Update April 13, 2010: Charges dropped against [BBB]

Also posted on SaveJon.org:

On April 7th the Jefferson County DA dismissed the charges against Jon.

We are thankful to who contributed to his defense fund. Because they dismissed the charges,
Jon is refunding the money to everyone who made a donation.

While it is great news that they are dismissing the charges, they are not returning any of his
property. They consider that to be evidence. And it looks like he is still faced with the un-
constitutional Kansas Drug Tax. Kansas somehow thinks it can tax someone for selling illegal
drugs when they haven't even been charged with selling illegal drugs. We will be fighting that in
court. Read about this law here: http://www.ksrevenue.org/faqs-abcdrugtax.htm

UPDATES

2/8/2010: BBB is still in business, without the products that were seized of course (now listed as
out of stock on their website).

Apparently, Mr. Sloan is out on bond at the present time, but restricted from speaking on sensitive
matters and has not been seen in his place of business or associating with any of the people
working there. There is a private legal firm representing him with a defense fund in place, however
I do not yet have any detailed information on where money can reliably be sent for his aid. If and
when I receive such information, or any related information that is deemed appropriate to
publicly dispense, I will make it available here.


2/10/2010: Statement from Jon's Dad:

As you know already, the Feds (FDA, Kansas Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement--24 officers in all), raided the Bouncing Bear warehouse. With guns drawn, they burst in and proceeded to handcuff everyone in the building including 65- year-old, white-haired grandmas and grandpas and young, single mothers.

They then proceeded to ransack the entire building. You can see pictures of their work here: http://www.bouncingbearbotanicals.com/jonimages/what_the_feds_did_to_jon.htm

By 10:30 AM, Jon Sloan, the 29-year-old owner was being booked at the county jail. Bond was set at $906,000.00. Keep that amount in mind.

By the end of the day they had confiscated $700,000 worth of products and property, and they had seized funds and bank accounts. They even seized Jon's six-year-old son's savings account. They left Jon with NEGATIVE $55,000 in the bank, making it impossible for him to post bond or hire a lawyer. They seized all legal papers, receipts, bills, bank account records – everything.

I was able to find a lawyer who was able to reduce the bond to $150,000, and Jon was finally released late the following day. During the time in jail he was denied any visitors. The condition of his release is that he is not allowed to go to the office or talk to employees, associates or customers. Thus, he has effectively been denied the ability to work and run his lawful business and generate income in order to be able to mount a defense.

Here are the bogus charges:

The charges against Sloan

• Unlawful manufacturing of controlled substances: Dimethlyltryptamine (DMT)
• Unlawful manufacturing of controlled substances: Mescaline
• Unlawful manufacturing of controlled substances: Lysergic Acid Amide
• Unlawful cultivation or distribution of controlled substances: Mescaline
• Unlawful cultivation or distribution of controlled substances: Dimethlyltryptamine; Chacruna; Illinois Bundleflower; Epena; Cebil Seeds.
• Unlawful cultivation or distribution of controlled substances: Bufotenine, Epena, Chaliponga, Cebil Seeds, Colorado River Toads.
• Unlawful cultivation or distribution of controlled substances: Lysergic Acid Amide, Morning Glory Seeds, Rivea Corymbosa.
• Unlawful possession of certain drug precursors and drug paraphernalia: Plastic jugs and filters used or intended for unlawful use to manufacture, cultivate, plant propagate, harvest, test, analyze or distribute a controlled substance.

We don't even know what some of those substances are, much less how to extract them from some plant.

Please note the last of the bogus charges: “Unlawful possession of certain drug precursors and drug paraphernalia: Plastic jugs and filters...” Perhaps the Feds forgot that Bouncing Bear is a botanical store. We grow plants. We water them and fertilize them. We use plastic jugs just like every botanical store in the world and just like every lawn and garden shop. Did they really expect NOT to find plastic jugs?

One of the feds asked me about the toads: “What do you do with those?” “What do you mean? We sell them.” “What do they do with them?” “What do you mean? They keep them. They are an exotic wild toad that will live for 15 years. They can eat a small rat.” “Why do they want them?” “Why do people want a piranha or exotic fish or a snake? All kinds of reasons. They are not illegal.” “Do they lick them?” “Lick them? Are you serious? I suppose they could lick them, but they'd be morons – they'll get salmonella.” “Where do you get them?” “We buy them from a pet store. An exotic pet store that also sells boa constrictors, iguanas, alligators and other reptilians. They are not illegal to buy, own or sell.”

From time to time we have also sold iguanas and snakes. Why would we have 20 toads that sell very very slowly, are a hassle to keep and feed, and are valued at around $2000 and jeopardize a million dollar legitimate business? What kind of fools would we be? What kind of fools are they?

Every single thing that they seized is legal to own, to buy and to sell. We know they will say, “But people can use these things for illegal purposes.” And the answer is: “Well Duh! People can use anything for illegal purposes. People can buy guns and knives at Wal-mart and use them for illegal purposes. They can buy plastic jugs from the dollar store and use them for illegal purposes. People can buy LEGAL drugs at the pharmacy and use them for illegal purposes. Why don't they shut down Wal-mart, your local grocery store, your pharmacy, and every store that sells anything?

Every single one of the charges is bogus. They have thrown the book at Jon because they don't like Bouncing Bear Botanical and want to shut it down. They have violated Jon’s civil rights in order to make an example that will discourage others from engaging in this type of legal business.

They have posted a $906,000 DRUG TAX on Jon's head. Remember that number?

What is the drug tax? All illegal drug dealers in Kansas are required to buy “Drug Stamps.” They then must put the stamp on the bag of marijuana or cocaine to show they have paid the tax on that illegal drug. This is the way the government can seize private property in the event of a drug bust. "You haven't paid your drug tax? Cool! We get to take all your stuff!"

Of course - they get to seize the stuff even before they you are convicted. (And in most cases keep it even if you are found not guilty.)

Innocent until proven guilty? Hardly.

This is how they can effectively keep someone from mounting a defense. They seize all of someone's assets so that person can't hire a lawyer, post bond, and must us an underpaid court-appointed attorney and sit in jail for the year that it takes to get to trial. Most of the time the accused will accept a plea bargain. Faced with 75 years in jail if guilty? They take the plea for 10 years. The DEA gets a gold star. The war on drugs gets another feather in its cap and the DA gets re-elected. Your tax dollars at work.

Just be ACCUSED of selling drugs and they can fine you with a drug tax. They just did this in Jon's case. Jon sold no illegal drugs. Doesn’t matter. They just have to accuse him, slap him with nearly a million dollar tax, seize all of his assets, put him out of business--and they look like gods for “saving our children.”

The drug tax is a serious violation of civil rights and the right to not self-incriminate. A good civil rights lawyer should be able to fight any drug tax all the way to the supreme court. And... mark my words: WE WILL FIGHT THIS ALL THE WAY TO THE SUPREME COURT. THEY WILL NOT WIN THIS BOGUS WAR.

We need your help to win this thing. Remember, if they do win, we all lose. We can't let them take our civil rights. I'll post more when I can on ways you can help including contributing to Jon's defense fund. Remember – they seized all of his assets. We need to find ways to pull some money together to help him fight this thing.