Man Obeyed Mich. Laws, But Will Serve 10 [years] In Federal Prison For Family Pot Operation

[a2liberal]

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/05/28/man-obeyed-mich-laws-but-will-serve-10-in-federal-prison-for-family-pot-operation/

DETROIT (WWJ) – Despite obeying state law, several Michigan marijuana patients are heading to prison because they violated federal marijuana laws.

...

“And in my case I’m a patient, I’m a one-hundred percent legal; the marijuana was registered to my son and my daughter and I get convicted for this,” he said.

...

Duval said that state officials had inspected his growing operation in Monroe County in June of 2011. “They found everything was in compliance with Michigan law. We didn’t do nothing wrong, the plant count was all there, the license was posted was in a locked secure facility,” he said.

Sentenced to 10 years. And people say the Obama administration hasn't persecuted patients...

[ForgoTheConsequence]

1. Unfuckingbelievable.

Two years ago tanks, armed police and arrived at the Duvuals growing operation as part of a federal raid two-years ago.

Your tax dollars at work ladies and gentleman.

[Initech]

2. For profit prisons: petty offenders get locked up, real criminals like the Koch's walk free.

[RainDog]

3. DEA assholes n/t

[Upton]

4. More on this..

53-year-old Michigan medical marijuana patient Jerry Duval, a kidney-pancreas transplant patient with coronary artery disease and a strict medication regimen, was sentenced earlier this year to 10 years in prison and will be surrendering to FMC Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts on June 11th. Duval will file a Compassionate Release Request this week, urging the the Bureau of Prisons to consider his extraordinary and compelling circumstances. Three other Michigan cultivators, Dennis Forsberg, 59, his son Lance Forsberg, 32, and Ryan Basore, 36, who were sentenced to 3-4 years in prison will be self-surrendering to FCI Morgantown in West Virginia on May 30th. - See more at: http://americansforsafeaccess.org/several-michigan-medical-marijuana-patients-surrender-to-federal-authorities-to-serve-lengthy-prison-sentences

There's a good chance this guy isn't even going to survive. His declining health makes this basically a death sentence. The feds ought to be ashamed..

[Nye Bevan]

5. I've never seen a better candidate for a Presidential pardon (nt)

[BlueCheese]

6. I disagree with federal marijuana laws.

I also think the feds should have used some discretion and not brought the hammer down on these folks.

But the argument that what he was doing was legal under Michigan law is a poor one. Everyone knows (or should know) that federal law trumps state law.

[a2liberal]

7. You're missing the point

Candidate Obama promised to stop prosecuting people who were using medical marijuana in accordance with state law. His staunchest defenders like to point out that most raids are technically not on patients, just on people providing those patients with access to their medicine (as if that doesn't hurt the patients anyway). This proves that the feds are still persecuting patients as well on top of that.

[TransitJohn]

8. Was trafficking what he grew across state lines? I don't think so.

Then how do federal drug laws apply?

[nebenaube]

10. Fuck that...

because it is the antithesis to the entire concept of local governance and contrary to the intent of the founding fathers.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

16. It's the universally accepted and applied law of the land.

I question your assertion that the intent of the founding fathers was not that federal law should not trump state law, but whether or not it was what they intended, it's universally accepted by the legal system as being the case, and has been at least since the civil war and I think long before.

Whether or not it's a good thing is debateable (my view is that it is; consider how the civil rights struggle would have gone had Alabama not been overruled by federal law), but it's certainly how things currently are.

[Robb]

9. Obeyed *some* Michigan laws, it appears.

Unless recreational cannabis is legal in Michigan. A jury was unconvinced, apparently:

Federal prosecutors persuaded a jury that the Duvals used medical marijuana as a front while tallying big profits by peddling marijuana to non-patients.

I support both MMJ and frankly legalization, FWIW.

[Cha]

11. thanks for bringing all the evidence into view, Robb.

[Warren DeMontague]

13. And how much did the operation- the one with the tanks, and swat team- cost?

How much is it going to cost to keep this guy in prison for 10 years, longer than some people serve for actual violent crimes?

The drug war is a fucking joke.

[Cha]

14. Yeah, I agree.. it's just weed.

It's high fucking time it was legalized everywhere.

Wonder how long that will take? this Century?

[Warren DeMontague]

15. I think we're closer than we've ever been. What was left of the rationale is crumbling.

I can't speak to all the states, but I think prohibition's days are numbered for most of the country. Once enough states sign off on ending marijuana prohibition, maintaining it as a Federal issue becomes silly.

[Warren DeMontague]

12. Yay! Our tax dollars at work! Who needs Austerity?????

BUILD MORE PRISONS, I THINK I SAW GRANNY SPARK A DOOB!



CALL THE SWAT TEAM AND THE MILLION DOLLAR AN HOUR HELICOPTER UNIT, SHE'S HEADING FROM THE CHEMO CENTER TO GET ICE FOR HER BONG! BUST HER!! !WWWOOOOOO HOOOOOO $$$$ $DRUG WAR WOOOOOOTTT$$$$$$

[enough]

17. k&r (nt)

[NCTraveler]

18. Appears as though he broke state and federal laws.

Both state and federal laws need to change. First the attitude of police and the public need to change. The public has truly come around. The police seem to actually be getting worse. And it is a top down issue when talking about overzealous enforcement of laws. If the top man is more than eager to go after them, then the smaller fish will be even more strong handed. They like to please their superiors.

[indepat]

19. Persecute medical marijuana but don't prosecute Wall Street fraudsters: what a quixotic,

diabolical, and shameful legacy. Shame, shame!

[randome]

20. The guy has cancer. Nowhere does the article say he needed marijuana for pain management.

I agree it's pointless to sentence someone to 10 years for this but the guy was 'growing with intent to distribute' and, as noted above, a jury agreed with that.

[hr]
[font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font]
[hr]