A federal courtroom on Thursday granted the early launch of a person who’s served 14 years in jail over his position in working a state-legal medical marijuana dispensary in California—with the choose recognizing that compassionate launch is warranted, partially, as a result of dramatic shift within the authorized panorama for hashish.
Luke Scarmazzo was 26 years outdated in 2006 when he confronted federal prosecution over the California-based dispensary. He was sentenced to 21 years in federal jail over the exercise at a time earlier than the Justice Division began formally taking a extra hands-off strategy to state marijuana applications.
Activists have broadly cited his case as exemplary of the necessity for complete reform. That features Weldon Angelos, who obtained a presidential pardon beneath the Trump administration for a hashish case and has since develop into a significant determine within the clemency and drug coverage reform motion.
Angelos met Scarmazzo in jail, the place they served collectively for seven years. Angelos dedicated to his good friend that he’d advocate for his launch, and that effort paid off on Thursday with the choice from the U.S. District Court docket for the Jap District of California.
“Luke’s story is without doubt one of the most tragic tales of our felony justice system,” Angelos, who delivered the information to Scarmazzo on the cellphone on Friday morning, instructed Marijuana Second. “He was following state regulation however handled as a drug kingpin by the federal system. I’m lastly relieved that he can go house to his household and have an opportunity at rebuilding his life after serving 14 years in jail.”
“We’ve helped lots of people, however this one is totally different,” Angelos stated of his advocacy work via his non-profit The Weldon Venture. “Luke is my good friend and somebody I’ve been combating for since we have been in jail collectively seven years in the past. And now Luke has the flexibility to hitch us on this battle to free these we have now each left behind.”
Scarmazzo is anticipated to be launched on Friday.
Completely happy to announce that Luke is being launched at this time! The choose granted compassionate launch based mostly on coverage adjustments on the federal! https://t.co/dLiuAvSVBF
— Weldon Angelos (@weldon_angelos) February 3, 2023
As Decide Dale Drozd defined in his 29-page ruling, there are a selection of things that led the courtroom to find out that Scarmazzo was deserving of compassionate launch, which is supposed for instances the place there are “extraordinary and compelling” causes for reduction.
His co-defendant who served as CEO of the dispensary and confronted an equal conviction was pardoned beneath the Obama administration. His household is experiencing private struggles, together with his father who’s battling terminal most cancers. He exhibited good conduct in jail and has sources and job prospects to succeed.
What Angelos is hoping, furthermore, is that the choose’s perspective on the shift in marijuana coverage and enforcement will set up precedent that would affect extra federal courts to deal with hashish instances with related discretion.
“Defendant Scarmazzo is actually appropriate when he argues that there have been ‘dramatic adjustments within the authorized panorama regarding the sale and use of marijuana’ over the fifteen years since he was sentenced, together with ‘adjustments in [state] marijuana legal guidelines, Congress’s perspective, public sentiment, the Justice Division’s enforcement insurance policies, and…case regulation,’” the choose wrote. “That is notably true in California the place defendant was working his marijuana dispensary.”
“Whereas federal regulation stays unchanged—nonetheless making the possession, cultivation and distribution of marijuana illegal and topic to felony penalties—federal prosecutions for marijuana-related offenses have been curbed considerably, notably in states like California which have legalized these actions with some restrictions. Within the undersigned’s expertise, for probably the most half federal prosecution of marijuana offenses in California is now restricted to these offenders engaged in giant, unauthorized cultivation websites positioned on federal lands.”
The ruling additionally acknowledges that Congress has since 2014 constantly accredited an appropriations rider that typically prevents the Justice Division from utilizing its funding to intervene in state medical hashish applications. And it referenced feedback from U.S. Supreme Court docket Justice Clarence Thomas, who mirrored upon the “contradictory” and “unstable” marijuana coverage place of the federal authorities in 2021.
Additionally, “marijuana offenders who’re convicted of federal felony offenses now look like receiving considerably shorter sentences than prior to now,” the choose wrote.
“Briefly, there isn’t a doubt within the undersigned’s thoughts that those that violate nonetheless present federal marijuana legal guidelines at this time are being handled a lot in a different way by the federal felony justice system than these partaking in related conduct have been on the time of defendant Scarmazzo’s felony conduct (2004–06) and his prosecution, conviction and sentencing on this federal courtroom (2006–08),” Drozd stated.
These coverage elements on their very own may not have been sufficient to warrant compassionate launch beneath the present requirements, however the choose makes clear that Scarmazzo’s arguments can’t be completely ignored: The occasions have modified and proceed to alter, and it makes much less and fewer sense that some may serve a long time in jail whereas others are thought of reputable enterprise house owners largely unburdened by the specter of federal prosecution.
“It has been a privilege to work on Luke’s behalf over the previous few years,” lawyer Kerrie Dent of the agency King & Spalding stated in an announcement to Marijuana Second. “I’ve little doubt that Luke will use his freedom as a possibility not solely to work with teams just like the Weldon Venture to advertise social change, but additionally to mentor younger individuals in his group to make sure that they make good selections and use their skills in optimistic methods.”
“Decide Drozd issued a considerate, well-reasoned opinion and reached the fitting consequence,” Dent stated. “I consider he made the world a greater place by granting Luke’s movement for compassionate launch.”
Angelos added that what’s “attention-grabbing concerning the choice on this case is that the choose took into consideration the coverage adjustments on the federal stage in figuring out that Luke wouldn’t be topic to federal prosecution at this time.”
“The choose concluded that these adjustments within the authorized panorama round hashish represent extraordinary and compelling circumstances warranting a discount in sentence to time-served, which units a brand new precedent for these sorts of instances,” he stated.
The Biden administration, in the meantime, continues to face strain to do extra to grant hashish clemency after the president issued a mass pardon final 12 months for individuals who’ve dedicated federal marijuana possession offenses.
The pardons that he supplied don’t technically expunge these data, as that falls past his govt authority—however he’s inspired governors to comply with his lead by granting reduction on the state stage the place their authority could also be totally different and the place the majority of hashish instances have been prosecuted.
When it comes to releasing at the moment incarcerated individuals, that’s one thing that advocates have strongly pushed for on condition that there are nonetheless hundreds behind bars over federal hashish offenses. However Biden has made clear that he’s solely prepared to increase reduction to these with easy possession convictions and never those that’ve bought hashish, for instance.
The U.S. Sentencing Fee (USSC) just lately launched a report that confirmed record-low federal marijuana prosecutions over the last fiscal 12 months and famous that there aren’t any individuals at the moment serving time over hashish possession.
Learn the federal courtroom’s compassionate launch decision for Scarmazzo beneath:
Photograph components courtesy of rawpixel and Philip Steffan.