Chico pot grower must return to prison after years of freedom

[Royal Sloan 09]

Source: Sacramento Bee

Bryan James Epis, the first person associated with a California cannabis buyers' club to be tried in federal court for growing pot, must return to prison to serve the balance of a 10-year sentence.

Epis, 42, had been free for nearly six years on an order issued by the 9th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals after he had served more than two years of a 10-year sentence for growing and conspiring to grow marijuana.

The case, now nearly 13 years old, remains a rallying point for medical marijuana proponents nationwide, who view it as the ultimate injustice to come from the chasm between a state's allowance for medicinal use and the federal policy of zero tolerance.

In July 2002, a Sacramento jury found Epis planned to grow at least 1,000 plants and that he grew at least 100 plants in the spring of 1997 at his Chico residence. The fact the house is within 1,000 feet of Chico Senior High School is one reason Epis is not eligible for a term less than the 10-year mandatory minimum attached to the 1,000-plant conviction.


Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/02/22/2556332/chico-pot-grower-must-return-to.html

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Reading the comments section shows the type of people in the area and they're a disgusting group of Cannabis Bigots!

[ixion]

1. pathetic

end the so-called 'war' on drugs NOW!

[NecklyTyler]

6. pathetic and outrageous

A person who is 42 years old going to prison for 10 years for growing a plant?

California is going broke and they still pay to send people to jail for marijuana. Prison is for people who deserve to be there, like child molesters

[greg999]

12. entrapment

pot activists were led down the primrose path i'm sure for the very opportunity to snare the unaware

[NecklyTyler]

13. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[Freddie Stubbs]

2. No problem. Since this is a federal case, President Obama can simply pardon him

[SlingBlade]

4. Sure, Just like he did with Gov. Don Siegelman

[pretzel4gore]

3. USA was defeated when reagan was put in, in 1980

it was clear then that reactionaries had figured out how to exploit the law'n order crowd to place the privilege of the few before the need of the many. The exploition worked like this. The rightwing USES the hope of privilege by all to defraud the many of their needs, while the leftwing forced to USE the need of the many to TRY deny the privilege of the few (which hardly affect the many anyway, see rush limbo)
It is trickery; fraud, but it's easy to do
ronald reagan was a genius, as an actor...klol
(pot must be illegal because it grow everywhere, competes with textile/alcohol/drug industry, and is considered progressive/blackamerican. To fortify the illegal status of cannabis, tobacco is made a no no- though tobacco is legal means it's actually more profitable! iow it's 'win win' the musical toot of reactionarkies!)

[naaman fletcher]

5. Let's get a pardon campaign rolling. Nt

[davidhilton]

7. so confusing... california state law says it's legal - and federal law says illegal.

that's so confusing. is medicinal MJ legal or not in California?

[Angleae]

10. Illegal, federal law trumps state law.

[SoapBox]

8. A waste of taxpayer dollars...

Is it any frack'n wonder, we are in the fiscal problems that we are?

What idiot is wasting money on this case.

Outrageous.

[byronius]

9. And that is the truly bizarre thing about this.

What's your estimate for the total cost of the bust, trial, and appeal? Over a million?

And the benefit is.... an ideological triumph.

Oy.

[Dunky360]

11. Where is the justice?

How come Bush and Cheney were allowed to commit serious felonies in front of the entire world and they haven't spent one night in prison for their many crimes while non-violent drug offenders are spending years in prison? I guess the powers-that-be seem to think marijuana is a much more serious crime than destroying the whole world's economy and committing war crimes!

[Winterblues]

14. If only he would have committed "War Crimes" instead, he would never have to worry

Maybe even tortured a few people. But nooooooo he had to go and grow pot....Mandatory 10 years....