EX-BALLOON SELLER ADMITS POT CHARGES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 1, 1992                   TAG: 9202010246
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
EX-BALLOON SELLER ADMITS POT CHARGES
The former owner of a Roanoke balloon business was convicted this week of dealing in marijuana as well.
Charles Edward Gowen, 38, pleaded guilty in Roanoke Circuit Court on Thursday to possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.
At the time of his arrest last March, Gowen was owner of Balloons Over Roanoke, a business that specialized in balloon arrangements and gifts.
Regional drug prosecutor Melvin Hill said that when police searched Gowen's Franklin Road home last year, they found about two pounds of marijuana.
Gowen no longer is involved with Balloons Over Roanoke, said his attorney, Tony Anderson.
Before his arrest, Gowen had advocated legalizing marijuana.
In a letter to the editor published in the Roanoke Times & World-News, he wrote that marijuana laws were outdated and unjust, and that the drug was far safer than alcohol.
"While the sellers of booze get rewarded with paychecks, the sellers of pot get prison," he wrote.
Gowen will face a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in April.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB