Cool Couple In Hot Water Over Marijuana

[Rocky Balboa]

Two Cool residents were sentenced to five years in prison early last week for manufacturing and selling large amounts of marijuana.

Cool professionals Marion "Molly" Fry, a doctor, and her lawyer husband, Dale Schafer, were found guilty by a federal jury of all charges.

The couple said they have been unfairly targeted and that the pot they were growing was completely legal and allowed under the California Compassionate Use Act.

"We never would have grown marijuana had it not been sanctioned by the Laws of the State of California, the Attorney General of California and the District Attorney and Sheriff's department of El Dorado County," Fry said. "Why aren't they being charged with conspiracy to violate federal law?"

Fry and Schafer were convicted after three hours of deliberation, said Rosemary Shawl, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The couple is out of custody pending an appeal.

The indictment contends Fry and Schafer cultivated 100 marijuana plants at their home and "knowingly and intentionally conspired" to distribute marijuana.

Schafer hired high-profile attorney J. Tony Serra, a San Francisco attorney who is well known for representing Ellie Nesler and members of the Symbionese Liberation Army.

Fry's San Francisco attorney, Laurence Lichter, said his client was a recovering cancer patient and used cannabis to suppress side effects of chemotherapy.

The indictment alleges that Fry and Schafer conspired to distribute marijuana and manufacture at least 100 plants. The couple has maintained their innocence.

According to a DEA action filed in 2002, Schafer kept processed marijuana in Fry's medical office and on "several occasions, he sold processed marijuana to individuals."

Fry and Schafer both deny any wrongdoing.

In El Dorado County, where Fry and Schafer live, valid medical marijuana patients, with a doctor's recommendation, are allowed to grow or possess no more than 20 plants at one time.

A federal indictment filed June 15, 2005 with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, contends that beginning on or about Aug. 1, 1999 through Sept. 28, 2001 the couple "knowingly and intentionally conspired with each other," and others to "distribute marijuana."

Source: Folsom Telegraph
Author: Penne Usher
Copyright: 2008 Gold Country Media
Website: Home - Folsom