Medical marijuana users caught in state-federal conflict

The grandfather and several members of his family are facing federal charges for something the state of Washington has considered legal for more than 15 years.

Steph Sherer - The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely hers.

 

Larry is a medical marijuana patient. He legally used cannabis to treat severe pain, caused by a lifetime of work as a commercial fisherman and long-haul truck driver. Larry and his wife, Rhonda, live in the mountains outside a tiny town called Kettle Falls, where they garden, hunt and fish for nearly all of their food. Cannabis was among the dozens of herbs that grew on their property.

(CNN) -- Ten years in prison seems like a life-changing sentence for most people, but for 70-year-old Larry Harvey, it would effectively be a death sentence.

The tranquility was shattered on a hot August day in 2012, when armed state and federal agents stormed the Harvey homestead in the first of three raids, conducted at a big expense to taxpayers. Despite his poor health and low risk to society, Larry was handcuffed and sent to jail by the government, after prosecutors said guns were found along with the marijuana. By the time a judge released him 17 days later, Larry was unable to walk because of a severe gout flare-up caused by his lack of health care in jail and can now only walk very short distances.

Larry is the latest in a long line of desperately ill patients who have suffered enormously while enduring prosecution for medical marijuana.

Jerry Duval, a dual transplant recipient from Michigan, is serving a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence at a federal medical prison.

Aaron Sandusky, a provider from California, is locked up in Texas with a heart condition that could claim his life without proper medication.

Tragically, best-selling author Peter McWilliams died from complications of HIV and cancer after the terms of his federal probation outlawed the use of cannabis. And there are, unfortunately, many others.

Continue readign and watch the excellent CNN piece:

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/05/opinion/sherer-medical-marijuana-prosecutions/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Editor's note: David Mattingly talks to Larry and Rhonda Harvey about their case Monday night on Erin Burnett OutFront at 7 p.m. ET on CNN. Steph Sherer is founder and Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access, a national organization that seeks to promote safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research.