Motorist Beaten by DEA Wins Case, Fails to Obtain Justice

By Ron Crumpton

A U.S. District Court Judge awards $833,250 for the beating of a motorist at the hands of DEA agents after a 2003 traffic accident in Kansas City, Kansas.

Judge Julie A. Robinson called it a case of “road rage.” Timothy McCue and Barron R. Bowling were both driving down 10^th street in Kansas City, Kansas when their two cars collided.

According to witnesses at the civil trial, McCue and two other agents exited the car with weapons drawn and dragged Mr. Bowling from his car.  Placed him face down on the pavement (on a 100+degree-day) and handcuffed him. McCue claims to have announced that he was with law enforcement, but witnesses claim to have no recollection of that.

According to witnesses, after being placed in handcuffs, and while still lying on the ground, Mr. Bowling was repeatedly punched in the face by McCue, then after being set up was repeatedly kicked by the federal agent.

During the ordeal, McCue repeatedly called Bowling “white trash” and a “system-dodging inbred hillbilly.” Witnesses said that McCue threatened to kill Bowling and that law enforcement agents "walked" McCue away to calm him down on at least three separate occasions.

McCue claimed that Bowling looked at him smiled and then purposely rammed his car, but Judge Robinson found that McCue’s testimony lacked credibility.

Bowling was arrested and charged with causing the accident and possession of drug paraphernalia (a marijuana pipe). The charges stemming from the accident were dropped, but he was convicted on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia.

To some people, $833,500 may sound like a lot of money, but the Bowling Family is very unhappy with the decision. It is seven years later and Bowling’s injuries still prevent him from holding a job. He suffers from myriad of mental and physical conditions including disabling migraines, hearing loss, problems with balance, nausea, flashbacks, insomnia and one suicide attempt that have been tied to the incident.

According to witnesses McCue was the only one who assaulted the victim, but neither of the other agents did anything to stop him. None of the agents was fired, and Timothy McCue is still employed by the DEA.

"Knowing the mental and physical damage that's been done to my son, he deserved a lot more than that," Bob Bowling, father of the victim, told AOL News. "He's been rather reclusive. It changed his personality, he's not outgoing like he used to be. I'd say he's slightly paranoid, untrusting.”

"His grandfather was an assistant police chief in Alabama, and would roll over in his grave if he knew the agent hadn't been fired, lost his retirement and gone to prison. That's exactly what I think should happen,” concluded the victim’s father.

To make matters worse. According Kansas City Police Detective Max Seifert, and supported by the judge in her ruling, the officer was told by his superiors to cover up for the DEA.

However, Seifert conducted a thorough investigation and consequently “lost his career over the case.” In her decision, the judge wrote, “Seifert was shunned, subjected to gossip and defamation by his police colleagues, and treated as a pariah."

Despite his injuries and what he feels is an inadequate judgment, Bowling is happy that his story has been told.

Edtiorial: Tell President Obama that the Ball is in His Court

By Ron Crumpton

For many years, the major push for the legalization of medical marijuana has focused on the individual states, and that push has yielded definite rewards with 14 states and the District of Columbia passing medical marijuana laws.

However, while the fight has brought legal marijuana to patients in those states, it has done very little to bring patients rights for those who choose to use marijuana to treat their ailments.

In a number of these states, patients have been fired for consuming marijuana as a medicine. Patients have been threatened with losing their homes or denied access to federal housing for utilizing a legal, medicinal substance in the privacy of their own homes.

Furthermore, even after the justice department announced that it would no longer pursue patients and dispensaries that are operating within the limits of state law, the DEA continues to conduct raids on medical marijuana patients and facilities. These patients and administrators are then tried in federal court where they cannot even use medical marijuana laws from their state as a defense.

So, while we continue to work on state law, we have to devote ourselves to making changes on federal alternatives.

In 2002, medical marijuana advocates made the most recent petition to have marijuana’s status, as a schedule 1 drug, changed. It has been under review by the Obama administration since May of this year.

The rescheduling of marijuana would be the biggest victory in the history of the medical marijuana movement.

It would codify state law, and force federal authorities to allow those laws to be used by defendants in federal court.

It would make an easier transition for states into the medical marijuana community and would remove criminal penalties for transporting the medicine across state lines and into other states that are starting a medical marijuana program, which a legally grown demand has been hard to supply in most states as they start their programs.

As a legally prescribed drug on the federal level, a number of laws including the Americans with Disabilities Act would protect patients. This would go a long way to prevent patients from having their rights trampled by employers and the numerous agencies of the federal government.

This is an important time!

With the petition for rescheduling marijuana on the president’s desk, now is the time to write the White House to urge them to support this action. If you are a patient, take the time to provide them with names of studies and links that support marijuana’s use for your condition, and tell them that they can no longer claim that cannabis has no medical value. There has been too much positive research on its medicinal value to continue to make this claim.

You can email President Obama, and tell him that he cannot allow this petition to continue to languish for years without a ruling. Tell him that too many people are suffering, risking their safety and risking their freedom for their right to take a medicine that has no constitutional reason for not being available to them to begin with.

Tell him that he promised change in America, and for so many of the sick and injured in America, medical marijuana is the change they were hoping for.