MAN COULD FACE LIFE IN PRISON FOR 3 GRAMS OF MARIJUANA, WHILE SEX
OFFENDERS MAY GET 5 YEARS

In Montana, Passing Someone a Bowl of Your Medical Marijuana Could
Put You in Prison for Life.

In a Missoula County courtroom... an eight-woman,
four-man jury found Matthew Otto, 27, guilty of a single charge of
criminal distribution of dangerous drugs - in this case, 3 grams (well
under an ounce) of marijuana. Otto faces a maximum penalty of life in
prison and a $50,000 fine.

Well under an ounce? How about close to a tenth of an ounce?
Regardless, Montana law defines sales or distribution (giving) any
amount of marijuana as a felony and allows for a one year to life
prison sentence and $50,000 fine. Otto is lucky he wasn't within 1,000
feet of a school or an additional three years minimum would be added.

Otto stood accused of sharing a bowl of his medical marijuana with two
friends in a car traveling down Reserve Street, where the trio passed
a Missoula County Sheriff's detective on his way home from work last
November.

How many times do I have to tell you people to not smoke pot in your
freakin' car?!? Even if parked but especially if moving!

Both [Deputy Missoula County Attorney Andrew] Paul and [Public
Defender Chris] Daly questioned potential jurors closely as to their
experiences with and attitudes toward marijuana - medical and
otherwise. Roughly half the 24 people from whom the eventual jury was
chosen raised their hands in response to a question as to whether
they'd smoked marijuana. While none had medical marijuana cards, five
had family members with "green" cards.

Yes, because over half of US adults aged 50 or younger have tried
marijuana. If that's going to be a disqualification for jury duty,
you're going to find it increasingly hard to seat juries (as happened
in Montana last year).

Samantha and Jordan Lambert, who was driving the car, originally told
Missoula County Sheriff's Detective Jon Gunter that they'd gotten the
marijuana from Otto, according to court papers. Wednesday, they
testified they didn't remember who lit the bowl or where the marijuana
in it came from.

Daly repeatedly pointed out that neither of the Lamberts was charged
with possessing or distributing marijuana, even though the bowl was
shared among the trio.

"The detective told me if I was honest with him about taking a hit off
the pipe, I would not be in trouble," Jordan Lambert testified.

[Missoula County Sheriff's Detective Jon] Gunter testified that as a
narcotics investigator, he felt it was more important to home in on
the source of the drug.

So this terribly dangerous 3g of medical marijuana that Otto
distributed to Jordan Lambert wasn't so dangerous that we needed to
charge the pot-smoking non-medical-marijuana-patient driving the car;
it was "more important to home in on the" legit medical marijuana
patient who was "the source of the drug"? Otto didn't hold a gun to
Lambert's head and force him to take hits while driving by an off-duty
sheriff. Lambert made a choice to endanger other drivers on the road
but the police feel the real danger is the patient medicating in the
back seat?

Sheriff's Deputy Bill Burt, who questioned Otto while Gunter was
talking with the Lamberts, videotaped that encounter.

On the tape, Otto told Burt that he had a medical marijuana card and
that he used cannabis for back and knee pain.

"I've got all kinds of pain from carrying all this equipment," Burt
replied. "... My point is, you're doing it for the recreation."

How do you know that, Deputy? Living with chronic pain is just that -
chronic. It exists at all times. Just because Otto shared a bowl with
two healthy people doesn't mean he wasn't using medically himself.

The point, Paul said after the trial, was that Otto's legal marijuana
became illegal the minute he gave it to someone else.

District Court Judge Dusty Deschamps had reminded jurors as they began
3 1/2 hours of deliberations that marijuana is classified as a
dangerous drug and that the amount of marijuana is immaterial.

Let this be a lesson to all patients out there. That pipe on your lips
is medicine. But that pipe on your healthy friend's lips is
transformed into a "dangerous drug" and you are no longer a patient.
Here in Oregon, the mere sight of your medicine in public transforms
it into a dangerous drug and you into a criminal. You can carry around
a pound and a half of usable cannabis, but if anyone can see even a
single stem or flake of it, a mere 29 grams of usable cannabis is
enough to get you a felony.

Otto was unwise in sharing his bowl with the driver of a moving car,
but that driver deserves more punishment than Otto does, and neither
of them deserve anything remotely close to life in prison and a
$50,000 fine.

And another lesson for patients? Hire a real lawyer - don't depend on
the public defender.

Meanwhile, the Montana House has passed a bill to increase the
penalties for sexual assaults:

Currently a person convicted of sexual assault is fined up
to $500 and can be imprisoned for up to six months. But under Sen.
Taylor Brown's bill, the penalties double for a second time offender
then increase to $10,000 and five years in prison for a third offense.

"When we look at this bill, we find kind of a inconsistency with a lot
of other statutes that we have, drunk driving, partner family member
assault, the third offense is a felony and typical sentence is five
years, violation orders for protection, stalking has progressively
increased penalties, even cruelty to animals has increased penalties,"
said Rep. Cary Smith, (R-Billings).

Got it? If we catch you for the third time sexually assaulting
someone, we could put you in prison for five whole years. But if you
pass someone a bowl of your medical marijuana, we could put you in
prison for life. Because in Montana, people like Missoula County
Sheriff's Detective Jon Gunter and Deputy Missoula County Attorney
Andrew Paul have their priorities in order.