YAY!!! On Sunday I heard he had been denied by Ferndale and I was outraged. I am so glad to hear he is at least going to a comparatively better place!

Free our friend!!

shappele's story is still iffy I dont know why they dont let her go shes a sweet girl.

Don is heading into his sixth month of imprisonment now. He is staying at Ferndale Institution. It's a minimum security federal prison in Mission, BC. He will be eligible to have a parole hearing in early spring (after 10 months) and may be let out on day parole. His sentence finishes November 26th, 2010.

For now, Don has a job with Corcan http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/prgrm/corcan/home-eng.shtml
He works in the sew shop and his current contract is to make window shades for prison cells. Last month he was making safety harnesses, suspenders, and equipment belts for cops and jail guards. He earns I think, $10.75 a day working for Corcan. Don starts work at 7:30am and works 6 ½ hours through the day. He recently applied for a library job too so he may transfer to keeping track of Dewey's decimal.

I get to visit with him at least once a week because I live pretty close to the prison (15 minutes away). The visits there are way better than any other jail. There is a spacious visiting area and we are allowed to stroll around a designated park area outside. Visits are four hours long compared to one hour in some other jails. I'm allowed to bring in up to $30. to buy us dinner and we can order food from a few different approved restaurants that deliver there. There is a tv and some cards and games to play. We usually play a couple good games of cribbage while I'm there. Other than some money, my keys, my ID and sunglasses, I am not allowed to bring anything else in with me – no papers, books, food etc.

The way Ferndale is set up is with lots of houses that hold six to eight guys each. In Don's house right now there are only four guys so it's a little easier to move around. There's a kitchen in every house and each inmate is responsible for their own meals. They get a grocery list and an allowance and order their food every two weeks. They are allowed to get typical grocery stuff and they can even order from M&Ms. Don has his own room and tv and there is a tv in the common area too. He tries to stay out of his room as much as possible as that can be pretty isolating. He gets to go for good walks around the perimeter of the property most days.

Don always stays positive and stays focused on getting on with his life out of there. We agree that other than the theft of his time, it is harder for me to watch him be in prison than it is for him to be there. I miss him really a lot.

If you knew Don or shopped at Da Kine on Commercial, Don would love to get some mail from you.

Don Briere
c/o 33737 Dewdney Trunk Rd.
P.O. Box 50
Mission, BC
V2V 4L8

Peace on Pot,
Free My Friend!

Carol Gwilt

I would love this thread to be updated regularly. My newest video (working on it now) is about Letters from Pot Prisoners, and I want to encourage people to write to prisoners of the drug war. This thread can be helpful!

shappele is guilty as fuck

she woulda been ok in aus with that much weed

you DONT GO TO ASIAN country`s with drugs (THEY WILL HANG OR SHOOT YOU)

our weed is worth 3x more over their because their weed is crap

nice little earner if you get away with it

shappele fucked her self all she had to do was shut up plead guilty and buy her way out. once the press got involved they made sure a message was sent.

Yellow House Pot Club Owner Sentenced To Prison

Thursday, February 5, 2009 – By Ryan Gierach, West Hollywood

West Hollywood, California (Thursday, February 5, 2009) - Larry Roger Kristich, former owner of the Compassionate Caregivers medical marijuana dispensary, known as the “Yellow House” in West Hollywood, was sentenced this week to five years in prison for operating it and six others scattered across the state.


Compassionate Caregivers medical marijuana dispensary, known as the “Yellow House” in West Hollywood. Photo by WeHo News - West Hollywood’s ONLY Newspaper, ONLY ONLINE!

Altogether, prosecutors charged that Mr. Kristich distributed more than 15,000 pounds of pot through seven dispensaries, known as the McDonald’s of medical marijuana at its peak of operation.

He was ordered by U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real to pay $500,000 in fines; he had faced up to 40 years in prison.

Partners James Carberry and James Ealy were both sentenced to probation for their roles in the operation in April, 2008.

The charges stem from the March 15, 2005 raid by LAPD narco squad officers and Federal Internal Revenue (IRS) agents on the medical cannabis club in West Hollywood, arresting 14 people and seizing 800 pounds of marijuana product (wholesale value, $2.5 million; retail value over $5 million) and between $300-500,000 in cash.


|| Advertisement || CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION || Advertisement || CLICK HERE ||

The targeted club, Compassionate Caregivers located at 1209 N. La Brea Ave and commonly known as the “Yellow House,” had been under surveillance by LAPD since September 2004 after the arrest of a Compassionate Caregiver patron with 60 marijuana plants in his possession, all allegedly purchased at Yellow House.


Photo by WeHo News - West Hollywood’s ONLY Newspaper, ONLY ONLINE!

According to LAPD spokesperson Sgt. Plow at the time, that surveillance found that the club allegedly sold large amounts of marijuana to customers on a regular, sometimes daily, basis.

State law forbids the sale of more than eight ounces of medical marijuana to a patient at one time.

“We formed the opinion that the club was in violation of Health & Safety Code 11360 (transportation, distribution or importation of controlled substances) through the surveillance,” Sgt. Plows told WeHo News at the time.

“They regularly sold eight ounce and one pound quantities to people who made sometimes daily buys.

"There were an average of 235 visits a day to the house. That’s drug dealing, not medicine dispensing,” she said.

http://wehonews.com/z/wehonews/archive/p...?articleID=3132


Larry Kristich was the president of the “Compassionate Caregivers” chain of medical marijuana dispensaries that operated an extensive number of locations across California. During its peak, the chain had outlets in West Hollywood, San Diego, Ukiah, Bakersfield, Oakland, San Francisco, and Alameda County. Federal investigators stated that “Compassionate Caregivers” employed two hundred people, grossed a total of $95 million and distributed over 15,000 pounds of marijuana during the course of its three years of operation. The West Hollywood location, called the “Yellow House,” was raided by the Los Angeles Police Department in 2005, leading to the seizure of the chain’s bank account and the closure of its facilities. Federal charges for Kristich and a handful of associates followed two years later. Kristich was in Costa Rica when he was indicted in July 2007, but he returned shortly afterward to surrender to federal authorities. In early 2008, he accepted a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to a count of maintaining a drug-involved premises and a count of promotional money laundering. In February 2009, he was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison and fined $500,000.

LARRY ROGER KRISTICH 33309-112
MDC LOS ANGELES
METROPOLITAN DETENTION CENTER
P.O. BOX 1500
LOS ANGELES, CA 90053

So, if 235 people visited a pharmacist in a day, would they say he is a drug dealer, or laud him for doing his job well?

This is disappointing, but not surprising, unfortunately.

Don has been granted full parole, after 10months inside!

I get to pick him up at Ferndale on Mar.26th to bring him home. He'll be on parole for the next 20 months.

We are both very excited and relieved not to have to hang out in jails anymore to be together. Over the past five years we have spent over 26 months visiting each other "behind bars".

Thanks to everyone who wrote Don letters and cards. Unless you've been in jail yourself, you have no idea what a few words of support mean to someone serving time.

Peace on Pot!
Carol Gwilt

Great news Carol. I hope the next few days just fly by.