cannabisnews.com: DA, Pot-Club Founder In Talks For Plea Deal! 





DA, Pot-Club Founder In Talks For Plea Deal! 
Posted by FoM on July 27, 1999 at 13:50:52 PT
By Teri Sforza, The Orange County Register 
Source: Orange County Register
Jack Shachter is dying of lung cancer.He spent Monday morning at the hospital, enduring radiation treatment. He spent Monday afternoon in court, trying to sort out how he'll spend the rest of his life. At home? Or in prison?
Defendant, suffering from lung cancer, faces a virtual life sentence, attorney says. "I'm tired," Shachter said.Shachter is a co-founder of Orange County's Cannabis Co-Op, the local medicinal marijuana group that popped up after Proposition 215 passed in 1996. The co-op furnished pot to people with a doctor's recommendation to use the drug — in exchange for $20 "donations."In April 1998, Shachter gave pot to two undercover officers posing as caregivers to sick people, and accepted the "donations." He was arrested and charged with selling marijuana and possession of marijuana with itent to sell — felonies that could land him in prison for some four years.That's several years longer than he has left, his lawyer said.An agreement is in the works between Shachter and the District Attorney's Office that might keep Shachter out of prison for his last days. The D.A.'s office wants Shachter to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and a felony; Shachter's attorney hopes that felony can be reduced to a misdemeanor, because if Shachter pleads guilty to a felony he loses his Medi-Cal benefits."Mr. Shachter is not a felon," said James Silva, Shachter's attorney. "He's not a criminal at all."Shachter was arrested with fellow co-op founder Marvin Chavez. Last year, Chavez was found guilty of three felony counts of selling or transporting marijuana, and is serving a six-year prison sentence. Both men said they were simply trying to help people cope with pain, and were working within the bounds of the new law — as they understood it.There has been much confusion over how to implement Prop. 215, and a bill pending in the Legislature is aimed at clearing up the haze and ensuring that enforcement is consistent throughout the state.July 27, 1999#1 newspaper in Orange County, CaliforniaCopyright 1999 The Orange County RegisterPlease send comments to ocregister link.freedom.com 
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