Longtime marijuana advocate and veteran of Yippies pleads guilty to Ill. pot charge

By Associated Press

12:52 PM CDT, May 20, 2009
CHARLESTON, Ill. (AP) â?? A longtime advocate for marijuana legalization and veteran of the countercultural Yippies has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor marijuana possession in eastern Illinois.

Sixty-two-year-old Irvin Dale "Dana" Beal of New York City was ordered to pay $1,300 in fines after pleading guilty Monday in Charleston. Obstruction of justice charges were dropped.

Beal was arrested in Mattoon in June 2008 after an argument at a Steak N' Shake restaurant. Police say Beal was carrying more than $150,000 in cash. Federal authorities are trying to force him to forfeit the money.

Beal has long advocated marijuana legalization for medical use. In the 1960s, he was a well-known member of the Yippies, or Youth International Party.