Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Vet faces 5 years in prison for medical cannabis

Decorated Iraq War veteran facing five years in prison for medical marijuana | Fox News - Andrew Kelper:

August 3, 2020 - "By all accounts, Sean Worsley is a war hero. He earned a Purple Heart, along with a laundry list of additional military accolades, for clearing roadside bombs in Iraq. He also earned a lifetime of post-service ailments, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a traumatic brain injury (TBI). As a result of his injuries, Worsley was given a 100 percent disability rating from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. He treated the worst symptoms of both injuries with medical marijuana prescribed to him legally in Arizona.

"Now, Worsley sits in an Alabama jail facing five years in the state’s notoriously violent prison system after admitting to an officer he was in possession of medical marijuana while driving through Alabama and a subsequent probation violation for missing a court date....

"Worsley's ordeal began in 2016 when he and his wife, Eboni, were arrested late one night after stopping for gas. They were traveling through the state on their way to North Carolina, where they were planning on helping Sean’s grandmother repair extensive damage to her home after Hurricane Matthew flooded her community.... District Attorney Andy Hamlin, the prosecutor in charge of Sean’s case ... said Worsley was arrested with numerous containers of marijuana, two grinders and a digital scale. The Worsleys consented to a search of their vehicle, Sean provided the officer his medical marijuana ID card and let the officer know there was pot in the car.

"He entered a guilty plea in October, 2017 and was sentenced to 60 months on probation, ordered to complete a drug treatment program and pay thousands in fees and fines. By the time he was sentenced, the Worsleys had moved from Arizona to Nevada. Sean was ordered to find drug treatment in Arizona, and he and his wife moved back to the state and lived in a month-to-month rental. His probation officer in Arizona said their housing situation did not meet the requirements of stable housing and Worsley would have to contact the courts in Alabama to come to an agreement. While they waited on that, Sean attempted to comply with the rest of his conditions.

"In February 2018, while attempting to comply with his court-ordered drug treatment, Worsley sought a drug treatment assessment from the VA. The agency denied that he needed drug treatment. Fox News was provided with a copy of the VA’s assessment, which said that Worlsey 'has legal documentation to support his use and therefore does not meet criteria for a substance use disorder or meet need for substance abuse treatment.'

"The Worsleys struggled to maintain housing and jobs as a result of the felonies they had been charged with in Alabama. Eboni lost her vehicle, and Sean had to use a program that helps homeless veterans. The VA warned Worsley that they were going to end his monthly benefits in 2019 because, unbeknownst to him, Sean had missed a February court date....

"During this time, Eboni had open heart surgery, and due to the status of his case and warrants issued for his arrest, Sean had lost job opportunities. On Sept. 8, 2019, Worsley emailed his lawyer and said he had been evicted and lost his vehicle due to the warrants against him. He said he didn’t have the money to return to Alabama at the moment.

"It was early 2020 when Sean was pulled over by police in Arizona while he was driving to Eboni’s sisters to help with some home repairs. He had marijuana with him, however, due to his job loss and lapsed VA benefits, he couldn’t afford to update his expired medical marijuana card. Arizona police didn’t think Alabama would extradite him over marijuana, according to the Appleseed’s reporting. Pickens County did want him extradited, and added the cost of his transport to his already substantial fines and fees.... Now, Worsley has been held in Pickens County jail since early 2020 awaiting transport to the state’s prison system.

"Eric Goepel, co-founder of the Veterans’ Cannabis Coalition, said. '… Sean was literally just arrested for possession of cannabis while in the state of Alabama. And they used the presence of paraphernalia to essentially enhance his charge from possession to possession with intent to sell.'"

Read more: https://www.foxnews.com/us/disabled-iraq-veteran-prison-medical-marijuana

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