Pubdate: Thu, 06 Dec 2007
Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA)
Copyright: 2007 Chico Enterprise-Record
Contact: http://www.chicoer.com/feedback
Website: http://www.chicoer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/861
Note: Does not print letters from outside circulation area
Author: Terry Vau Dell, Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)

MEDICAL MARIJUANA GROWER'S SENTENCE REDUCED

OROVILLE -- When a Paradise woman began growing and selling medical 
marijuana as part of a "collective" involving more than 50 other 
local patients, she never thought she could end up losing her home.

Documents show that after being contacted by Butte County sheriff's 
officers, federal prosecutors obtained a lien against Patricia 
Hatton's two-bedroom residence under a separate asset-forfeiture 
action in U.S. District Court in Sacramento.

Though Hatton said she still doesn't feel she committed a crime, she 
agreed to plead guilty to pot cultivation in exchange for receiving a 
20 percent share of the sale of her 6893 Lunar Lane house, which the 
ridge woman said was recently appraised at $190,000.

Hatton, who suffers from a chronic back injury and had lived in the 
house about nine years, said she had been encouraged to grow medical 
marijuana for others unable to do so themselves and only sold to 
patients, like herself, with a valid doctor's recommendation.

At her sentencing Wednesday, her attorney, Jodea Foster of Chico, 
pointed out the state Legislature authorized the formation of medical 
marijuana collectives and that recent court cases permitted growers 
to receive financial reimbursement for cultivation expenses.

But even if she was acquitted by a local jury of the pot charges, 
Foster said he advised her she would likely lose her home anyway in 
federal court, which does not recognize the legitimacy of 
California's medical marijuana laws.

Criticizing what he called the government's "strong-arm" tactics in 
the case, Hatton's lawyer urged leniency in her case. "These 
(sheriff's) officers subverted the laws of California, did an end-run 
around medical marijuana laws and turned Mrs. Hatton over to the 
federal government where she was defenseless," the defense attorney charged.

In response, Butte County deputy district attorney A.J. Haggard 
pointed out when she was arrested, there were 211 marijuana plants in 
various stages of growth inside Hatton's home, plus additional 
amounts of processed pot.

The prosecutor said price lists found at the residence, setting an 
ounce of marijuana at $280, showed the ridge woman had "made a 
decision to make this into a commercial operation ... (with) a huge 
profit margin."

Arguing that Proposition 215 "was not designed to encourage drug 
dealing," Haggard asked Superior Court Judge James Reilley to follow 
the recommended sentence of 90 days in jail, plus 200 hours of 
community service.

Citing the defendant's age and lack of any prior record, the judge 
cut the jail term to only 30 days, and allowed Hatton to begin the 
sentence after the holidays.

The judge also cut in half the proposed community service hours, and 
struck several conditions of her probation that would have required 
her to pay drug fines and complete a residential treatment program.

Letters in support of Hatton, characterizing her as a compassionate 
person who was only trying to relieve suffering, were submitted to 
the judge prior to Wednesday's sentencing hearing from her grown 
daughter and two members of the defendant's Paradise medical 
marijuana collective.

Hatton, who lost her part-time job following her arrest and is now 
living with her elderly parents, said she doesn't feel she deserves 
any time behind bars.

"If I was making nothing but money, I'd be driving a Lincoln and my 
house would definitely have been paid off; I'm poverty stricken and I 
have no home now," observed the ridge woman.

Until the courts or Legislature removes "the mass confusion" over 
medical marijuana laws, Hatton advises others to consult an attorney 
before starting up a similar patient co-op.

"If this is how Butte County is going to operate from now on, if 
you're a homeowner, you're going to lose your home ... and that is absurd."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom