On Monday, May 2, at 2pm, medical cannabis patients Dr. Mollie Fry and her husband, attorney Dale Schafer, will turn themselves in to federal authorities in Sacramento, California to begin serving five year prison terms for cultivating cannabis.
Their family and friends, advocates from Americans for Safe Access, and other supporters will hold a rally and press conference at the federal courthouse in Sacramento beginning at 1pm.
A clemency petition was filed at the end of April on their behalf in the federal Eastern District Court of Sacramento and sent to President Obama in an effort to avoid or shorten their imprisonment.
Dr. Fry and Mr. Schafer were prosecuted in federal court for cultivating cannabis, though they were both qualified patients and never had more than 44 plants. Federal prosecutors successfully argued that they were guilty of felony cultivation and conspiracy that carries five-year mandatory minimum sentences because the number of plants they would have grown over several years added up to more than 100.
Dr. Fry used cannabis to ease the effects of chemotherapy used to treat breast cancer; she had a radical mastectomy in 1997. Her experience led her to start a specialized clinic for medical cannabis patients.
Mr. Schafer, an attorney, used cannabis to manage chronic back pain and symptoms related to his hemophilia. A candidate for district attorney in Eldorado County in 2001 and a contributor to the county's guidelines on cultivation, Schafer also taught cultivation classes for other patients and provided free medicine.
On September 28, 2001, more than 20 state and federal agents raided their home and offices, seizing 34 plants and less than 2 pounds of cannabis. Dr. Fry's private patient records were also seized.
Nearly four years later, in June 2005, Dr Fry and Mr. Schafer were arrested on federal charges of manufacturing and conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana. They were convicted at trial in August 2007 and sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Frank Damrell to 5 years each. They also had their licenses to practice medicine and law revoked.
They lost their appeal in November 2010, and in March Judge Damrell ordered them to surrender on May 2nd.
More information:
Clemency Petition
Background on Dr. Mollie Fry & Dale Schafer
Source: Americans for Safe Access (ASA)
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