Pubdate: Fri, 06 Aug 1999 Source: Reuters Copyright: 1999 Reuters Limited. CALIF. MAN SENTENCED AS FEDS HIT MEDICAL MARIJUANA SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - A federal judge Friday gave the longest possible prison sentence for the offense to a Vietnam veteran who had claimed that his ``medical'' marijuana crop was legal under California state law. U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell sentenced 52-year-old B.E. Smith to 27 months in federal prison, the first such sentence since California voters passed the ``Compassionate Use Act'' legalizing medical uses of marijuana in 1996. ``Every day I'm in prison will be seen by me as another day in service of my nation,'' Smith said before sentencing. ``I forgive you for what you're about to do to me.'' Smith's case marked the latest clash over medical marijuana as California seeks to resolve the conflict between federal laws banning possession and cultivation of the drug and its own Proposition 215, the pioneering state measure allowing its medical use. Smith, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving two tours of duty in Vietnam, obtained a prescription for medical marijuana after the state law was passed in 1996. He subsequently established himself as a ``caregiver'' to nine other patients, which under the state measure would allow him to cultivate cannabis plants. Long an outspoken champion of individual freedoms, Smith notified county supervisors and the local sheriff that he was planting 87 cannabis plants, and even posted a sign in the middle of the field identifying it as a medical marijuana garden. In Smith's trial, however, Burrell granted a motion by federal prosecutors seeking to ban any defense arguments related to the state law or to assertions about marijuana's alleged medical benefits. Smith's lawyers said Friday they would appeal Smith's conviction. ``This decision demonstrates the lack of compassion that gave rise to the need for Proposition 215 and medical marijuana initiatives in other states,'' attorney Thomas Ballanco said. A number of other U.S. states have followed California's lead and passed state measures approving limited medical uses for marijuana. But the federal government has vowed to assert the primacy of federal anti-narcotics laws, leaving the issue in a legal limbo. - --- MAP posted-by: Don Beck