US Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA) Tuesday introduced House Resolution 6134,
the Truth in Trials Act, which would allow defendants in federal
criminal prosecutions the ability to use medical marijuana evidence at
trial. The bipartisan legislation has 18 cosponsors so far, including
Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX).
This is not the first time around for the act — a version was first
introduced in 2003 and it has been introduced repeatedly since then —
but this time it comes as federal crackdowns in states like California,
Colorado, and Montana are creating an increase in federal drug
prosecutions against medical marijuana providers. Since the crackdowns
began, at least 70 people who were medical marijuana patients or
providers have been indicted on federal drug charges.
Currently
in federal criminal cases, medical marijuana providers are not allowed
to present evidence that they were operating under state medical
marijuana laws. Federal prosecutors can exclude all evidence of medical
use or state law compliance in federal trials, virtually guaranteeing
the convictions of medical marijuana patients and providers.
"The
federal government has tilted the scales of justice towards conviction
by denying medical marijuana defendants the right to present all of the
evidence at trial," said Congressman Farr. "My bill would restore due
process rights to law-abiding citizens acting within the parameters of
state and local laws. Juries should hear the entire story of a patient’s
medical marijuana use before choosing to convict, not the heavily
edited version they currently hear."
Under
the bill, people facing federal prosecution could "introduce evidence
demonstrating that the marijuana-related activities for which the person
stands accused were performed in compliance with state law regarding
the medical use of marijuana."
The
bill would also create an affirmative defense under federal law. "It is
an affirmative defense to a prosecution or proceeding under any federal
law for marijuana-related activities, which the proponent must
establish by a preponderance of the evidence, that those activities
comply with state law regarding the medical use of marijuana," the bill
says.
And the bill would make it
harder for the federal government to seize and destroy medical
marijuana. "No plant may be seized under any federal law otherwise
permitting such seizure if the plant is being grown or stored pursuant
to a recommendation by a physician or an order of a state or municipal
agency in accordance with state law regarding the medical use of
marijuana," the bill says.
"The
federal government should be leaving enforcement issues up to the local
and state officials who designed the medical marijuana laws in the
first place," said Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access,
the country’s leading medical marijuana advocacy group and strong
supporters of the legislation introduced today. "But, as long as the
Justice Department is going to arrest and prosecute people in medical
marijuana states, defendants ought to have a right to a fair trial. The
‘Truth in Trials’ Act will restore the balance of justice and bring
fundamental fairness to federal medical marijuana trials."
Most
federal medical marijuana cases result in plea bargains due to the
denial of a defense at trial. But some defendants still choose to fight
the charges — and they lose. That was the case with Morro Bay,
California, dispensary operator Charles Lynch, who was convicted and
sentenced in 2008 after being unable to cite his compliance with state
law.
Lynch is out on bail pending his
appeal, which is currently before the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals.
He’s doing better than Chico medical marijuana provider Bryan Epis, who
is currently sitting in federal prison working on a 10-year sentence
after fighting and losing his case and his appeals.
The
bill could help — not only with the immediate issue of medical
marijuana legal defenses in federal court, but also in the broader ambit
of marijuana law reform, advocates said.
"It’s definitely a step in the right direction, even if it isn’t as far-reaching as some of the other bills," said Marijuana Policy Project communications
director Morgan Fox, alluding to the four other marijuana-related bills
introduced in Congress this session. "If the administration is going to
continue cracking down they way they have been, it would be nice to
have an affirmative defense."
"This is the fifth marijuana bill this session," noted Drug Policy Alliance national
affairs director Bill Piper. "That’s a sign of momentum. It used to be a
struggle to get one introduced, and now we have five and could see even
more. When you look at issues that are moving, you see a lot of
competing bills. This is a good sign," he said.
Piper
held out little hope of any forward progress on the bill this year.
"It’s unlikely to go anywhere in the Republican-controlled House, but
you never know about next year," Piper said.
But while the conventional wisdom is that marijuana reform legislation is unlikely to move in the House, Fox isn’t so sure.
"The
needle seems to be swinging, and it’s possible House conservatives
might try to use this in a symbolic way to go against the administration
in an election period without having to significantly change their
policies," he said, noting the low number of federal prosecutions it
would actually effect. "It would be significant for the people getting
arrested, of course, but that number is fairly small."
Allowing
medical marijuana patients and providers to mount evidence that they
are complying with state medical marijuana laws is the right thing to
do, said Piper.
"It’s just
common sense to allow patients to tell juries the truth," Piper said.
"It’s not asking for much, just for defendants to be able to tell the
truth."
