NY: Federal Drug Case Almost Turned To Marijuana Classification

Katelyn Baker

Well-Known Member
Ischua - Lawyers for a man accused of growing almost 700 marijuana plants a year ago tried to claim the drug's legal classification violated his civil rights before the man pleaded guilty.

Public defenders for Randy Wade Kenyon, 58, who was sentenced Tuesday to two years in federal prison on marijuana charges from 2015, filed a motion in May asking the court to drop the marijuana growing charge, claiming the drug's continued classification as a Schedule 1 drug was a violation of Kenyon's civil rights, noting Schedule 1 classification means a drug has no medical value.

"Especially irrational, however, is the government's insistence that marijuana has no 'currently accepted' medical use," the motion stated. "Such a position is simply unsustainable as demonstrated by numerous peer-reviewed studies, the recent passage of regulations by the New York Department of Health governing its medicinal use, the recent publication of an article in the Journal of American Medical Association noting marijuana's efficacy compared to opioids and its widespread prescribed use of marijuana in states that have permitted the medicinal use of marijuana."

Half of the states allow marijuana to be prescribed in some form for medicinal uses. New York lawmakers legalized medical marijuana in July 2014. According to the website of the New York State Department of Health, 724 physicians have registered for the medical marijuana program as of Oct. 26, and 9,339 patients have been certified by their doctors. Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota voters will see medical marijuana referendums Tuesday.

The court never ruled on the motion, as Kenyon pleaded guilty about two weeks later.

Lawyers said in the motion they were not seeking for the court to reschedule the drug, but to drop the charge and leave the rescheduling for the legislative branch.

The charge stems from an Aug. 8, 2015, National Guard aviation unit flight in conjunction with the Southern Tier Drug Task Force. From the air, officials observed two plots of marijuana on Five Mile Road and officers on the ground visited the site, encountering Kenyon "cowering in brush near a canopy," the criminal complaint states.

All told, 677 marijuana plants were found on the site in various states of harvest. At the time of the arrest, officials told the Times Herald that three pickup trucks were required to haul away the drugs for destruction.

"I'm not a bad guy; I know what I'm doing is illegal, but I'm not a bad guy," the complaint quotes Kenyon as saying after being read his rights, adding he sought to sell the drugs. "It's been hard to find work. Disability isn't paying enough."

Kenyon was originally charged with a state charge, first-degree criminal possession of marijuana, a class C felony.

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News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Federal Drug Case Almost Turned To Marijuana Classification
Author: Bob Clark
Contact: Olean Times Herald
Photo Credit: Chrintine Hochkeppel
Website: Olean Times Herald
 
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