Local man fights cannabis stigma after 2018 arrest
October 9, 2019
Charlea Estes-Jones
With the climate surrounding marijuana changing after the legalization of medical cannabis, many patients with criminal charges prior to Amendment 2 passing are left with questions about what the state will do. One local man is speaking out about his experience and working to help others with the same issues.
Dana Bland, of Purdy, said his life changed after a relative reported him for growing marijuana in 2018. Bland said, "I got turned in by a relative. I heard the helicopter when they came in."
Bland's arrest was detailed in an article in the Barry County Advertiser on August 8 of that year. Something he said changed even his pastor's feelings toward him.
Essentially, the Ozarks Drug Enforcement Team (ODET), along with the Barry County Sheriff's Department, showed up and arrested both Bland and his wife, Suzanne Bland, who has a mental handicap.
Bland said, "They charged me like I was a drug dealer. I was only growing my own medicine."
Since, the charges against his wife were dropped entirely, and Bland's felony manufacturing a controlled substance charge was dropped to misdemeanor possession of marijuana charge. He still didn't plead guilty and instead entered an Alford plea to the charge. If he serves six months unsupervised probation successfully, he won’t be formally sentenced. He received a suspended imposition of sentencing and six months unsupervised probation.
Barry County prosecuting attorney Amy Boxx said this case is not representative of how her office is treating marijuana charges. She said, "The prosecutor’s office has not changed its stance on misdemeanor marijuana charges nor does the issuance of a medical marijuana patient card impact the decision on prosecution at this time. This particular case had 4th Amendment issues with the search that was conducted on the Bland’s premises. As a result, plea negotiations were necessary. Each case is unique and the outcome of this particular case should not be considered a reflection of this office’s overall position."
However, this does warrant asking what the state plans to do regarding former charges for marijuana when the person is now a medical marijuana patient card holder. In other states, charges are often expunged, but the Missouri Legislature has not yet made any decisions regarding cases like Bland's.
He explained some of what he went through with his experience. He said, "I was hooked on opiates through the VA, and cannabis got me off of that. I was on 25 different medications. Three years ago when I ended up in the hospital with a severe lung infection, it ended up being medications that caused it."
It was then that Bland turned to cannabis to treat himself. He said he never grew it to sell to other people or abused it in any way. Since the ordeal, he's turned to CBD-only products until he is no longer on probation and will be able to acquire his medical cannabis legally.
When he heard the helicopter, Bland said, "I cut it all down and gave it to them. I knew they were coming to get it.
"We had 15 Ozark Drug Enforcement Team officers come in with guns."
Bland said that even though he and his wife are both disabled and were cooperative, it was a harrowing experience for both of them. He said, "People were on the streets that day screaming not to arrest [my wife] because she had a mental handicap."
Bland said he has maxed out credit cards and used all of his money to fight the charges from 2018, but that doesn't restore his reputation. He said, "I was a firefighter for 20 years, worked on a rescue team and on the ambulance service. I'm a decorated veteran. This happens all the time, and people go broke and their reputation totally destroyed because of a plant. Luckily, I had the money to fight it."
Since his arrest, Bland began working in advocacy, using social media as a platform for information for patients. He also started a local chapter for The Human Solution International, a grassroots movement to protect civil rights of people involved in similar situations.
Bland said his decision to enter an Alford plea instead of fight is charges to the end was due to his illness, and he wants to protect others from the same fate. He said, "I'm too sick. I can't wait two years to go to trial. We didn't do anything wrong other than save my life by using natural medicines. I couldn't take pharmaceuticals anymore because they were killing me. I was in kidney failure and was on life support for a month.
"I had to grow it for myself because there was no other option. I didn't want to buy it from a drug dealer."
Moving forward, Bland is hoping the state works toward changing laws to help patients. "They need to expunge records of medical cannabis patients period for non-violent, not just for misdemeanors but felonies, as well.
"These people had done nothing but use something that was a plant that was used for medicine for 15,000 years. It's only been illegal recently."
Bland said the local chapter of The Human Solution International will be more public in coming months with rallies and informational events.
Charlea Estes-Jones
With the climate surrounding marijuana changing after the legalization of medical cannabis, many patients with criminal charges prior to Amendment 2 passing are left with questions about what the state will do. One local man is speaking out about his experience and working to help others with the same issues.
Dana Bland, of Purdy, said his life changed after a relative reported him for growing marijuana in 2018. Bland said, "I got turned in by a relative. I heard the helicopter when they came in."
Bland's arrest was detailed in an article in the Barry County Advertiser on August 8 of that year. Something he said changed even his pastor's feelings toward him.
Essentially, the Ozarks Drug Enforcement Team (ODET), along with the Barry County Sheriff's Department, showed up and arrested both Bland and his wife, Suzanne Bland, who has a mental handicap.
Bland said, "They charged me like I was a drug dealer. I was only growing my own medicine."
Since, the charges against his wife were dropped entirely, and Bland's felony manufacturing a controlled substance charge was dropped to misdemeanor possession of marijuana charge. He still didn't plead guilty and instead entered an Alford plea to the charge. If he serves six months unsupervised probation successfully, he won’t be formally sentenced. He received a suspended imposition of sentencing and six months unsupervised probation.
Barry County prosecuting attorney Amy Boxx said this case is not representative of how her office is treating marijuana charges. She said, "The prosecutor’s office has not changed its stance on misdemeanor marijuana charges nor does the issuance of a medical marijuana patient card impact the decision on prosecution at this time. This particular case had 4th Amendment issues with the search that was conducted on the Bland’s premises. As a result, plea negotiations were necessary. Each case is unique and the outcome of this particular case should not be considered a reflection of this office’s overall position."
However, this does warrant asking what the state plans to do regarding former charges for marijuana when the person is now a medical marijuana patient card holder. In other states, charges are often expunged, but the Missouri Legislature has not yet made any decisions regarding cases like Bland's.
He explained some of what he went through with his experience. He said, "I was hooked on opiates through the VA, and cannabis got me off of that. I was on 25 different medications. Three years ago when I ended up in the hospital with a severe lung infection, it ended up being medications that caused it."
It was then that Bland turned to cannabis to treat himself. He said he never grew it to sell to other people or abused it in any way. Since the ordeal, he's turned to CBD-only products until he is no longer on probation and will be able to acquire his medical cannabis legally.
When he heard the helicopter, Bland said, "I cut it all down and gave it to them. I knew they were coming to get it.
"We had 15 Ozark Drug Enforcement Team officers come in with guns."
Bland said that even though he and his wife are both disabled and were cooperative, it was a harrowing experience for both of them. He said, "People were on the streets that day screaming not to arrest [my wife] because she had a mental handicap."
Bland said he has maxed out credit cards and used all of his money to fight the charges from 2018, but that doesn't restore his reputation. He said, "I was a firefighter for 20 years, worked on a rescue team and on the ambulance service. I'm a decorated veteran. This happens all the time, and people go broke and their reputation totally destroyed because of a plant. Luckily, I had the money to fight it."
Since his arrest, Bland began working in advocacy, using social media as a platform for information for patients. He also started a local chapter for The Human Solution International, a grassroots movement to protect civil rights of people involved in similar situations.
Bland said his decision to enter an Alford plea instead of fight is charges to the end was due to his illness, and he wants to protect others from the same fate. He said, "I'm too sick. I can't wait two years to go to trial. We didn't do anything wrong other than save my life by using natural medicines. I couldn't take pharmaceuticals anymore because they were killing me. I was in kidney failure and was on life support for a month.
"I had to grow it for myself because there was no other option. I didn't want to buy it from a drug dealer."
Moving forward, Bland is hoping the state works toward changing laws to help patients. "They need to expunge records of medical cannabis patients period for non-violent, not just for misdemeanors but felonies, as well.
"These people had done nothing but use something that was a plant that was used for medicine for 15,000 years. It's only been illegal recently."
Bland said the local chapter of The Human Solution International will be more public in coming months with rallies and informational events.
