Pubdate: Tue, 25 Mar 2008
Source: Folsom Telegraph (CA)
Copyright: 2008 Gold Country Media
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/Hudc9Q80
Website: http://folsomtelegraph.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4216
Author: Penne Usher
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

COOL COUPLE IN HOT WATER OVER MARIJUANA

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."
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MAP posted-by: Derek