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The president of an advocacy group behind a lawsuit and a ballot measure challenging Montana's restrictive new medical marijuana law plans to plead guilty to a federal drug charge related to the 2011 raids on pot providers across the state.
Chris Lindsey is a co-founder of the now-defunct Montana Cannabis, one of the largest providers raided in the March 2011 crackdown on large medical marijuana operators in the state. More than two dozen people have been indicted or sentenced on various charges, from drug manufacturing to money laundering, since the raids.
Lindsey has struck a deal with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to conspiracy to maintain a drug-involved premises. The charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine upon conviction.
The plea agreement, filed Friday, drops several other charges, including conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana and possession of a firearm during a drug-trafficking offense.
Lindsey said Tuesday that previous rulings by U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in similar cases made it likely that he would not be able to testify about his belief that Montana Cannabis was in compliance with the state's medical marijuana law.
"I've got to strike a balance between my beliefs and my obligations as a husband and a father," Lindsey said. "The purpose to go to trial is to tell my story. It doesn't appear that will be possible."
He will appear in court Sept. 6, the same date his former partner, Tom Daubert, is to be sentenced on the same charge.
Lindsey is the public face of the Montana Cannabis Industry Association, which has fought hard against a 2011 state law that banned medical marijuana providers from making a profit and restricted who could qualify as a registered user.
The association's lawsuit led a judge to block portions of the new law, including the profits ban, while the litigation is pending. The Montana Supreme Court is weighing whether to keep the district judge's injunction in place.
An association-backed referendum asking voters to repeal the 2011 law will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot.
"It won't affect our case. It won't affect our mission," Lindsey said of his pending guilty plea. "I think there will be plenty of others to fill my shoes and continue with the fight."
Daubert made a plea deal earlier this year and is asking a judge for a sentence of probation with community service. Federal prosecutors are recommending a prison sentence between 6 1/2 and eight years.
Another Montana Cannabis partner, Richard Flor, was sentenced earlier this year to five years in prison. A fourth partner, Chris Williams, is still fighting the federal charges, as is Dan Nichols, a former Montana Cannabis employee who is known for kidnapping a world-class biathlete in the 1980s with his father in a scheme to make the woman his mountain bride.
Williams and Nichols are scheduled to go to trial Sept. 24.
Lindsey and the others formed Montana Cannabis in 2009. The business provided pot for about 300 people and had locations in Helena, Missoula, Billings and out of the Flors' Miles City home.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: therepublic.com
Author: Matt Volz
Contact: The Republic - Contact information
Website: Medical marijuana advocacy group president to plead guilty to federal drug charge
Chris Lindsey is a co-founder of the now-defunct Montana Cannabis, one of the largest providers raided in the March 2011 crackdown on large medical marijuana operators in the state. More than two dozen people have been indicted or sentenced on various charges, from drug manufacturing to money laundering, since the raids.
Lindsey has struck a deal with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to conspiracy to maintain a drug-involved premises. The charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine upon conviction.
The plea agreement, filed Friday, drops several other charges, including conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana and possession of a firearm during a drug-trafficking offense.
Lindsey said Tuesday that previous rulings by U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in similar cases made it likely that he would not be able to testify about his belief that Montana Cannabis was in compliance with the state's medical marijuana law.
"I've got to strike a balance between my beliefs and my obligations as a husband and a father," Lindsey said. "The purpose to go to trial is to tell my story. It doesn't appear that will be possible."
He will appear in court Sept. 6, the same date his former partner, Tom Daubert, is to be sentenced on the same charge.
Lindsey is the public face of the Montana Cannabis Industry Association, which has fought hard against a 2011 state law that banned medical marijuana providers from making a profit and restricted who could qualify as a registered user.
The association's lawsuit led a judge to block portions of the new law, including the profits ban, while the litigation is pending. The Montana Supreme Court is weighing whether to keep the district judge's injunction in place.
An association-backed referendum asking voters to repeal the 2011 law will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot.
"It won't affect our case. It won't affect our mission," Lindsey said of his pending guilty plea. "I think there will be plenty of others to fill my shoes and continue with the fight."
Daubert made a plea deal earlier this year and is asking a judge for a sentence of probation with community service. Federal prosecutors are recommending a prison sentence between 6 1/2 and eight years.
Another Montana Cannabis partner, Richard Flor, was sentenced earlier this year to five years in prison. A fourth partner, Chris Williams, is still fighting the federal charges, as is Dan Nichols, a former Montana Cannabis employee who is known for kidnapping a world-class biathlete in the 1980s with his father in a scheme to make the woman his mountain bride.
Williams and Nichols are scheduled to go to trial Sept. 24.
Lindsey and the others formed Montana Cannabis in 2009. The business provided pot for about 300 people and had locations in Helena, Missoula, Billings and out of the Flors' Miles City home.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: therepublic.com
Author: Matt Volz
Contact: The Republic - Contact information
Website: Medical marijuana advocacy group president to plead guilty to federal drug charge
