Wednesday November 25, 1992 The Wichita Eagle City & State - Section D

By Bud Norman

Call it a Joint entreaty ‘we’re going to get legalization out of this,’ protester claims.

The young man in the intoxicating green army surplus jacket had a simple explanation for why he and about 20 friends were standing outside the Sedgwick County Courthouse on Tuesday afternoon, waving large banners with marijuana leaf designs.

Self-described tax-paying, pot seller: Debby Moore was about to have her first appearance in district court on a charge of possession of marijuana with intent to sell, and the young man and his friends thought it was an event worth protesting.

“This jacket I’m wearing is made of hemp, and it has THC in it just like the marijuana she was arrested for having. It’s just not right,” said the young man, who then identified himself as “Pat, uhm, Doe, Yeah, Pat Doe.”

Just inside the courthouse’s revolving doors, Moore was savoring the support her newfound minor celebrity was bring. The 45-year-old even seemed giddy about facing the felony charge, and after a morning of listening to local rock n’ roll disc jockeys “play all the old stoner songs” and joke about her unusual defense, she was confident about winning the case despite her frank confessions of smoking and selling marijuana.

“We’re going to get legalization out of this. Hundreds of thousands of people are going to get out of jail because of this,” said Moore, who was arrested in her home and hemp-products store on Nov. 16 after police confiscated what they say is 10 to 15 pounds of marijuana. “You’ve gotta believe.”

Despite her ambitious projections, and despite so unusual defense that her purchase of tax stamps for marijuana exempts her from the laws prohibiting its sale. Moore was treated essentially like any accused criminal in her first appearance. Judge Clark Owens confirmed that Moore is 45 years old, has been self-employed the past 12 years as a fashion designer and seamstress and lives at 2742 E. Second, then made sure Moore understood the charges before setting a preliminary hearing date of Dec 1.

Officials from the Wichita Police * See Marijuana, page 3D Picture of Charles O’Hara holding a copy of: The Emperor Wears No Clothes, Debby Moore standing in the background. The caption: Debby Moore and her attorney, Charles O’Hara, answer questions Tuesday outside the Sedgwick County Courthouse. Moore received a preliminary hearing date of Dec. 1.

Page 3d Marijuana Woman charged with selling without a tax

continued from page 1D

Department and the district attorney’s office refused comment, but Moore and attorney Charles O’Hara vowed to fight the charges.

“The law says you are guilty of possession with intent to sell unless you have a tax stamp” O’Hara said. “Furthermore, Ms. Moore totally believes in her own mind that since she bought a tax stamp she was not breaking the law. You must prove intent to prove a crime, and she could not have had intent. Besides it’s ridicules for the state to profit from sot\ething and then tturn around and arrest her for it.”

The Kansas statute cited by Moore, listed as K.S.A. 79-5204, does state, “No dealer may possess any marijuana, domestic marijuana plant or controlled substance upon which a tax is imposed pursant to K.S.A. 7905202, and amendments thereto, unless the tax has been paid as evidenced by an official stamp or other indicia.” Tax stamps for controlled substance weren’t instituted by the state of Kansas until 1987, and it is not known whether a defense such as Moore’s has been attempted since then.

O’Hara said Moore was charged with selling marijuana without a tax stamp, despite receipts indicating she paid the state’s tax of $3.50 per gram of hemp, because the stamps were not affixed to the bags of marijuana conficated tby the police. He also said the police conficated 30 coipies of a book. “The Emperor Wears No Clothes, which advocates the legisation of Marijuana.

“Why would they take 30 copies when they only needed one as evidence?” O’Hara asked. “Obviously, it’s because they didn’t want people to read it.”