 USP Florence ADMAX Satellite Camp P.O. BOX 5000 Florence, CO 81226 Known as "D.C. Greenhouse" of the Merced Patients Group, no one has motivated activist sensibilities of central California like Dustin Costa. A former Marine and union leader, Costa brought a wealth of organizing skills and experience to the advocacy work he did on behalf of the medical marijuana movement. From his base near Merced, California, he led a group of nearly 300 volunteers on actions like citizen lobbying, protesting at important court hearings, and engineering community improvement efforts like graffiti removal. Costa was initially prosecuted on the state level for his cultivation of a collective garden of nearly 900 plants. After nearly 20 court appearances, however, local authorities handed the case over to the U.S. Attorney and the prosecution began all over again on the federal level. Costa went to jury trial in November 2006 and was found guilty on charges of the manufacture of marijuana, possession with the intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm. He has been incarcerated since his federal indictment, and has a release date set for 2018. |
POWs >