SACRAMENTO – Yet again Tuesday, a purveyor of marijuana was sent to federal prison after claiming he thought he was within the law because of California's Compassionate Use Act.
Just before being led out of a Sacramento courtroom in handcuffs, Richard James Marino told a judge, "I'm a victim of a law that is backward and unfair."
He was referring to the federal Controlled Substances Act, which outlaws marijuana for any purpose.
On top of the federal zero tolerance policy that has been the downfall of many who claim medical use in conformance with state law, Assistant U.S. Attorney William Wong argued that, despite Marino's denial, his Old Town Roseville cannabis dispensary was operating at a profit.
Marino, 54, was sentenced Tuesday to four years and three months in prison and fined $2,500 by U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton, who ruminated about the "tension between the sovereigns" before imposing the penalties.
It was Karlton's first sentencing in a case involving a medical claim.
– Denny Walsh
