cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Advocate Sentenced Marijuana Advocate Sentenced Posted by FoM on March 27, 2000 at 19:26:29 PT Todd McCormick Sentenced To 5 Years in Fed. Prison Source: MSNBC A man who claimed he grew more than 4,000 marijuana plants for medical purposes was sentenced Monday, to five years in federal prison for conspiring to sell pot to cannabis clubs. Although the sentence was essentially a foregone conclusion under a deal with the government, Todd McCormick addressed U.S. District Judge George H. King at length, comparing himself to civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks. McCormick, along with his friends and family members sitting in the gallery, wept as he told of years of battling a rare form of cancer that struck him as a child. “Almost immediately, I felt the magic” of marijuana, he said of his first childhood experience with pot. “No more nausea, no more pain, and I was kind of feeling a little groovy.” With funding from actor Woody Harrelson, a friend and hemp activist, McCormick had mounted a fierce legal battle against the federal government since his 1997 arrest. He lashed out again at the government on Monday, for prosecuting him after California voters in 1996 approved Proposition 215, which legalized marijuana for use as medicine. “I really hope you understand that I had the best of intentions to work within the law,” McCormick told King. “I am guilty of believing everything I was taught in school, and that is that this country is ruled by a democracy.” McCormick said Parks was his hero “because she was someone who fought for what she believed in.” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mary Fulginiti and Jackie Chooljian, who prosecuted McCormick, did not respond in court to McCormick’s statements. But outside court, Fulginiti restated the government’s position that state law does not apply in federal court. “Besides, if you look at Proposition 215, the language says you can only possess it for personal use,” Fulginiti said. “This was not a case where the defendant was accused of growing a small amount of marijuana for personal use. Instead, he grew thousands and thousands of plants for his own personal gain. “I think everyone can admit that 4,000 plants, which he admitted planning to double or triple in a few months time, is not for personal use.” McCormick, 29, was arrested July 29, 1997, in a rented Bel-Air mansion. Sheriff’s deputies raided the castle-like home and found pot growing throughout the house, as well as on a terrace in clear view of passers-by. Peter McWilliams, an author who has AIDS, was charged with helping fund McCormick’s operation, and conspiring with him to sell pot to cannabis clubs that sprouted up around the state after passage of Proposition 215. McCormick and McWilliams pleaded guilty last year, after King ruled that the state’s medical marijuana law had no force in federal court. McWilliams, 50, will be sentenced May 22. King also barred the men from invoking a “medical necessity” defense. Under a deal with the government, if an appeals court decides that King erred, McCormick’s guilty plea and sentence will be set aside and he will go to trial. “I do, indeed, hope that that one day I will be acquitted of those charges,” McCormick said Monday. He has been behind bars since December, when he led a California Highway Patrol officer on a freeway chase while smoking pot. “I am deeply remorseful for a momentary lapse in reason,” McCormick told King. McCormick’s lawyers, Alan Isaacman and David Michaels, asked King to reinstate McCormick’s $500,000 bail – also put up by Harrelson – so he can be free pending appeal. A hearing on that motion will be heard in a few weeks. NBC4 - Los Angeleshttp://nbc4la.com/Los Angeles, March 27, 2000© 2000 Associated Press. Related Articles & Web Sites:Todd McCormick's Grow Medicinehttp://growmedicine.com/ Welcome to A. H.E.M.P.http://www.ahemp.org/Compassionate Mom's Homepagehttp://members.home.net/amccormick/Bail Revoked for Medical Marijuana Advocate http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4203.shtmlTodd McCormick in Prison for Perhaps Five Yearshttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4198.shtmlMedical Marijuana Proponent in Jail Pending Bail http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4179.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: