Vandalia, MI: Federal and state law enforcement agents shot and killed a pair of outspoken marijuana-law reform advocates on their property this week, violently ending a multi-day standoff with authorities. The shooting victims, Rainbow Farm owner Grover "Tom" Crosslin and partner Rolland Rohm, were well known locally for their support of the "medical, spiritual and responsible recreational uses of marijuana," and were described by friends and neighbors as caring individuals who often staged charity events for the community.

Rainbow Farm hosted several annual music festivals to raise awareness about marijuana prohibition, including HempAid and RoachRoast. Authorities claimed that Crosslin violated a court order by holding a recent festival in August. Crosslin and five others had been charged by police in May with manufacturing marijuana and maintaining a drug house after undercover officers allegedly observed marijuana and other drug use by festival attendees. Authorities descended on Rainbow Farm Friday, after Crosslin set fire to several buildings on his property that had been targeted for civil forfeiture and missed a scheduled bond revocation hearing.

NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup called the fatal outcome a needless tragedy. "Law enforcement should never cause greater harm than the alleged criminal activity they are entrusted to investigate," he said. "Crosslin and Rohm were charged with non-violent, marijuana-related offenses and paid for it with their lives. If authorities can use tranquilizer guns to still wild animals and rubber bullets against large crowds of WTO protesters, it's inexcusable that they used deadly force against these two men."

Both the Justice Department and the Michigan State Police will commence full investigations into the shootings, the Associated Press reported.

For more information, please contact Keith Stroup or Donna Shea, NORML Litigation Director, at (202) 483-5500.