BAIL RISES FOR MAN HELD IN POT BUST; PROSECUTORS ARGUE SUSPECT MAY FLEE.Byline: Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writer Bail was increased to $500,000 on Friday for Todd McCormick, the Bel-Air man whose arrest for the cultivation of 4,116 marijuana plants could test the state's new marijuana-as-medicine law. Among those identified in court as potential donors to McCormick's bail fund was actor Brett Harrelson, whose brother Woody Harrelson has publicly fought the outlawing of hemp hemp, common name for a tall annual herb (Cannabis sativa) of the family Cannabinaceae, native to Asia but now widespread because of its formerly large-scale cultivation for the bast fiber (also called hemp) and for the drugs it yields. cultivation. ``Todd has a lot of friends,'' said Richard Cowan
Richard Cowan, former director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), is editor of The Marijuana News. , a friend of McCormick. U.S. District Court Judge Terry J. Hatter rejected a request by prosecutors to hold McCormick at the Metropolitan Detention Center "Metropolitan Dentention Center" refers to a series of federal detention facilities (prisons) located throughout the United States. They are run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. without bail, but agreed that $100,000 set earlier was too low. McCormick's attorney said the 27-year-old will have difficulty raising the $500,000 bail. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Spertus had argued that McCormick has access to money needed to flee the country, has connections to people in the Netherlands, where he recently lived, and has not turned over his passport because it is missing. ``He could flee to the Netherlands and become a martyr for the cause of the legalization LEGALIZATION. The act of making lawful. 2. By legalization, is also understood the act by which a judge or competent officer authenticates a record, or other matter, in order that the same may be lawfully read in evidence. Vide Authentication. of marijuana,'' Spertus said. McCormick, a longtime advocate for the therapeutic use of marijuana, was arrested Wednesday after authorities found 4,116 plants growing in the Bel-Air mansion he was renting less than a mile from former President Reagan's estate. His attorney, Alan Isaacman Alan L. Isaacman (born July 12, 1942 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) is an American lawyer primarily famous for serving as attorney for publisher Larry Flynt. His past clients also include Geraldo Rivera, Rock Hudson and CBS, Inc. , said McCormick has used the drug since boyhood to cope with the pain from cancer. Sheriff's deputies estimate each of the 4,116 plants is worth $5,000, for a total street value of $22 million. Isaacman told the judge that McCormick was growing the plants because he was experimenting with various strains of the plant to determine which would be the most effective for medical users. ``There's no indication that they were being sold to anyone in the community,'' Isaacman said. Isaacman said his client likely would have made the $100,000 bail with help from a friend, Peter McWilliams Peter Alexander McWilliams (August 5, 1949 – June 14, 2000) was a writer and cannabis activist. A vocal supporter of medical cannabis due to being terminally ill with AIDS and cancer, McWilliams was investigated by the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration and convicted for , who would have had to put up his house collateral. However, he was not certain if McCormick's friends can raise enough for the $500,000 bail, meaning his client may have to stay in jail at least until an Aug. 13 preliminary hearing. Hatter revealed during the hearing that one of three people who indicated they may post bail for McCormick was Brett Harrelson. Harrelson and his brother, Woody, recently appeared in the film ``The People vs. Larry Flynt.'' Isaacman gained notoriety NOTORIETY, evidence. That which is generally known. 2. This notoriety is of fact or of law. In general, the notoriety of a fact is not sufficient to found a judgment or to rely on its truth; 1 Ohio Rep. as Flynt's longtime lawyer in a variety of pornography cases involving Hustler hustler Sexology A ♂ paid to service–nudge, nudge, wink, wink–♀ or other ♂ magazine. Isaacman was portrayed in the movie by actor Edward Norton. |
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