Sacto Mar 6th: Prop 215 Defendants Fry & Schaffer Face Federal Sentencing

Federal Sentencing for Medical Marijuana Defendants Dr. Mollie Fry &
Dale Schafer

PRESS RELEASE-March 2, 2008 COOL, CA

The federal sentencing of medical marijuana defendants Dr.
Mollie Fry and her husband, attorney Dale Schafer, will take place on
Thursday, March 6th at the US courthouse in Sacramento ( 5th and I
St.). The sentencing is at 10 AM. There will be a press conference
afterwards at noon in front of the courthouse.
Dr. Fry and her husband face a likely 5-year mandatory minimum
sentence for conspiracy to cultivate and dispense medical marijuana
for a small number of Dr. Fry's patients. They ran (and continue to
run) a popular medical marijuana clinic in El Dorado County that
provides recommendations for many needy patients in the Sierra
Foothills: http://www.docfry.com.
Like other federal defendants, they were denied the right to
mention medical marijuana or Prop 215 in their trial. Both are in
fragile health - Dale has hemophilia and suffers from chronic back
pain, and Mollie is a breast cancer survivor. They are currently
caring for three beautiful children and two grandchildren in their
home.
They were among the first medical marijuana providers raided by
the Bush administration, just a couple of weeks after 9/11 (9/28/01),
but were not indicted until June 22nd, 2005, after the Raich decision
was overturned by the Supreme Court. Dale Schafer had also run for
District Attorney in 2001.
The sentence they face is particularly egregious compared to
other defendants who have grown far more marijuana. They are liable
to a five year mandatory minimum because they were convicted of
growing (not a lot more than) 100 plants over a period of three
years, an amount far smaller than is usually prosecuted by federal
authorities. The jury was forced to add three different years' worth
of gardens to come up with the 100 plant count. They were not allowed
to mention at their trial that local law enforcement had entrapped
them by telling them it was OK to grow their relatively modest garden
or that they had received advice of counsel supporting their right to
grow and care for others under California's medical marijuana law,
Prop. 215. The Attorney General, the District Attorney and the
Sheriff in El Dorado County had all indicated support for Dr. Fry and
Schafer's activities, but the jury was also denied this information.
Dale Schafer is still meeting with the local Task Force (2/29/08)
made up of local law enforcement and medical marijuana advocates to
further implement the State and County guidelines regarding medical
marijuana.
Patients and medical marijuana rights supporters are invited to
attend and show their support for Mollie and Dale.
Bobby Eisenberg-FRY/SCHAFER Defense Committee
Bobby [at] docfry.com 530-823-9963
Dale Gieringer - California NORML
canorml [at] igc.org (415)-563-5858
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California NORML, 2215-R Market St. #278, San Francisco CA 94114
-(415) 563- 5858 - http://www.canorml.org