Dana Beal
Encyclopedia
Irvin Dana Beal is an American
social and political activist, best known for his efforts to legalize marijuana
. He is a long-term activist in the Youth International Party
(Yippies) and founder of the Yipster Times.
History and activism =
Chapter 4 of the 1997 book "The Ibogaine Story" is a biography of Dana Beal with some additions. It states:
The Ibogaine Story also reports the following:
Dana Beal also helped organize some of the U.S. versions of the "Rock Against Racism
" concerts.
(GMM or MMM) event began in 1999 with Beal as the major organizer. It occurs on the first Saturday of May every year, and now takes place in hundreds of cities around the world in addition to New York City (NYC). NYC has had various marijuana rallies since 1967.
as an addiction interrupter. Beal asserts that addiction is a disease that can be treated with ibogaine.
Beal helped to organize the Boston Ibogaine forum held in February 2009 at Northeastern University. During the forum, he gave a presentation on the chemistry and pharmacology of ibogaine.
in addiction treatment. He also works on behalf of people with AIDS
. Paul DeRienzo was a close associate of Beal's, as was Thomas King Forcade, the founder of High Times magazine. The book Blacklisted News, is available from the Yippie Museum Press, 9 Bleecker St., NYC 10012, where Beal lives, and which also houses the Yippie Museum. The Yippie Museum Cafe and display area now occupies the first floor of Nine Bleecker Street, a landmark building designed by the partner of Frederick Law Olmsted
, the man who designed Central Park
.
Beal serves today on the board of the Yippie Museum. It is dedicated to preserving the activities and artifacts of the Youth International Party
. The Yippie Museum was chartered by the Board of Regents of New York State at their March 21, 2006 meeting.
about 170 miles south of Chicago
on suspicion of money laundering
. The Associated Press
reported that he appeared before a judge on June 12, and was charged with obstruction of justice
. He was released on $7,500 bail
.
According to The New York Times
, police responded to a report of 2 women arguing at a restaurant. The 2 women were traveling with Beal and another man. Mick McAvoy is the first assistant state’s attorney for Coles County, Illinois
. According to the Times, "Mr. McAvoy said witnesses told the police that Mr. Beal had placed bags beneath nearby vehicles. Mr. McAvoy said the police found two duffel bag
s containing more than $150,000 in cash. At that point, Mr. McAvoy said, a drug-sniffing dog was brought in to smell the bags." According to Beal's attorney, Ronald Tulin of Charleston, Illinois
, the police said the money smelled of marijuana.
On August 6, 2008 Judge Richard Scott found probable cause
for a jury trial
for Irvin Dana Beal, 61, of New York City
and Jesse Balcom, 31, of Silver Spring
, Maryland
. The trial began in November 2008 on obstruction of justice
charges, because it was alleged that Beal and his associate were hiding the bags of money in expectation that the police might search their van. The outcome of the trial was that Beal pled guilty to misdemeanor marijuana possession and was fined $1,300. Obstruction of justice charges were dismissed. Federal authorities are seeking forfeiture of the money involved.
. Police claim that they were stopped because the conversion van they were in was driving erratically, and because the rear license plate was obstructed. Police allegedly found 150 pounds of marijuana in the van. All 3 face charges of possession with intent to deliver and having no drug tax stamp. Ryan and Statzer are being held on $100,000 bond each. Beal is being held on $500,000 bond. According to the Omaha World-Herald
Saunders County Attorney Scott Tingelhoff said that there was an effort on the web to raise Beal's bail. He must raise 10 percent ($50,000) in order to be released. Beal is being represented in his case by Glenn Shapiro of the law firm Schaefer and Shapiro in Omaha Nebraska.
. He and driver Lance Ramer of Omaha, Nebraska
are currently being held on $50,000 bond each in the Iowa County
Jail in Dodgeville
. Beal hasn't been formally charged. Authorities won't release the police report because Federal officials say it might compromise a national drug investigation which runs "from California to New York, with multiple locations."
On September 20, 2011 Dana Beal was sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison. He was credited with 267 days already served for the time he was in jail. After he gets out of prison he will be on parole for 2 and a half years.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
social and political activist, best known for his efforts to legalize marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
. He is a long-term activist in the Youth International Party
Youth International Party
The Youth International Party, whose members were commonly called Yippies, was a radically youth-oriented and countercultural revolutionary offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movements of the 1960s. It was founded on Dec. 31, 1967...
(Yippies) and founder of the Yipster Times.
Current condition: Dana Beal suffers heart attack while awaiting transfer to prison (September, 2011)
While he was waiting transfer to a state prison in Wisconsin, Beal suffered a heart attack (September 27, 2011). He is facing 2 1/2 years in prison (minus 267 days for time served in jail) and 2 1/2 years on probation, resulting from a 180 lb. marijuana arrest.History and activism =
Chapter 4 of the 1997 book "The Ibogaine Story" is a biography of Dana Beal with some additions. It states:
Dana was born in the same hospital in Ravenna, OhioRavenna, Ohio* Chris Bangle; automobile designer* Bill Bower, last surviving pilot of the Doolittle Raid* David D. Busch; best-selling author* William Rufus Day; U.S. Supreme Court justice* Calvin Hampton; Classical organist* Robert B...
, where the dying students were later taken from Kent State. He counts among his formative experiences shaking hands with Jack Kennedy when he campaigned in East Lansing in 1960, and hitch-hiking in August '63, at 16, to Washington, D.C., in order to be near the foot of the Lincoln Memorial for the "I have a dreamI Have a Dream"I Have a Dream" is a 17-minute public speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered on August 28, 1963, in which he called for racial equality and an end to discrimination...
" speech. Two months later he organized his first demonstration of 2,000 people, in Lansing, when the Klan blew up four little Black girls in a church on BirminghamBirmingham, AlabamaBirmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
Sunday. The next year he did a brief stint in a state mental hospital because of his mercurial temper. Because he told shrinks he thought he was destined for something important, they said he was crazy. But that kept him from being drafted in January '65, a month with the highest proportion of casualties in Viet Nam. He also became a lifelong critic of thorazine and prolyxin. He escaped, got a job in New YorkNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, saved his money, and legalized his status in late 1965.
The Ibogaine Story also reports the following:
Inspired by a VOICE article on the Dutch Provos, he started the New York Provos with two friends, and called a smoke-in for Tompkins Square ParkTompkins Square ParkTompkins Square Park is a 10.5 acre public park in the Alphabet City section of the East Village neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is square in shape, and is bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and on the...
. The smoke-ins got bigger and bigger, and after a judge ruled a roll-your-own cigarette seen from a distance wasn't grounds for arrest, the Feds moved in an informer who wheedled Dana's personal acid stash out of him. When he was busted in late August 1967, 3,000 people marched from a FugsThe FugsThe Fugs are a band formed in New York in late 1964 by poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of the Holy Modal Rounders...
concert, across Fourteenth Street, to the federal holding pen on West Street. It was Dana's first fifteen minutes of fame. In October [1967] the Provos gave out four pounds of pot at the "Levitation of the PentagonThe PentagonThe Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
." Then in December, the Provo Free StoreGive-away shopGive-away shops, swap shops, freeshops, or free stores are stores where all goods are free. They are similar to charity shops, with mostly second-hand items — only everything is available at no cost...
on First Street was raided, and Dana was charged with a pot sale he didn't do. Convinced he couldn't get fair treatment, he fled to Mexico, then Canada, where he had to watch Chicago '681968 Democratic National Convention protestsThe 1968 Democratic National Convention had a significant amount of protest activity. In 1967, protest groups had been promising to come to Chicago and disrupt the convention, and the city promised to maintain law and order. For eight days, protesters and the Chicago Police Department battled for...
on television.
Dana Beal also helped organize some of the U.S. versions of the "Rock Against Racism
Rock Against Racism
Rock Against Racism was a campaign set up in the United Kingdom in 1976 as a response to an increase in racial conflict and the growth of white nationalist groups such as the National Front. The campaign involved pop, rock and reggae musicians staging concerts with an anti-racist theme, in order...
" concerts.
Global Marijuana March
The worldwide Global Million Marijuana MarchGlobal Marijuana March
The Global Marijuana March is an annual rally held at different locations across the planet. It refers to cannabis-related events that occur on the first Saturday in May, or thereabouts, and may include marches, meetings, rallies, raves, concerts, festivals and information tables.The Global...
(GMM or MMM) event began in 1999 with Beal as the major organizer. It occurs on the first Saturday of May every year, and now takes place in hundreds of cities around the world in addition to New York City (NYC). NYC has had various marijuana rallies since 1967.
Ibogaine
Beal has promoted ibogaineIbogaine
Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychoactive substance found in a number of plants, principally in a member of the Apocynaceae family known as Iboga . A hallucinogen with both psychedelic and dissociative properties, the substance is banned in some countries; in other countries it is being used...
as an addiction interrupter. Beal asserts that addiction is a disease that can be treated with ibogaine.
Beal helped to organize the Boston Ibogaine forum held in February 2009 at Northeastern University. During the forum, he gave a presentation on the chemistry and pharmacology of ibogaine.
Social engagement
Beal's "Cures Not Wars" site includes information on the Million Marijuana March and the use of IbogaineIbogaine
Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychoactive substance found in a number of plants, principally in a member of the Apocynaceae family known as Iboga . A hallucinogen with both psychedelic and dissociative properties, the substance is banned in some countries; in other countries it is being used...
in addiction treatment. He also works on behalf of people with AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. Paul DeRienzo was a close associate of Beal's, as was Thomas King Forcade, the founder of High Times magazine. The book Blacklisted News, is available from the Yippie Museum Press, 9 Bleecker St., NYC 10012, where Beal lives, and which also houses the Yippie Museum. The Yippie Museum Cafe and display area now occupies the first floor of Nine Bleecker Street, a landmark building designed by the partner of Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
, the man who designed Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
.
Beal serves today on the board of the Yippie Museum. It is dedicated to preserving the activities and artifacts of the Youth International Party
Youth International Party
The Youth International Party, whose members were commonly called Yippies, was a radically youth-oriented and countercultural revolutionary offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movements of the 1960s. It was founded on Dec. 31, 1967...
. The Yippie Museum was chartered by the Board of Regents of New York State at their March 21, 2006 meeting.
2008 arrest
Beal was arrested June 3, 2008 in Mattoon, IllinoisMattoon, Illinois
Mattoon is a city in Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 18,555 as of the 2010 census. It is a principal city of the Charleston–Mattoon Micropolitan Statistical Area.Mattoon was the site of the "Mad Gasser" attacks of the 1940s....
about 170 miles south of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
on suspicion of money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
. The Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reported that he appeared before a judge on June 12, and was charged with obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice
The crime of obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, refers to the crime of interfering with the work of police, investigators, regulatory agencies, prosecutors, or other officials...
. He was released on $7,500 bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
.
According to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, police responded to a report of 2 women arguing at a restaurant. The 2 women were traveling with Beal and another man. Mick McAvoy is the first assistant state’s attorney for Coles County, Illinois
Coles County, Illinois
Coles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 53,873, which is an increase of 1.3% from 53,196 in 2000. Its county seat is Charleston, which is also the home of Eastern Illinois University....
. According to the Times, "Mr. McAvoy said witnesses told the police that Mr. Beal had placed bags beneath nearby vehicles. Mr. McAvoy said the police found two duffel bag
Duffel bag
A duffel bag is a large cylindrical bag made of cloth with a drawstring closure at the top....
s containing more than $150,000 in cash. At that point, Mr. McAvoy said, a drug-sniffing dog was brought in to smell the bags." According to Beal's attorney, Ronald Tulin of Charleston, Illinois
Charleston, Illinois
Charleston is a city in and the county seat of Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 21,838 as of the 2010 census. The city is home to Eastern Illinois University and has close ties with its neighbor Mattoon, Illinois...
, the police said the money smelled of marijuana.
On August 6, 2008 Judge Richard Scott found probable cause
Probable cause
In United States criminal law, probable cause is the standard by which an officer or agent of the law has the grounds to make an arrest, to conduct a personal or property search, or to obtain a warrant for arrest, etc. when criminal charges are being considered. It is also used to refer to the...
for a jury trial
Jury trial
A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge...
for Irvin Dana Beal, 61, of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Jesse Balcom, 31, of Silver Spring
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. The trial began in November 2008 on obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice
The crime of obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, refers to the crime of interfering with the work of police, investigators, regulatory agencies, prosecutors, or other officials...
charges, because it was alleged that Beal and his associate were hiding the bags of money in expectation that the police might search their van. The outcome of the trial was that Beal pled guilty to misdemeanor marijuana possession and was fined $1,300. Obstruction of justice charges were dismissed. Federal authorities are seeking forfeiture of the money involved.
2009 arrest
Dana Beal, Christopher Ryan, and James Statzer were arrested at 10:35 p.m. on September 30, 2009 in Ashland, NebraskaAshland, Nebraska
Ashland is a city in Saunders County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 2,262 at the 2000 census.- History :Ashland is located at the site of a low-water limestone ledge along the bottom of Salt Creek, an otherwise mud-bottomed stream that was a formidable obstacle for wagon trains on the...
. Police claim that they were stopped because the conversion van they were in was driving erratically, and because the rear license plate was obstructed. Police allegedly found 150 pounds of marijuana in the van. All 3 face charges of possession with intent to deliver and having no drug tax stamp. Ryan and Statzer are being held on $100,000 bond each. Beal is being held on $500,000 bond. According to the Omaha World-Herald
Omaha World-Herald
The Omaha World-Herald, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is the primary daily newspaper of Nebraska, as well as portions of southwest Iowa. For decades it circulated daily throughout Nebraska, and in parts of Kansas, South Dakota, Missouri, Colorado and Wyoming. In 2008, distribution was reduced to the...
Saunders County Attorney Scott Tingelhoff said that there was an effort on the web to raise Beal's bail. He must raise 10 percent ($50,000) in order to be released. Beal is being represented in his case by Glenn Shapiro of the law firm Schaefer and Shapiro in Omaha Nebraska.
2011 arrest and conviction
Dana Beal was arrested on Jan. 6, 2011 with 186 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop in Barneveld, WisconsinBarneveld, Wisconsin
Barneveld is a village in Iowa County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the fourth most populous community in Iowa County, while the second largest village, and largest village located fully within the county. The population was 1,088 at the 2000 census...
. He and driver Lance Ramer of Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
are currently being held on $50,000 bond each in the Iowa County
Iowa County, Wisconsin
Iowa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 22,780. Its county seat and largest city is Dodgeville.Iowa County is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:According to the U.S...
Jail in Dodgeville
Dodgeville, Wisconsin
Dodgeville is the most populous city and county seat of Iowa County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,698 at the 2010 census, making it the 9th largest city within the Madison metropolitan area. The Greater Dodgeville Area however had a population of 6,529...
. Beal hasn't been formally charged. Authorities won't release the police report because Federal officials say it might compromise a national drug investigation which runs "from California to New York, with multiple locations."
On September 20, 2011 Dana Beal was sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison. He was credited with 267 days already served for the time he was in jail. After he gets out of prison he will be on parole for 2 and a half years.
External links
- CannabisNews.com archive of media articles mentioning Dana Beal.
- Ibogaine dossier web site.
- Dana Beal on Ibogaine Clinics, and his 2008 arrest
- Dana Beal. Global Marijuana March, Cannabis Wiki.