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UID:Indybay-18486421
SEQUENCE:18512497
CREATED:20080318T002200Z
DESCRIPTION:  Federal Sentencing of Dr. Mollie Fry & Dale Schafer\nMarch 19th, 
 Sacramento U.S. Court House, 5th & I St.\nCouple Face Possible 5-Year 
 Minimum for Prop 215 Garden\n\n        The federal sentencing of medical 
 marijuana defendants Dr. \nMarion "Mollie" Fry and her husband, attorney 
 Dale Schafer, will take \nplace on Wednesday, March 19 at the US courthouse 
 in Sacramento at 2 \nPM (postponed from original date Mar 5).  It will be 
 preceded by a \npress conference at 1 PM in front of the courthouse. The 
 couple were \ndenied the right to defend their actions as being in 
 accordance with \nCalifornia's medical marijuana law, Prop. 215.\n        
 The couple face a likely 5-year mandatory minimum sentence \nfor conspiracy 
 to cultivate and dispense  medical marijuana for a \nsmall number of Dr. 
 Fry's patients.  They ran - and continue to run - \na popular medical 
 marijuana clinic in El Dorado County that provides \nrecommendations for 
 many needy patients in the Sierra Foothills: \nwww.docfry.com.\n          
 Like other federal defendants, they were denied the right to \nmention 
 medical marijuana or Prop 215 in their trial.  Both are in \nfragile health 
 - Dale suffers from hemophilia, hepatitis, and chronic \nback pain, and 
 Mollie is a breast cancer survivor.  The court denied \na request by 
 Schafer's doctor to let him use  Marinol to relieve his \npain after his 
 arrest. \n        The couple are currently caring for three beautiful 
 children \nand a grandchild in their home.\n          They were among the 
 first medical marijuana providers raided \nby the Bush administration,  
 just 17 days after 9/11, but were not \nindicted until June 22nd, 2005, 
 after the Raich decision was \noverturned by the Supreme Court.\n         
 The sentence they face is particularly egregious compared to \nother 
 defendants who have grown far more marijuana. They are liable \nto a five 
 year mandatory minimum because they were convicted of \ngrowing (not a lot 
 more than) 100 plants over a period of three \nyears, an amount far smaller 
 than is usually prosecuted by federal \nauthorities.  The jury was forced 
 to add three different years' worth \nof gardens to come up with the 100 
 plant count. They were not allowed \nto argue at their trial that local law 
 enforcement had entrapped them \nby telling them it was OK to grow their 
 relatively modest garden or \nthat they had received advice of counsel 
 supporting their right to \ngrow and care for others under California's 
 medical marijuana law, \nProp. 215. The Attorney General,  the District 
 Attorney and the \nSheriff in El Dorado County had all indicated support 
 for Dr. Fry and \nSchafer's activities, but the jury was also denied this 
 information.\n        Mollie Fry and Dale Schafer are among over 100 
 defendants who \nhave been federally charged for medical marijuana offenses 
 that were \narguably legal under California law: 
 \nwww.canorml.org/news/fedmmjcases.html.   The Eastern District of 
 \nCalifornia, including Sacramento, has seen a particularly aggressive 
 \ncrackdown against small-time offenders, led by US Attorney McGregor 
 \nScott:  www.canorml.org/news/EasternDistrictCrackdown.htm.\n        
 California NORML director and Prop. 215 co-author Dale \nGieringer 
 denounced the treatment of Dr. Fry and her husband as a \n"travesty of 
 justice"  and called  the conduct of US Justice \nDepartment officials  
 "cruel, vindictive, and mean-spirited."\n\nContacts:  Bobby 
 Eisenberg-FRY/SCHAFER Defense Committee\n           Bobby@docfry.com - 
 (530) 823-9963  - www.docfry.com\n                Dale Gieringer, 
 Coordinator, California NORML\n             canorml@igc\n\nCalifornia NORML 
 Press Release  Mar. 17th, 2008\n\n-- \nCalifornia NORML, 2215-R Market St. 
 #278, San Francisco CA 94114 \n-(415) 563- 5858 - www.canorml.org\n\n 
 https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/03/17/18486421.php
SUMMARY:Fry-Schafer Face Federal Sentencing
LOCATION:March 19th, Sacramento U.S. Court House, 5th & I St.
URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/03/17/18486421.php
DTSTART:20080319T200000Z
DTEND:20080319T220000Z
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