CALIFORNIA MAN SENTENCED AS FEDS HIT MEDICAL MARIJUANA

SACRAMENTO, CA (Reuters) - A federal judge Friday gave the longest
possible prison sentence for the offense to a Vietnam veteran who had
claimed that his ``medical'' marijuana crop was legal under California
state law.

U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell sentenced 52-year-old B.E. Smith
to 27 months in federal prison, the first such sentence since
California voters passed the ``Compassionate Use Act'' legalizing
medical uses of marijuana in 1996.

``Every day I'm in prison will be seen by me as another day in service
of my nation,'' Smith said before sentencing. ``I forgive you for what
you're about to do to me.''

Smith's case marked the latest clash over medical marijuana as
California seeks to resolve the conflict between federal laws banning
possession and cultivation of the drug and its own Proposition 215,
the pioneering state measure allowing its medical use.

Smith, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving
two tours of duty in Vietnam, obtained a prescription for medical
marijuana after the state law was passed in 1996. He subsequently
established himself as a ``caregiver'' to nine other patients, which
under the state measure would allow him to cultivate cannabis plants.

Long an outspoken champion of individual freedoms, Smith notified
county supervisors and the local sheriff that he was planting 87
cannabis plants, and even posted a sign in the middle of the field
identifying it as a medical marijuana garden.

In Smith's trial, however, Burrell granted a motion by federal
prosecutors seeking to ban any defense arguments related to the state
law or to assertions about marijuana's alleged medical benefits.

Smith's lawyers said Friday they would appeal Smith's
conviction.

``This decision demonstrates the lack of compassion that gave rise to
the need for Proposition 215 and medical marijuana initiatives in
other states,'' attorney Thomas Ballanco said.

A number of other U.S. states have followed California's lead and
passed state measures approving limited medical uses for marijuana.
But the federal government has vowed to assert the primacy of federal
anti-narcotics laws, leaving the issue in a legal limbo.