cannabisnews.com: Conviction in Federal Pot Trial





Conviction in Federal Pot Trial
Posted by CN Staff on July 12, 2002 at 07:41:54 PT
By Denny Walsh -- Bee Staff Writer
Source: Sacramento Bee
Bryan James Epis, who says he smoked marijuana for chronic pain and wanted to grow it for others who were sick, was found guilty Thursday by a jury in Sacramento federal court of conspiracy and manufacturing the drug.He faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison on the jury's finding that he conspired to eventually boost his crop to at least 1,000 plants. The panel also found that he grew at least 100 plants in the spring of 1997 at his Chico residence. 
The fact that his house is within 1,000 feet of Chico Senior High School could increase the penalty.Defense lawyer J. Tony Serra said there will be an appeal.Epis, 35, who has electrical engineering and law degrees, helped finance the start-up of a cannabis buyers club in Chico after voters approved California's 1996 initiative allowing the use of marijuana on a doctor's recommendation.His prosecution is the first federal criminal case involving such an organization to reach a jury.Sentencing was set for Aug. 26.U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. granted prosecutor Samuel Wong's motion that Epis be jailed pending sentencing. Wong pointed out that the law under which Epis was found guilty mandates immediate incarceration, and the judge agreed.Serra asked Damrell to circumvent the statute and allow his client to remain free until he is sentenced, but the judge wouldn't go along.Epis and Serra hugged, and Epis was led away by a deputy U.S. marshal.Even though medical necessity is not a defense in federal court against marijuana manufacturing charges, the jurors heard a lot of testimony from Epis and other defense witnesses on the subject, as well as argument by Serra.After being instructed by Damrell to disregard medicinal-use evidence and argument, the panel of eight women and four men took less than four hours to decide Epis' guilt.As he excused them, Damrell told the jurors they are now free to talk about the case.Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/3544428p-4571947c.htmlSource: Sacramento Bee (CA)Author: Denny Walsh -- Bee Staff WriterPublished: Friday, July 12, 2002Copyright: 2002 The Sacramento BeeContact: opinion sacbee.comWebsite: http://www.sacbee.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmMarijuana Grower Convicted in Jury Verdicthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13383.shtmlMedical Defense Slips Into Pot Trial http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13375.shtmlLawyer Asks Judge To Throw Out Two Chargeshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13296.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by Lehder on July 12, 2002 at 11:18:21 PT
show trial
There are two kinds of show trials: those, like this one, that attempt by any means at all to manipulate the collective conscious, and those, like Eichman's, that affirm it. We'll have show trials at the close of the drug war too.
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