Feds seek prison for rural Washington pot growers

Yahoo ^ | 5/10/14 | Johnson

[mgist]

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The green-cross storefronts of medical marijuana dispensaries are common in much of Washington, and the state is plowing ahead with licensing people to grow and sell recreational pot to adults. But a federal trial scheduled to begin in the coming weeks for five people in Spokane suggests not all is OK with weed in the state. Larry Harvey, a 70-year-old medical marijuana patient with no criminal history, three of his relatives and a family friend each face mandatory minimum sentences of at least 10 years in prison after they were caught growing about 70 pot plants on their rural, mountainous property. The Harveys did have guns at their home, which is part of the reason for the lengthy possible prison time. They say the weapons were for hunting and protection, but prosecutors say two of the guns were loaded and in the same room as a blue plastic tub of pot. Medical marijuana advocates have cried foul, arguing the prosecution violates Department of Justice policies announced by Attorney General Eric Holder last year that nonviolent, small-time drug offenders shouldn't face lengthy prison sentences. "This case is another glaring example of what's wrong with the federal policy on cannabis," said Kari Boiter, Washington state coordinator for the medical marijuana group Americans for Safe Access. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Harrington, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Spokane, said he could not discuss the upcoming trial or the office's general approach to pot crimes. But the case illustrates discrepancies in how law enforcement officials are handling marijuana cases as Washington — with the Justice Department's blessing — moves ahead with its grand experiment in pot legalization. Medical marijuana gardens the size of the Harveys' rarely draw attention from authorities in the Seattle area.

[blueplum]

the legal problem is, if one is a medical marijuana patient, one cannot own a gun. Which is pretty stupid if you ask me. It’s like being convicted of a felony without bothering using the courts, leaving patient homeowners defenseless against burglary and home invasion (not to mention the mountain top occassional bear, wolf, or mad dogs). On the other hand, one can go down to the pharmacy and pay big pharma for some legal-type painkillers, and own all the guns one wants. Go figure.

[leapfrog0202]

Or a family of four who all suffer from the same illness (diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.).

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It’s the husband, his wife, the wife’s son & the son’s wife. So the odds are unlikely that they would all have an illness that would require medical marijuana. That’s the point I was making. I didn’t say anything about searching anyone or anything like that.

Here in NM you can get medical marijuana for not being able to sleep or headaches and I was pointing out that prescriptions for it are obviously given out rather freely there also.

[Ken H]

What business is that of the feds?

[Yo-Yo]

If the pot was grown, possessed, and used all within Washington State, then were is the Federal jurisdiction?

[silverleaf]

as long as you pay taxes on it

or pay something to whoever lets you grow it

that’s what makes all the arguments for making it legal you know ... taxing it
why shouldn’t the govt get some of that revenue the cartels have been raking in? think of the women and children

[Mycroft Holmes]

If the pot was grown, possessed, and used all within Washington State, then were is the Federal jurisdiction?

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Like all power, it grows out of the barrel of a gun.

Fight the Free Sh☭t Nation

[Orangedog]

That is why drug smugglers and dealers are so wonderfully inventive in evading the law and will ever continue to be so unless you want to live in North Korea.

I think you will find lots of people here who would be very okay with that kind of police state if they were told it was the only way to make them damn potheads do as they're told.

[USNBandit]

The law is pretty explicit when it comes to growing medical marijuana in this state, you are allowed 12 plants per person and can collectivize to a limit of I think 60 plants.

as far as everybody in the family having a medical pot card, I am not surprised at all. The requirements for a card are a joke. I could probably walk into the average dope doctor complaining about bad menstrual cramps and walk right out with a card, and I'm male.

I think most medical marijuana is a joke. The thing I like about Washington's medical MJ law is that it allows people to grow their own so they aren't paying through the nose for dope at a "dispensary." The down side is that there is no enforcement these days and I don't appreciate guys firing up on the street in front of my kids. That is illegal, but not enforced.

[Georgia Girl 2]

The government does not tolerate competition. Pot and guns they call fortressing and nail you for a longer prison sentence.