| Pot.tv |
| Aaron Sandusky faces 10 years to life in federal prison. He will be sentenced next month. |
This month will see a number of patients sentenced, sent to prison despite compliance with state medical marijuana laws
Fallout from the Obama Administration’s aggressive federal enforcement in medical marijuana states has reached a fever pitch this month with three people being sentenced, two others due to surrender to federal authorities to serve out sentences of up to five years in prison, and one federal trial in Montana currently scheduled for January 14.
Two of the three people being sentenced in the coming month — Montana cultivator Chris Williams and Los Angeles-area dispensary operator Aaron Sandusky — face five and 10 years to life, respectively.
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| Kris Hermes, Americans for Safe Access: “The number of patients being locked up by the Obama Administration is unprecedented and deplorable” |
“The number of sick patients being locked up by the Obama Administration is unprecedented and deplorable,” said Kris Hermes, spokesperson for Americans for Safe Access (ASA), a medical marijuana advocacy organization. “Aggressive enforcement is an unacceptable means of addressing medical marijuana as a public health issue.
“The Obama Administration is lying to the American people when it says it’s not targeting individual patients and these cases are clear evidence of that,” Hermes said.
Montana patient cultivator Richard Flor died in August while serving out a five-year prison sentence.
Five cultivators claiming to be in compliance with Michigan’s medical marijuana law were sentenced in October.
Two of the cultivators — Jaycob Montague and Jeremy Duval — are already serving their prison terms of 18 months and 5 years, respectively, and two others — John Marcinkewciz and Shelley Waldron — are scheduled to surrender to federal authorities on January 8 and 10, respectively. Waldron will be imprisoned for 18 months and Marcinkewciz for 5 years. The fifth cultivator, Jerry Duval (Jeremy’s father), was sentenced to 10 years, but has not yet been given a surrender date.
| Cannabis Wire |
| Chris Williams accepted a plea deal and faces from five years in federal prison. He will be sentenced next month. |
More than a dozen people were indicted after federal agents conducted raids on state-compliant medical marijuana businesses throughout Montana in March 2011. Only one, Chris Williams, went to trial and, like all other medical marijuana defendants who are tried in federal court, was denied a defense and swiftly convicted.
While facing more than 80 years of mandatory minimum sentencing, Williams accepted a rare post-conviction plea deal that reduced his charges and possible sentence to five years to life in exchange for his promise not to appeal his conviction. Williams, who is scheduled to be sentenced on February 1, worked at Montana Cannabis with Chris Lindsey, another indicted cultivator.
Lindsey, who testified against Williams at his trial, is expected to be sentenced today. Medical marijuana cultivator Jason Washington has one of the last unresolved federal cases in Montana. Washington is currently scheduled to go to trial on January 14.
Aaron Sandusky operated G3 Holistic in Upland, California, when he was federally indicted in June. Though Sandusky was arrested with several others, he was the only one who took his case to trial. In October, Sandusky was denied a defense in federal court and convicted at trial. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 7 to a minimum of 10 years to life.
Far surpassing his predecessor George W. Bush, President Obama has conducted more than 200 SWAT-style raids on state-compliant medical marijuana businesses and has indicted more than 80 people since he took office.
“How many medical marijuana patients is President Obama going to imprison before he considers other, more humane options?” asked Hermes. “The President must answer for why he’s going against his earlier pledges by spending Justice Department funds in this way, especially at a time of fiscal crisis.”