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The medical marijuana businessman who was convicted last spring on federal charges of distributing and manufacturing marijuana says he was unfairly targeted because of his status as a former University of Montana football player and a successful African-American entrepreneur.
Jason Washington broke his post-trial media silence Tuesday in a phone interview with the Missoulian from a private prison in Shelby.
"It's been a blatant, mean, ugly attack," he said.
His medical marijuana business, Big Sky Medical Marijuana Dispensary, was one of the largest operations in the state, which also made it appealing to federal investigators, he said.
And in targeting such a high-profile community member, he contended, prosecutors were able to shut the door on Missoula's flourishing medical marijuana industry.
"The simple fact is there are still dispensaries in Butte," Washington said. "They said this is against federal law ... then why are there still dispensaries in the state of Montana and 18 other states?"
Federal prosecutors would have agreed to a plea deal, but Washington decided to plead not guilty, believing he was innocent under Montana law.
His attorney, Kwame Manley of Patton Boggs in Washington, D.C., agreed.
"I took it to trial because I thought people — Montanans — would stand up for Montana laws," he said.
He was certain that a jury of Washington's peers would find him not guilty.
During the trial, though, Washington believes he was intentionally painted as an inner-city thug. He said federal prosecutor Tara Elliott likened him once to the infamous mobster John Gotti — to which Manley objected.
She also played recordings of conversations between Washington and his family and friends in California using inner-city slang, again to portray him as a dangerous drug dealer, he said.
Washington was sentenced to two years in federal prison — a sentence that prosecutors are appealing in hopes of securing a five-year sentence.
"If I could do it all over again, I probably would have taken a plea deal," Washington said.
So far, he has spent 99 days of his sentence in three different detention facilities and will transfer from Shelby to Nevada at an undesignated date in the future. He hopes to spend the remainder of his sentence close to his family in California.
After he gets out of prison, Washington plans to bring his 19 new business ideas to a state other than Montana.
"When I needed help, Montana didn't stand up for me — not the city, not the state, and not the citizens who sat on the jury," he said.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: mtstandard.com
Author: Kathryn Haake of The Missoulian
Contact: MTStandard.com | Contact Us
Website: Jason Washington says he was targeted for drug charges
Jason Washington broke his post-trial media silence Tuesday in a phone interview with the Missoulian from a private prison in Shelby.
"It's been a blatant, mean, ugly attack," he said.
His medical marijuana business, Big Sky Medical Marijuana Dispensary, was one of the largest operations in the state, which also made it appealing to federal investigators, he said.
And in targeting such a high-profile community member, he contended, prosecutors were able to shut the door on Missoula's flourishing medical marijuana industry.
"The simple fact is there are still dispensaries in Butte," Washington said. "They said this is against federal law ... then why are there still dispensaries in the state of Montana and 18 other states?"
Federal prosecutors would have agreed to a plea deal, but Washington decided to plead not guilty, believing he was innocent under Montana law.
His attorney, Kwame Manley of Patton Boggs in Washington, D.C., agreed.
"I took it to trial because I thought people — Montanans — would stand up for Montana laws," he said.
He was certain that a jury of Washington's peers would find him not guilty.
During the trial, though, Washington believes he was intentionally painted as an inner-city thug. He said federal prosecutor Tara Elliott likened him once to the infamous mobster John Gotti — to which Manley objected.
She also played recordings of conversations between Washington and his family and friends in California using inner-city slang, again to portray him as a dangerous drug dealer, he said.
Washington was sentenced to two years in federal prison — a sentence that prosecutors are appealing in hopes of securing a five-year sentence.
"If I could do it all over again, I probably would have taken a plea deal," Washington said.
So far, he has spent 99 days of his sentence in three different detention facilities and will transfer from Shelby to Nevada at an undesignated date in the future. He hopes to spend the remainder of his sentence close to his family in California.
After he gets out of prison, Washington plans to bring his 19 new business ideas to a state other than Montana.
"When I needed help, Montana didn't stand up for me — not the city, not the state, and not the citizens who sat on the jury," he said.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: mtstandard.com
Author: Kathryn Haake of The Missoulian
Contact: MTStandard.com | Contact Us
Website: Jason Washington says he was targeted for drug charges
