for a state rep promising to lower the marijuana tax!
Besides, in a legal marijuana framework that allows personal growing, you can opt out of paying any tax whatsoever. In the black market framework, you can do that, too, if you’re willing to risk imprisonment and loss of assets.
It might be more likely that the cannabis came from California, but “more likely” is not certain. The government might want to assert that it crossed state lines, but then they will have to prove that assertion. The report does not state where cannabis came into the possession of the people in the van. If we needlessly make the claim that the cannabis was transported across state lines, especially using terminology like “trying to make a living off of prohibition” and “trafficking 150 lbs across state lines,” that is what really hurts the public relations effort. It may also incite conflict between various different groups in the legalization effort. The effort might be split between those who support Dana and those to condemn him. You are a pretty high :) representative of NORML. These statements might end up hurting your organization.
I expect that normal commercial taxes would apply in a legalized cannabis market. Additional “sin” taxes are unnecessary and unjust. They should not be supported.
Just end prohibition.
Legalize it and leave it alone.
-ED
I’m not condemning anyone personally; I’m condemning the situation. To get caught with marijuana “in plain view” while driving 150lbs of it across Nebraska is problematic from a public relations standpoint no matter how you slice it.
It’s my opinion that if you’re going to take the megaphone and be a high-profile advocate for legalization, you need to stay far away from the felony-end of the situation as possible. We already suffer from too many stereotypes and negative portrayals; we have to keep our noses cleaner than most.
Dana is a true leader, that sticks his nose in it! Much Love & Respect for Dana!
Just to remind people…virtually no poor people, and very few middle class people can afford California weed in New York. This is pretty well-known. Sure, the Wall Street types, the politicos and the real estate magnates can an butan and do, but none of the people that opponents of george bush thought he forgot for eight years.
Likely not even relevant to the case, just to the comments.
Secondly, I think it is very clear now that the marijuana movement needed and still needs to become a mass movement to succeed. This can not occur without large public rallies and marches, it is the point of contact for most smokers with the reform movement. The lack of funding from other sources for these essential events in large parts of the U.S. and in fact the world, had forced people like Marc Emery to step in and fund the huge costs for just printing and mailing.
It is this factor that can’t be underemphasized.
he was “trafficking” 150 pound of oranges from Florida to Vermont…big deal
These words sound really harsh. There are many ways that that amount of cannabis could be used, other than just “profiting from the black market excise tax.” Who could not, in a single weekend, give away 150# of cannabis to meet the needs of medical users?
I didn’t see anything in the article that indicated he had a plan to try to earn excessive profits from selling the cannabis. The law might presume an intent to distribute when in possession of 150# of cannabis. But, let’s face it, the law sucks – and it was written by A-holes.
I have never met the man, but I hope he can acquire the legal talent to quickly restore his freedom. Possession of 150# of cannabis is no reason to imprison a man.
The law sucks. End prohibition, and you will end the “black market excise tax.”
-ED
Well put – it is possible that the 150 lbs. were intended to be given away for free. Or maybe at cost. Or perhaps at a modest profit.
I also completely agree that nobody should be imprisoned for cannabis, period.
NORML was initially bankrolled by marijuana smuggler Tom Forçade, as well.
But I get personally uncomfortable with the ethic that says it is OK to make a living off of selling marijuana for prices higher than saffron. As you move from a gram and a half to an ounce and a half to a pound and a half to fifteen pounds and up to 150 pounds, you are gaining more and more profit based off the fear cannabis consumers have over being busted. I personally could not take advantage of people’s fears like that (which is why I am not wealthy). The prohibition excise tax represents a risk premium based on shattered lives, broken families, and ruined careers of the people who do get caught. I personally could not take the karmic hit of selling $300/ounce weed when I know it would cost $2 to produce if it were legal.
Maybe my concern is misdirected. It’s not the grower’s or seller’s or smuggler’s fault, it’s the prohibition’s fault, right? Nobody twists arms to get consumers to buy price-inflated black market marijuana. I was one of those guys for years, so who am I to throw stones?
So I’m trying not to judge on a moral level, but on a public relations level. It’s easy to defend Keith Stroup busted for smoking a joint on Boston Common; it’s much harder to defend Dana Beal busted trafficking 150 lbs across state lines.