Tom Daubert, who led the push for the voter-approved law legalizing medical marijuana in Montana, was sentenced Thursday to five years’ probation in a federal drug case.
“I’m feeling relieved and grateful for the judge’s mercy and leniency,” Daubert said. “… I’m very glad he recognized the uniqueness of my particular case.”
Daubert was among several people charged after federal agents raided medical marijuana businesses, including the Helena-based Montana Cannabis, around the state last year. Daubert had ended his interest in Montana Cannabis before the raids, something U.S. District Court Judge Dana Christensen noted in imposing probation.
Daubert pleaded guilty in April to a charge of conspiracy to maintain drug-involved premises, which carries a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thaggard sought a prison term of 6 1/2 to 8 years for Daubert, calling him “a talented man, [who]also used those talents to exercise leadership in a conspiracy.”
But Christensen noted that Daubert had lobbied long and hard for stricter state regulations of the state’s medical marijuana industry, and – while he was still with Montana Cannabis – routinely conducted tours through the company’s Helena greenhouse for lawmakers and law enforcement officers.
“Tom conducted all and everything he did openly and in plain view,” defense attorney Bill Taylor of the Washington, D.C., firm of Zuckerman Spaeder said during the hearing. “… No one in law enforcement advised him at any time that his conduct had crossed the line.”
– Read the entire article at The Examiner.
