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WELCOME TO THE
USA Hemp Museum
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Richard M. Davis
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Freedom Fighter, Feb. '95 High Times Magazine
Welcome to my corner of the museum. I am Richard M. Davis, the founder and curator of the USA Hemp Museum, a private museum. You are in the museum's virtual wing. I'm writing and the
museum is publishing a series of books on hemp. The first three are
available on Amazon.com: And my newest book in the series
HEMP FOR VICTORY:
I live surrounded by hemp. It's one of my passions since the 1960's. As a farmer, patient, activist and author, I've been called on as an expert on the subject by the History Channel, Discovery Channel, Hemp For Victory, Time4Hemp and other broadcast and cable shows. Over the decades I've collected thousands of hemp art, artifacts, books and other museum quality exhibits. I learned about hemp smoke first and was refused the request to study the effects of pot at the School of Public Health at U.C.L.A., in 1972, where I was working on a doctorate in Public Health. I studied zoology (B.S.) and biology (M.A.), and loved the great outdoors. After a dozen years in the mountains on a small farm, I ran for Congress in a democratic primary as an admitted pot grower. Several years later when the U.S. Army invaded that area in operation Greensweep, I found out about hemp from Jack Herer's book and started the Hemp Museum, with help of course. |
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I was born in Arizona, graduated high school in Willcox, Arizona, joined the Air Force from Arizona, and was arrested for the first time in Arizona at the age of fifty-five... |
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MENDOCINO MOBILE MARIJUANA MUSEUM
at the California Capitol Building in Sacramento.
The first museum was in a Honda wagon, and the
plant on top seemed as large as the whole car. |
| We were first the Mendocino Mobile Marijuana Museum, a knock at the government that wants to call hemp the marijuana word in law, when it does not apply. With two card tables and one hemp shirt, we passed out literature to hundreds of Capitol employees and elected officials on the benefits of legal hemp and hemp medicines. |
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THE U.S.A. HEMP MUSEUM TRUCK. Notice the medical hemp plant on top of the camper. The truck brought an added dimension of high visibility and lots of bumper sticker space. |
| I want to save the truck story for later and go
to the development of the virtual hemp museum you are now
watching. When the virtual museum started, much of the
site had to do with my trial in Arizona as that was what was
happening at the time. James Dawson of Florida was our
dedicated webmaster, who teamed with Brenda Kershenbaum here in
Los Angeles to do the initial web work. Later the gallery
came into being with some 60 pictures, taken by photographer
Bill Bridges, with the assistance of Tim Perkins. The plan was
to reconstruct the museum into various rooms where the focus
will be on some aspect of the hemp plant or the consequences of
prohibition. This is simply the first wave of hemp museum
items I will show you. For example, I have 30 hemp
/marijuana tee-shirts, and lots of other goodies. Here's a webeo from liveoncamera at Youtube which includes the museum exhibit at the 2008 10th Annual Los Angeles Global Marijuana March, produced by the late Sister Somayah Kambui of Crescent Alliance Self Help For Sickle Cell.
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The Alterna Hemp Shampoo ads were plastered all over the Los Angeles Area for months and caused quite a stir. They got heat for displaying the most famous leaf in history. George Washington grew hemp! |
| What the hemp museum means in real terms is a
look at the hemp history of the world, the issues of hemp
prohibition, some people involved with hemp, and of course the
future of hemp. We feel the world with hemp will be a
better place. Our friends will be out of jail, issues will
find new solutions, patients will improve, and the war will end
when hemp is free of its prohibition.
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THC Expo drew at least 20,000 to the LA Convention Center, June 13&14, 2009. Check out Richard M. Davis 1:06 - 1:46 among all the rest of the great hempsters who attended the first THC Expo in Los Angeles |
CLICK HERE IF WE MET YOU THERE The USA Hemp Museum exhibited many items in the private collection at the THC Expo |
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The following section was written by James R. Dawson, our original webmaster and fellow activist.
A Few Facts About Hemp
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A few things about Richard M. Davis
Welcome to the FIRST Virtual Traveling Hemp Museum. This page is brought to you by Richard M. Davis who has toured the USA In his Traveling Hemp Museum, teaching the benefits of Cannabis/ Hemp, as a medicine, and as an industrial resource and for the private use by adults.
Davis is was born in Phoenix, Arizona and resides at present in Los Angeles, California. Richard is a US Air Force veteran, who earned a Masters Degree in Biology from California State University at Los Angeles, and attended the School of Public Health at UCLA for four years under a US Public Health Service Fellowship .
Richard M. Davis speaks on The History Channel program Secrets of the Founding Fathers discussing which US Presidents grew hemp.
A Chronology of Events
In November of 1995,
Davis received information from Arizona
NORML (National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana
Laws), about Judge John R. Barclays ruling
in the Peter Wilson case (November 1, 1995),
in which the charges against Mr. Wilson
for possession of Cannabis
were dismissed because he
held a Cannabis
Dealers License. Judge Barclay
ruled that taxing a citizen for a license
and stamps, then putting him in Jail for
using it was double jeopardy, against the
Constitution of the U.S. through the
Fourteenth Amendment (Exhibit A). Judge
Barclay also stated, "Therefore,
all that remains is a very unique argument
that brings into question
the operation of the government. Have the
creation of statutes in Title 42 and Title
13, that appear not to be in conflict,
created an abuse if not a confusing paradox
when applied to the facts in this case."
Mr. Davis passed this Arizona NORML information on to other California activists, including three men who had been arrested for HEMP Cultivation and tried before a Jury in Madera County, California. Mr. Davis's Hemp Museum was set up just outside the Madera County Courthouse during the trial. The three were acquitted of the charges.
On November 27, 1995, Richard Davis went to Arizona where he joined with the above three Hemp activists. (i.e. people involved in ending Cannabis Prohibition.)
On November 28, 1995 Richard Davis went to the Arizona Department of Revenue, filled out the forms, and paid $100.00 for the Cannabis Dealers License. He also bought Six Hundred and Seventy Six dollars ($676.00) worth of Arizona Cannabis Tax Stamps (Exhibit B).
These Luxury Tax Stamps are similar to Tobacco Tax Stamps in that they are to be affixed to the product when it is sold. The Stamps come in three denominations: gram; ounce; and kilogram. The price of the Red One Gram Stamp is thirty five cents ($0.35U.S.) The price for the Blue One Ounce Stamp is Ten Dollars ($10.00U.S.). And the price of the One Kilogram Stamp is Three Hundred Fifty ($350.00 U.S.) dollars. Mr. Davis purchased the Red and Blue Stamps (Exhibit B).
On Friday, December 5 1995, Davis and other activists holding Cannabis Dealers Licenses, held a press conference in front of the Arizona Department of Revenue, Phoenix Arizona to announce the opening of the R. M. Davis Cannabis Hemp Company (Exhibit B). The State Police Lieutenant in charge told Mr. Davis that he could not set up his Hemp Museum on State Property for the Press Conference. Mr. Davis set up his Museum in the Street (City Property), and held the Press Conference there. The objective of the Company was to sell Cannabis and to educate the public as to the benefits of Cannabis. They showed the press and public their licenses, the museum of Cannabis, Hemp Uses and History and their Cannabis Flowers (Buds), packaged in a variety of ways including a "six-pack" of Cannabis cigarettes (joints) and individual flowers (Buds) in Baggies which were stapled to a label.
All Cannabis Flowers were stamped with the appropriate Arizona Department of Revenue Tax Stamps as required by law. The original label, which had a picture of a historical Kentucky Hemp field on the front, and Hemp Medical and Industrial Information on the back, was shown to the press (Exhibit B). There was no interruption by the police at the press conference. After the press conference was over, the State Police Lieutenant returned to where Davis and Steffens, (a hemp activist), were showing two other policemen, Steffen's Cannabis Dealers License". The Lieutenant said, "These two guys are legal."
At the end of December, 1995 the R. M. Davis Cannabis Hemp Company proceeded to get a business address at 610 Broadway Road, Tempe Arizona, and to purchase Hemp products from Hemp Manufacturers to outfit the office, until a storefront could be found for their operation.
On December 19, 1995 Davis registered his trade name with the Arizona Department of State and secured a Transaction Privilege Tax License, which is required by any business in the State of Arizona.
Mr. Davis applied with the city of Tempe,
Arizona, for their separate
Transaction Privilege Tax License and was
denied. After talking to the planning
department and showing them Mr. Davis's
State License an appeal was allowed
and filed just before Super Bowl
Weekend. The appeal was
cancelled on March 26, 1996, without reason
(Exhibit C). Further, Mr. Davis applied
with the city of Tempe for a mobile Merchant
Permit.
On January 9, 1996. The Police Department denied the application in a letter dated February 23, 1996, without reason (Exhibit C).
In January 1996 Mr. Davis and his Traveling Hemp Museum, were invited to spend the fourteen (14), days prior to the SuperBowl on the Arizona State University Campus and received a license to sell goods on Campus during that period . The very Colorful ASU sales license issued for the SuperBowl, disappeared after Mr. Davis was arrested and taken into custody. The two weeks of educating at the University saw thousands of students and faculty visiting the Hemp Museum, and articles and pictures appeared in the ASU paper (Exhibit D).
During January, a media spokesperson for the R. M. Davis Cannabis Hemp Company, one of the Madera Three, Ron Kiczenski, did One Hundred Sixty (160) Radio shows around the country by phone, saying legal Cannabis would be sold at the Superbowl by Licensed Dealers. This hook onto the SuperBowl-Hoopla, gave a huge opening to spread an educational message about Hemp far and wide.
During January, because of the confusion surrounding Judge Barclays ruling, Mr. Davis decided a test case using the license to sell, and not merely possessing Cannabis, was necessary to answer the question of Judge Barclay's,..."abuse if not a confusing paradox."
During January, the R. M. Davis Cannabis Hemp Company continued creating new packaging, and selling their baggies to Adults over eighteen (18) years of age, as was required by the Luxury Tax Law, and as stated on all packaging. Sales were conducted at various locations on private Property. No complaints were made of the activities during that time.
Three (3), days prior to the SuperBowl (January 27,1996), the University was closed due to the SuperBowl Festivities and Mr. Davis moved the Hemp Museum to University Avenue, still on the ASU Campus. It was this day that Detective T. Dickerson #11410 of the Tempe Police, stated that he made an undercover purchase of a three (3) gram baggie, stamped with three (3)State of Arizona Cannabis Tax Stamps.( See Exhibit E). On Saturday, January 27, 1996 the day prior to the SuperBowl, Mr. Davis again set up the Hemp Museum on University Avenue on the ASU Campus. Also on this day, Officers Millen #11482 and Dickerson #11410 of the Tempe Police, stated that they each purchased one gram of Cannabis at twenty ($20.00) dollars each. Both Officers were in plain clothes. (Exhibit E)
About 1:00 PM, officers from the city of Tempe arrested Mr. Davis on the charge of Three (3) counts of Sale of Cannabis and one (1) count of possession for sale. Mr. Davis was handcuffed, and taken to the Tempe City Jail and booked.
Mr. Davis's truck which housed his museum, the museum being setup at the time, along with personal items were confiscated. Meanwhile the Activists who had been present, got word to Davis's attorney, Michael Walz, that Mr. Davis had been arrested.
On January 27, 1996, the same day, about 7:00 PM Davis was moved to Madison Street Jail in Phoenix, Arizona. That same night Mr. Walz visited Davis in Jail and told Davis he had seen his file and it was tagged to hold Mr. Davis for 24 hours.
On January 28, 1996, SuperBowl Sunday, Mr. Davis appeared with Mr. Walz in front of a Bail Judge and Mr. Davis was released on his own recognizance, without Bail. Also the Bail Judge made Mr. Davis promise not to return to the SuperBowl as a condition of his release. Mr. Davis complied with his request and did not return to the SuperBowl. Although many other persons were openly selling Cannabis at the SuperBowl, no other arrests were made for sales of Cannabis of which we are aware.
On February 28, 1996, the preliminary hearing that was scheduled for Mr. Davis was scratched with no reason given. Mr. Davis was told that no immediate plans were in effect to arraign him but that the Statute of Limitations was Seven (7) years, and that he might receive a summons during that time.
On February 28, 1996, Michael Walz attorney for Mr. Davis filed a motion with the Tempe Justice Court, to get the Museum Truck back. The motion was denied by Judge Ore, of the Tempe Justice Court.
In March of 1996, Davis along with people who used Cannabis as a medicine, and other activists, participated in a hearing by the Arizona State Senate, Government Rules Committee, on the Luxury Tax Law and the Cannabis Dealers License. After hearing the views of these participants who asked to keep the License in effect, the committee recommended to the Senate that they repeal the License, due to the confusion it presented.
In April, 1996, the Senate decided to take no action on the existing law.
On March 15, 1996, notice was given to the Mesa Tribune about the impending forfeiture of the Museum Truck and twenty eight hundred ($2800.00 U.S.) in cash. Davis had been waiting to hear about how to retrieve his Truck . He had provided as requested by the authorities, two (2) addresses, one in Tempe, and one in Los Angeles, California, where he could receive his mail. The notice was sent to his home in Mendocino County which he had not visited and therefore had no prior knowledge of this notice until his attorney informed him of it.
On April 30, 1996 , a notice of pending forfeiture was issued by the Tempe Assistant State Attorney, Cliff Mattice.
On May 14, 1996, a motion was filed by Michael Walz, attorney for Mr. Davis, to return the Property to Mr. Davis. The motion was taken under advisement by the Tempe Courts who have failed to rule on it.
Through his attorney Mr. Walz, Mr. Davis received a summons to appear in Justice Court for a preliminary hearing on August 14, 1996.
On August 14, 1996, Davis traveled from Los Angeles to Tempe to appear in Tempe Justice court for a preliminary hearing. Mr. Davis waived the right to the hearing and was given an arraignment date in Superior Court on August 23, 1996.
On August 23, 1996, Davis again traveled from Los Angeles to Phoenix, and appeared in Superior Court where he was arraigned and pleaded Not-Guilty. Mr. Davis was given a date of November 7, 1996,to appear in Superior Court for a Jury Trial.
In October, 1996, Mr. Walz filed a motion to dismiss the charge against Mr. Davis on the grounds that Mr. Davis had a Cannabis Dealers License and hadcomplied with the Luxury Tax Code. Mr. Walz maintains that Mr. Davis's compliance with the rules for getting a Dealers License for selling Cannabis as well as paying the taxes as required in the Luxury tax code and therefore is immune from prosecution.
On
November 22, 1996, Mr. Davis
appeared in Superior Court in Arizona
again concerning the Museum truck and his Confiscated
$2800.00 in Cash. Mr. Davis was
able at this time to get the Museum truck
returned to him but ostensibly forfeited
the $2800.00 dollars Cash that was in the
van at the time of his arrest. (We
wonder what really happened to the $2800.00).
He must appear back in Superior Court again
on December 20, 1996 and a trial
is scheduled, maybe, sometime around
the end of January 1997.
Title 42 of the Luxury Tax Code, states that a "dealer" is not immune from prosecution under Title 13.
However , under Title 42, "dealer" means any person in this state who manufactures, produces, ships , transports or imports into this state or in any manner acquires or possesses Cannabis or a controlled substance upon which the taxes have not been paid as required by the article. Therefore, as Mr. Davis paid the taxes on the Cannabis items he sold , he is NOT then a "DEALER" and therefore should not be subject to prosecution under this code 42. Mr. Walz maintains that Mr. Davis followed the rules and is therefore, a Law Abiding Citizen.
On Friday, December 20, Richard Davis returned to Arizona and appeared before the Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Brian Ishikawa who heard oral arguments on the State's motions to strike defenses and witnesses. The State, represented by Prosecutor David Flader, seeks to suppress evidence that Mr. Davis complied with the luxury tax law (A.R.S.42-1203.01) making him an Arizona licensed cannabis dealer. The state also seeks to suppress witnesses to affirmatively testify to Mr. Davis's character for truthfulness.
Mr. Walz, attorney for Mr. Davis, stated that in the event that the state will stipulate that everything that Mr. Davis says on the witness stand is true, the defendant will forego evidence of his truthful character. Judge Ishikawa said he would take these motions under advisement and issue his decisions prior to the firm trial date of January 27,1997. This is exactly one year from the date of Mr. Davis's arrest at the SUPERBOWL.
On February 11, 1997,
a court progress hearing was held in Judge
Ishikawa's Superior Courtroom in Mesa,
Arizona. The judge has not ruled on
the motions, (mentioned above). Michael
Walz, attorney for Richard Davis,
reported that a new court date was set
for April 15, 1997 --tax day.
As we expected the judge is no longer
interested in dismissing this case. However,
it is hoped that if the judgment does go
against Richard, an appeal WILL be in order. Regardless of the judges rulings... Mr.
Davis hopes to obtain a victory with a
jury trial.
On February 13, 1997,
Judge Ishikawa ruled on the
defendant's motion to dismiss on double
jeopardy ground, the state's motion to
strike defenses and witness, and the state's
motion to admit other acts of evidence.
The court ruled against all defenses
of the defendant citing that
payment of taxes to conduct a business is
not a punitive sanction. It ordered
that since the state is prosecuting these
cases under Title 13, not Title 42 (see
above description in chronology) whether
the defendant is a "dealer" is not
applicable to any prosecution for the
possession of marijuana for sale and/or sale
of marijuana under title 13.
Additionally, the fact that the
defendant obtained a "license"
from the Department of Revenue cannot be
invoked as a shield from prosecution under
title 13. Also, the state was granted
the motion to strike the affirmative
defense of entrapment by estoppel, and the
affirmative defense of character for
truthfulness.
The judge
will not allow the lawyer to show this
evidence, Richard wants to try to case
himself so he can bring this up under his
first amendment right to freedom of speech.
Our Prayers Are With You Richard (And they
call this Justice?)
Richard has a court date on May 29 for a
trial. It will probably be postponed
until June 6 (if then). Arizona
legislature has reversed proposition 200
pending FDA approval of cannabis (the
legislature can overturn a ballot measure
there whereas they cannot in California.)
The Judge is clearly not in favor of
helping Richard, and the way they will get
the facts out about the license is
"lawyerize," and by inserting
the information when they can, and being warned
by the judge if they are in contempt of
court. Another alternative is for
Richard to tell his story or try his case
himself.
On May 29, Richard returned to Arizona for the alleged trial which was once again postponed. At this time, Richard told Judge Ishikawa that he intended to offer his own defense. Mr. Flader had offered Mr. Davis a penalty of probation if he were to plead guilty to possession of Cannabis for sale. Mr. Walz told Mr. Flader that this was the worst thing to offer Richard. Richard wants to present his story to a jury. The Judge asked Richard of he were sure he could act as his own attorney and asked him to return the following Thursday, June 5 to give a progress report. On June 5, after beginning to prepare his own defense, based on his constitutional rights that he had done nothing that was a crime and that he was therefore innocent, he returned to Mesa Arizona. At this time, due to obligations during June and July for all three parties, the judge, the assistant district attorney, and the defendant, the trial was postponed until July 16. All motions and evidence must be submitted 20 days prior to this date. Mr. Davis is researching and preparing his own defense. He has been offered assistance by Chris Clay, who has just completed a lengthy constitutional challenge to the cannabis laws in Canada, and his attorney, Alan Young.
If you would like to join the USA Hemp Museum or communicate with the curator, send an email to
Richard M. Davis:
Curator, Founder, Author
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