ROSEVILLE POT SELLER SENT TO FEDERAL PRISON, FINED

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.