Bouncing Bear Owner Faced with 75 years in Prison- for Selling Chaliponga and Chacruna

On Feb 4, 2010 the FDA, Kansas Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement--24 officers in all, raided a lawfully run botanical shop and 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.

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. - Remember that number.

By the end of the day they had confiscated $700,000 worth of products and property, and they had seized funds and bank accounts, both personal and business accounts. They even seized Jon's six-year-old son's savings account. They left Jon with nothing 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.

We were 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.

He is facing 75 years in federal prison.

The charges are bogus and false. They say that his botanical business was selling these controlled substances.
Here are the charges.
• 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.

DMT is a natural substance found in many common plants and is even produced naturally in your brain, making every single human in possession of a controlled substance (if enforced the way these charges are) and is found in most plants. There was no manufacturing or extracting of DMT at any point at the warehouse, including the day of the raid.

Please note how they listed mescaline as one of the substances. There was no mescaline there. There was only San Pedro cactus. San Pedro cactus can be bought at Walmart and garden centers throughout the country. They would certainly look foolish if they busted in and charged him with selling cactus. The world would be outraged. So, instead they say "Mescaline." And then they put that press release out to the public, who then read that Jon was selling mescaline: "A Drug Dealer! Save our children!" After all… don't we usually believe newspaper reports when someone is accused of something? When we see the mugshot on TV (Yes, his mugshot was shown on several news shows) - don't we think "guilty?"

Lysergic Acid Amide: We didn't even know what this was. But, after googling we discovered it is in Morning Glory Seeds. The kind your grandmother plants in her garden. Evidently possession of Morning Glory Seeds available in just about every garden center in the country and growing in just about every neighborhood in the country is now illegal. Not only illegal, but considered “manufacturing”.

The feds are very smart PR wise. They are also genuine thugs. Hired to protect us? Hardly. They destroy the lives of everyone they come in contact with. How many lives have they destroyed with this illegal raid, all the while supposedly protecting us from the horror and evil of cactus and morning glory seeds?

The next charges are for the actual seeds and plants that, again, can be bought at any garden shop. We don't even sell the Illinois Bundleflower, but it grows naturally throughout the United States and the Lady Bird Johnson wildflower preserve in Texas grows and harvests them and sells them to visitors.

We are supposing there is some substance they want to outlaw in the other seeds and plants listed. But… we don't know what they are. Every single item listed can be bought at any legitimate flower or garden shop or wildlife preserve.

The Colorado River Toad is an exotic toad. Exotic, just like a piranha fish or boa constrictor. They can eat whole a live rat. Some people think they can lick them to get high. But only a fool would try. They are poisonous. Licking them would get you a severe case of salmonella poisoning. They can live for 15 years. They are not illegal to own, buy or sell. We bought them from a reptilian pet store in Florida. . Not only that, but Bouncing Bear has already gone through a year-long investigation for the toads four years back with several government agencies coming and asking questions. They took the toads, held them for a year and then finally just gave them back after determining there was nothing illegal about them.

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?

Every single one of the charges is bogus. They have thrown the book at Jon because they don't like his botanical business 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 you are convicted. (And in most cases keep it even if you are found not guilty.)

Innocent until proven guilty? Hardly. The drug tax was imposed before he was even charged.

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 use 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. And the authorities look like heroes.

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. He has not been convicted of anything. 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, make it so that he can't mount a defense or fight the charges -- and they look like gods for “saving our children.”

Now, Jon Sloan is facing 75 years in prison…. for selling plants that can be found at Wal-mart.
He has nothing in the bank and no way to make a living or mount any kind of defense. On the other hand, the feds have unlimited manpower and unlimited financial resources. This is David vs Goliath.

As of this moment, they have stolen his life, his families' lives and all of those around him.

Your tax dollars at work.

Jon Sloan Defense Fund
http://www.savejon.org/
POB 944
ST Charles MO 63302