A mother from California's Butte County appeared in court for a preliminary hearing June 11 to determine whether she should stand trial for breastfeeding her children while being a user of medical cannabis. Advocates have rallied around the case of Daisy Bram, 30, contending that she faces excessive prosecution on charges of felony child abuse and misdemeanor child endangerment stemming from a raid by county authorities on her home garden.
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey says Bram faces charges for having a house strewn with marijuana buds. The case attracted attention after an emotional audio tape—capturing Bram crying hysterically as child welfare workers removed her 14-month old toddler and newborn infant during the raid—went viral on the Web. Her children were placed in foster care for four months after the raid.
Bram and her husband, Jayme Walsh, were charged with felony marijuana possession and possession for sale after officers raided their 38-plant garden and seized another 56 plants inside their home, authorities said. After a preliminary hearing last November, a Butte County judge upheld the drug charges but threw out counts of felony child abuse against both parents. But Ramsey refiled child counts against the mother, saying hair samples on her toddler tested positive for marijuana.
Butte County voters last week rejected a county ordinance that sought to ban marijuana cultivation on properties of one-half acre or less and set planting limits on larger parcels. (Sacramento Bee's Sacto 9-11 blog, June 11)
Photo from Free My Babies!
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Jail for breastfeeding
They actually did it in New Zealand. From the Wanganui Chronicle, Oct. 27: