cannabisnews.com: Court Reduces Prison Term for Pot Grower










  Court Reduces Prison Term for Pot Grower

Posted by FoM on April 13, 2001 at 07:51:48 PT
By Claire Cooper, Bee Legal Affairs Writer 
Source: Sacramento Bee 

A federal appeals court Thursday ordered at least a six-month reduction of B.E. Smith's prison term, ruling that a sentencing judge should have given credit to the Trinity County marijuana grower for his willingness to take responsibility for his crime.The decision could mean freedom soon for the Vietnam veteran who claimed he grew the drug because of "medical necessity" -- to ease his own post-traumatic stress disorder and to take care of nine fellow sufferers. His pot garden was on a friend's property near the town of Denny.
Smith's 1999 Sacramento federal court trial was the first in California involving a necessity defense in criminal proceedings after passage of the state medical marijuana initiative in 1996.The issue currently is before the U.S. Supreme Court in an unrelated civil case.Smith, meanwhile, is completing a 27-month sentence at a halfway house.U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. of Sacramento gave him the maximum sentence allowed by federal sentencing guidelines, saying he "never admitted moral wrongdoing." But Smith didn't have to do so, said a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, because he exercised his right to contest being prosecuted under the federal narcotics law.The appellate court ruled against Smith on all other grounds, including medical necessity. The judges agreed with Burrell that Smith could not be permitted to submit evidence of necessity because he did not first prove that he had no legal alternative to violating the law.Smith's only evidence consisted of a chiropractor's letter and a psychiatrist's affidavit, containing "no individualized assessment" of his symptoms, the court said.Unless the 9th Circuit holds up the case for possible further review, it will be returned to Burrell in a few weeks for a six- to 12-month sentence cut.Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)Author: Claire Cooper, Bee Legal Affairs WriterPublished: April 13, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Sacramento BeeContact: opinion sacbee.comWebsite: http://www.sacbee.com/Related Article:MMJ Advocate's Attorneys Argue for His Releasehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread4780.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml

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Comment #1 posted by C.C.Willey on April 24, 2001 at 19:13:49 PT:
Marijuana and Stress
I'm looking for articles that contain marijuana use and any effect it has on stress reduction. Preferrably studies done for scientific reasons. 
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