Five Year Terms for Schafer, Fry in Federal Medical Marijuana Case

A federal judge sentenced medical marijuana activists Dr. Marion Fry and her husband, Dale Schafer, to five years in prison Thursday, suggesting at the same time that federal law needs to "catch up" on the issue of medical marijuana.

(Above: Dr. Fry and Schafer. Photos from the website of ABC 10, photographer unknown. Below: Fry, Schafer and family members in August 2007. Photo from from a writeup by Tim Castleman, photographer unknown.)

U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. allowed Schafer and Fry to remain free pending appeal of their sentences, according to the Sacramento Bee's Denny Walsh.

"I'm not saying medical cannabis doesn't have a place in our society," Damrell said, "but federal law has not caught up with that notion."

Schafer and Fry operate an El Dorado County medical marijuana clinic. Their website is here. The statement that Fry submitted to the court in connection with the sentencing, which is well worth a read in its entirety, notes:

Throughout the entire period in which I am charged in this matter, I believed what I was doing was legal. I was born and educated in California. I required my patients to present a California drivers license and an independent Doctor's referral documenting their illness for which they were seeking to use cannabis. I also had them sign, under penalty of perjury, that they were telling the truth. I was trying to research into the medical use of cannabis and designed my practice so that law enforcement would have an easy time telling the legitimate patients from the frauds. The literature was clear that cannabis has medical benefit. The lawyers I talked to told me that what I was doing was legal. I joined a medical group that studies medical cannabis and I have been sharing information about the benefits of cannabis on sick people. I encourage patients to take cannabis orally apply it topically. I am trying my best to implement the California Compassionate Use Act.

 

Comments

[Carl E. Olsen]

Here we go again. Another case being argued on pure sympathy and no solid legal foundation. Gonzales v. Oregon, 546 U.S. 243 (2006), provides a complete defense to this federal nonsense. Are these folks using it? No.

[Peter]

You display bias by publishing his side of the story but omitting the prosecution's side.

Who or what gave him the power to decide who or who could not be treated?

If he does not have a license to prescribe cannabis, what gives him the right to break the law.

[Alex]

Peter, I am indeed biased, and I don't pretend to be otherwise. The entire point of this blog is that our society needs to reconsider the use of the criminal justice system as a mechanism for dealing with drugs, and I note as much on the "about the author" page of the blog.

[Sam Peck]

As a RN, I know how most drugs interact with the body. THC, itself, is the safest therapeutic drug known to mankind ( I think a Dr Koop once said that). Smoking marijuana, however, has its drawbacks. Smoke is not good for the lungs, that's a no brainer. The biggest problem is the impurity of the product consumed! When you buy it, you have no idea where it's been or what it may be contaminated with. It could be laced with something or been exposed to urine, you really don't know; a truly uncontrolled substance! England and Canada have legalized Sativex (a controlled substance), a smokeless, sublinquil dosed delivery that has proven very useful in MS and pt's with neuropathy. It soon will be tested here in the US. Anyone who says marijuana is dangerous or has no medicinal value is either totally ignorant of the drug or has other political agendas. As stated above, it's the contaminates that make pot risky. Therefore the ONLY way to make it safe is to legalize it and make it a truly controlled substance!