Montana’s 1st Medical Cannabis Caregivers Passes While in Jail
Aug
The cold hand of the law has taken away another soul due to the so-called War on Drugs. The 1st pro marijuana smoker to enroll as a cannabis compassionate caregiver under Montana’s recently revamped medical marijuana program has passed away behind bars – a place that an innocent marijuana martyr should not be. 68-year-old Richard Flor passed away at a Bureau of Prisons medical facility at the outskirts of sin-city Las Vegas only a couple of months in a 5 year federal jail ruling due to marijuana laws that need revisions. The deceased caregiver, his wife and his son ran a medical marijuana caregiver business out of their humble abode. Flor also co-owned Montana Cannabis which was the state’s biggest cannabis collective right up until it was raided by the DEA and the backing of the federals governments attacks on the medical marijuana community.
Despite the fact that there were no genuine claims of Flor or his family members breaking any state mandated law, they couldn’t run away from the big bad government and their views of vilifying cannabis. The 3 were found guilty by a jury of marijuana-related distribution charges and were sentenced to prison. Sherry Flor received 2 years for book-keeping and for marijuana cultivation; 
son, Justin received 5 years for managing the dispensary in Billings. Charles Lovell, US District Court Judge gave Richard years behind bars in spite of legit testimony that he was a true medical marijuana patient – suffering from a bevy of disorders which includes diabetes, osteoporosis, hepatitis C and dementia. The judge did acknowledge his illnesses by sending the patient to a federal medical center where his “countless mental and physical conditions and diseases can be treated and evaluated.”
According to his daughter, Flor passed after a number of heart attacks. The other 3 members working for Montana Cannabis also look at a long barrel of a gun – which includes long time political marijuana activist and consultant Tom Daubert, who assisted in getting the marijuana initiative to bring pot to the ‘Treasure State.’ With the crackdown on medical cannabis, dozens of other medical cannabis providers in Montana have seen the long and cold hand of the law being indicted on federal drug charges. While the DEA bludgeoned the state’s cannabis industry in 2011, the Republican Party were looking to destroy the movement and is succeeding, passing bills that left the well dry. Due to popular belief, the medical marijuana community will not be sitting down and will be fighting back. The Montana Medical Marijuana Bill, I-124, has qualified for the ballot in November – repealing the bill passed last year by the legislature. One small step in an uphill climb.
