
Obama, like
Patrick Kennedy, is just another politician who has been
bought and paid for by the pharmaceutical industry. As such, he has
reneged on his promise to not go after medical marijuana providers. As a result, a lot of decent, hardworking people face prison sentences for nothing but having operated legitimate businesses in compliance with state laws. One such person, Matt Davies of California,
faces 10 years for supplying medical marijuana. Here is Davies's wife Molly's heart-wrenching plea to the anti-pot president (h/t Reason):
Dear Mr. President:
I am writing to you as a wife and mother of two young daughters,
whose 34-year old husband, Matthew Davies, faces10 years or more in federal prison for providing medical marijuanato sick people in California, even though he complied with
state law concerning medicinal cannabis. My questions to you are
simple:
- What has my husband done that would justify the federal
government forcing my young daughters to grow up without a
father?
- How can your Administration ignore the will of the California
people and prosecute this good, law-abiding man for doing exactly
what state law permits?
Mr. President, my husband is not a criminal and shouldn't be
treated like one. Matt is not a drug dealer or trafficker. He's not
driving around in a fancy car and living in some plush
mansion--trust me. My husband is a regular guy, and we're a
regular, middle-class family. Yet even though Matt took great pains
to follow state and local law, he is currently facing a severe
prison sentence. This all seems so surreal.
Last month you told Barbara Walters that federal law enforcement
authorities would not go after people in Colorado and Washington
for marijuana-related crimes because it makes no sense for the
government to "focus on recreational drug users in a state that has
already said that under state law that's legal." You said that the
federal government has "bigger fish to fry."
If that's true, why are federal prosecutors in Sacramento
threatening my husband, Matt, with 10 years to life in federal
prison for providing medical marijuana to California patients who
are legally allowed to possess and use it? Matt did nothing illegal
under our state and local laws. He has no criminal record. He is a
hard-working family man and a loving, kind husband and father.
We are confused and absolutely terrified.
We'll see if the White House responds to this plea or just ignores it as it has ignored so many. Remember, often times, the casualties of the pharmaceutical industry-sponsored War on Drugs are
innocent people with families.
We must rally to his defense. No question he is caught in a Kafka like moment. Make some noise about this travesty.
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