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Bluelighter
Franklin man with illness gets five years for growing marijuana
New Jersey Real-Time News
By Jennifer Golson
March 19, 2010
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/franklin_man_gets_5_years_in_p.html
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FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP — A former Franklin man who was convicted of growing 17 marijuana plants, drugs he said were necessary to treat his multiple sclerosis, today was sentenced to five years in jail.
John Ray Wilson, 37, was convicted in December of second degree drug manufacturing for growing more than 10 plants and third-degree drug possession for psilocybin mushrooms.
Superior Court Judge Robert Reed gave Wilson the lowest possible sentence for a second-degree crime. He noted that while Wilson’s violation of the law is “less egregious” than the others who manufacture controlled dangerous substances, there are others with multiple sclerosis and other chronic illnesses that don’t break the law.
The Somerville courtroom was packed with Wilson’s supporters and those who championed the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, which will take effect in July.
Dressed in a gray suit and white golf shirt, Wilson implored Reed to believe that he is not a bad person. “I don’t want to stand up here and make excuses for what I’ve done,” he said. “I had no malicious intent to start a drug distribution facility. Honestly, it was trying to treat my MS.”
At trial, Wilson was acquitted of the most serious offense, operating a drug-manufacturing facility, a first-degree crime that could have carried a potential 20-year sentence.
Defense lawyer James Wronko insisted that his client never wanted to be the poster boy for the legislation that was the subject of widespread debate. But he did not have medical insurance, and all the other alternative measures he tried to alleviate his symptoms failed.
Wronko asked the judge to give him probation, rather than jail time. In court, he said: “Mr. Wilson’s acts never affected any other members of society, except for the drug companies,” who want people to buy their medications.
Deputy Attorney General Daniel Bornstein argued for a seven-year sentence, insisting the judge consider Wilson’s criminal history. He had four prior arrests since 1992. In the first case, he received admission into the pre-trial intervention program, and was arrested again shortly after his release.
“That did not deter him from engaging in criminal behavior,” Bornstein said. “This shows that he is a compelling risk to re-offend.”
At left John Ray Wilson, a multiple sclerosis patient, is handcuffed by Sheriffs Officers of Superior Court in Somerville after Wilson was sentenced to five years in state prison for manufacturing and drug possession. At right his mother Susan Wilson falls into to the lap of her husband Wallace Ray Wilson, John's father.
New Jersey Real-Time News
By Jennifer Golson
March 19, 2010
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/franklin_man_gets_5_years_in_p.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP — A former Franklin man who was convicted of growing 17 marijuana plants, drugs he said were necessary to treat his multiple sclerosis, today was sentenced to five years in jail.
John Ray Wilson, 37, was convicted in December of second degree drug manufacturing for growing more than 10 plants and third-degree drug possession for psilocybin mushrooms.
Superior Court Judge Robert Reed gave Wilson the lowest possible sentence for a second-degree crime. He noted that while Wilson’s violation of the law is “less egregious” than the others who manufacture controlled dangerous substances, there are others with multiple sclerosis and other chronic illnesses that don’t break the law.
The Somerville courtroom was packed with Wilson’s supporters and those who championed the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, which will take effect in July.
Dressed in a gray suit and white golf shirt, Wilson implored Reed to believe that he is not a bad person. “I don’t want to stand up here and make excuses for what I’ve done,” he said. “I had no malicious intent to start a drug distribution facility. Honestly, it was trying to treat my MS.”
At trial, Wilson was acquitted of the most serious offense, operating a drug-manufacturing facility, a first-degree crime that could have carried a potential 20-year sentence.
Defense lawyer James Wronko insisted that his client never wanted to be the poster boy for the legislation that was the subject of widespread debate. But he did not have medical insurance, and all the other alternative measures he tried to alleviate his symptoms failed.
Wronko asked the judge to give him probation, rather than jail time. In court, he said: “Mr. Wilson’s acts never affected any other members of society, except for the drug companies,” who want people to buy their medications.
Deputy Attorney General Daniel Bornstein argued for a seven-year sentence, insisting the judge consider Wilson’s criminal history. He had four prior arrests since 1992. In the first case, he received admission into the pre-trial intervention program, and was arrested again shortly after his release.
“That did not deter him from engaging in criminal behavior,” Bornstein said. “This shows that he is a compelling risk to re-offend.”
At left John Ray Wilson, a multiple sclerosis patient, is handcuffed by Sheriffs Officers of Superior Court in Somerville after Wilson was sentenced to five years in state prison for manufacturing and drug possession. At right his mother Susan Wilson falls into to the lap of her husband Wallace Ray Wilson, John's father.
