San Marcos Seven

Four demonstrators of the San Marcos Seven: Joe Gaddy, Jeffrey Stefanoff, Joe Ptak, and Bill O’Rourke

The San Marcos Seven (or San Marcos 7) were seven demonstrators—Angela Atkins, Jody Dodd, Daniel Rodrigues Scales, Bill O’Rourke, Joe Gaddy, Jeffrey Stefanoff, and Joe Ptak—convicted of misdemeanor possession of cannabis following protests at the San Marcos, Texas, police station in March, 1991.[1][2][3]

Three of the protesters (Gaddy, Stefanoff, and Ptak) pleaded not guilty and were convicted by juries; two received prison sentences and one received probation. The four who pleaded guilty were given deferred adjudication and were sentenced to do community service work.[4][5]

While incarcerated, Gaddy and Stefanoff went on hunger strikes. A protest camp supporting the San Marcos Seven grew outside the Hays County Law Enforcement Center in June, 1993, while Stefanoff was incarcerated.[6][7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Express-News was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "San Marcos Journal; A Move for Marijuana Where the 60's Survive". The New York Times. April 10, 1991. If the situation here can be considered a throwback to the 60s, it comes without the violence and animosity that characterized the protests of old. There is no name-calling, for instance, between law-enforcement officers and marijuana smokers. The word "pig" does not come up here at all, except on the billboards that advertise Ralph, the swimming pig that gets star billing at Aquarena Springs, a local tourist attraction. The only sign of tension between the two sides is rooted in the sheriff's characterization of the movement's members as "old hippies."
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference High Times was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kerrville was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Paris News2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Express-News4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Observer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).