United States v. Jackson

388 F. Supp. 3d 505
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJune 5, 2019
DocketCRIMINAL ACTION NO. 17-577
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 388 F. Supp. 3d 505 (United States v. Jackson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Jackson, 388 F. Supp. 3d 505 (E.D. Pa. 2019).

Opinion

DuBois, J.

I. INTRODUCTION

The U.S. Probation Office alleges that defendant Cameron Lauren Jackson violated the terms of his supervised release by testing positive for the use of marijuana on ten occasions during his term of federal supervision. Defendant maintains that his marijuana use was for medical reasons and was lawful under Pennsylvania's Medical Marijuana Act. Presently before the Court is defendant's Motion to Enjoin Use of [U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") ] Funds and Dismiss Violation Petition on the basis of a rider included in the 2019 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which prohibits DOJ from using its funds to "prevent" states from "implementing" their medical marijuana laws.

The Court now faces an issue of first impression in this Circuit: under the appropriations rider, is DOJ permitted to use its funds to prosecute a violation of supervised release premised on state law-compliant use of medical marijuana? For the reasons that follow, the Court concludes that the answer is no. Where a defendant shows that his use of medical marijuana was fully compliant with the applicable state law, the rider prohibits DOJ from using its funds to prosecute a violation of supervised release.

II. BACKGROUND

In 2012, defendant pled guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, cocaine base, and heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). Def. Mot. Enjoin DOJ & Dismiss Pet. ("Def. Mot.") 4; Gov't Resp. Def. Mot. Enjoin DOJ & Dismiss Pet. ("Gov't Resp.") 2. He was sentenced, inter alia , to 151 months of imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release. See Def. Mot. 4 n.3. On November 18, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania vacated defendant's sentence pursuant to Johnson v. United States , --- U.S. ----, 135 S. Ct. 2551, 192 L.Ed.2d 569 (2015), and resentenced defendant to 21 months of imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release. See Gov't Resp. 4; Def. Mot. 4. Defendant was released from incarceration and began his term of supervised release that day, having already overserved his prison sentence by several years. Gov't Resp. 4. On November 7, 2017, jurisdiction over defendant's supervised release was transferred to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Def. Mot. 4 n.3. His supervised release is *508currently scheduled to end on November 17, 2019. Id. at 5.

Defendant's conditions of supervised release include, inter alia , a prohibition against committing any other federal, state, or local crime and purchasing, possessing, using, distributing, or administering any controlled substance or any paraphernalia related to any controlled substances, except as prescribed by a physician, during his term of supervision. See id. at 5-6.

The Government charges defendant with testing positive for the use of marijuana, a Schedule I controlled substance, on ten occasions between May 2018 and March 2019. Id. at 5. Defendant does not admit, in the motion, the ten charged positive drug tests and states that he was issued a medical marijuana identification card by the Pennsylvania Department of Health on July 6, 2018, authorizing him to use and possess medical marijuana. Id. The Court notes that two of the alleged positive drug tests predate the issuance of the medical marijuana identification card. See id. at 18 n.15.

The U.S. Probation Office notified defendant on several occasions that his use of marijuana was considered a violation of his supervised release and could result in a sanction. Violation of Supervised Release Pet. ("Pet.") 2. According to the U.S. Probation Office, defendant admitted to continuously using marijuana but argued his conduct was not a violation of supervised release because he was in possession of a medical marijuana identification card. Gov't Resp. 5. Defendant's identification card was renewed on January 19, 2019, and expires on January 19, 2020. Def. Mot. 5.

On March 8, 2019, the U.S. Probation Office filed a Report on Offender Under Supervision setting forth the allegations of defendant's marijuana use (ECF No. 8 ). On March 22, 2019, the Court issued an Order scheduling briefing on the novel legal issues presented by this case and a violation hearing for June 13, 2019 (ECF No. 10 ). In compliance with that Order, the U.S. Probation Office submitted the Petition for Violation of Supervised Release, dated March 25, 2019, charging defendant with violating the conditions of his supervised release by testing positive for marijuana use on ten occasions. Pet. 2. The Petition states that the violation warrants revocation of defendant's supervised release. Id. Upon consideration of the Petition, the Court, by Order dated March 26, 2019, issued a summons directing defendant to appear at a revocation hearing. This is the first violation petition filed against Jackson during his three-year term of supervised release. Def. Mot. 6. Defendant contends that at the time the petition was filed, he was compliant with all other conditions of his supervised release. Id.

On April 15, 2019, defendant filed a motion to enjoin the use of DOJ funds in this matter and to dismiss the violation petition (ECF No. 13 ). The Government responded on May 3, 2019 (ECF No. 14 ), and defendant filed a reply on May 7, 2019 (ECF No. 15 ). After a telephone conference with counsel for the parties on May 17, 2019, the Court decided that it was appropriate to rule on two issues of law presented by this case-the conflict between federal and state law on marijuana use and the effect of the appropriations rider on supervised release proceedings-before conducting further proceedings. The legal issues have been fully briefed by the parties and are now ripe for decision.

III. APPLICABLE LAW

A. Pennsylvania's Medical Marijuana Act

Pennsylvania enacted the Medical Marijuana Act in 2016. The Act provides that *509"use or possession of medical marijuana ... is lawful within this Commonwealth" so long as the "patient" meets certain requirements. See 35 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 10231.303. To be eligible for medical marijuana under the Act, a "patient" must have one of seventeen enumerated "serious medical condition[s]," which include, inter alia , cancer, epilepsy, and glaucoma. Id. § 10231.103. The Act also requires a "patient" to "receive[ ] certification from a practitioner," to acquire the marijuana from an approved dispensary, and to be "in possession of a valid identification card issued by" the Pennsylvania Department of Health at any time they are in possession of medical marijuana. Id. § 10231.303.

B. Consolidated Appropriations Act

The U.S.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
388 F. Supp. 3d 505, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-jackson-paed-2019.