[420 Girl]

A federal judge has refused to impose prison time on a California man who had produced and distributed edible medical cannabis products throughout the state.

Despite sentencing guidelines calling for at least two and a half years in jail, U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilkin exercised her discretion to sentence Michael Martin, 34, to five years probation, with one year to be served in a halfway house and one year to be served in home confinement. The dramatic sentence caused the courtroom full of patients and activists to erupt in applause.

Faced with the threat of more serious charges and the specter of a federal trial in which no information about state law or medical use could be introduced, Martin pled guilty in federal court to manufacturing marijuana edibles and did not contest the government finding of more than 400 plants seized in the September 2007 DEA raid.

In a speech to the court that had observers in tears, Martin spoke eloquently about why he had acted on behalf of patients, describing the cancer patients he was proud to have helped, the support of his loving family, and how he had only acted on behalf of others, never for profit.

That speech, the enormous volume of letters of support for Martin the judge received, and the lack of any evidence that any edible produced by Mickey was diverted to recreational use, all helped the judge declare that this was a unique case that did not call for a normal sentence, and certainly not the more than three years of federal prison that the law mandates.

Comments from the bench about the tensions between state and federal laws also made clear that the judge understood medical cannabis cases to be different from other federal drug cases, and she joined several other members of the federal judiciary in departing from the government's sentencing guidelines.

"The prosecution of good people like Michael Martin, who are trying to give patients the choice of an edible, non-smoked medicine, is a travesty," said Rebecca Saltzman, ASA Chief of Staff. "The government says smoking is a bad delivery method then prosecutes those who provide an alternative -- ridiculous."

ASA played a key role in providing support for Martin and his family after he surrendered to authorities. ASA staff helped organize the grassroots response of local patients and activists who filled the courtroom during Martin's hearings and assisted him with managing the media response in the wake of DEA attempts to portray him as a dangerous drug dealer.

Martin was the state's largest producer of medical cannabis baked goods and other edibles, products that offer an alternative to smoking cannabis that is preferred by many patients. The products were available only through licensed dispensaries and carried prominent labels warning that they were cannabis products for medical use only. A majority of the more than 300 medical cannabis dispensaries in California provide edible products to their patients.

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