AlterNet, which does an excellent job of keeping THIS ISSUE front and center, as any genuine progressive/liberal media entity would.
It is essentially a medical marijuana story wherein cops, again, are just reefer mad, overzealous and ridiculous. They assailed a 65 year-old man who was treating back pain.
It is a reasonably brief article that ends with a blurb about jury nullification, which is a good thing. Get your coffee, go read the article in its entirety.
Cops and prosecutors wanted to convince people that this guy was the next Pablo Escobar because he had SO MUCH marijuana and GUNS.
Ficano was found by police to be growing plants at his house for his personal consumption to treat a back injury. The state’s case against him consisted of saying he had too much pot, and they suspected him of selling it.
Cops/prosecutors (2 peas in a pod) performed their standard maximum inflation of whatever evidence they had and
argued that several signs pointed to Ficano’s intent to sell pot. He had 68 plants, 24 pounds of finished marijuana, a digital scale, more than $51,000 in cash, 26 guns and “not a single pot baked-good located in his home.”
The guns were largely antiques and collectibles, the cash was pulled from his bank account 'during the recession' (so had been in the house some time) and the herb, as well, had been around for awhile, some of it molding. Many of the plants were male, immature or useless. Cops and prosecutors want to inflate every last thing they can to get their ugly reefer-mad convictions.
And, had there been "pot-baked goods" they'd have hammered him for that: damned if you do, damned if you don't.
This time, it didn't work. The jury saw through it.
The jury took only one hour to deliberate before highlighting the gross waste of taxpayer money in paying police, prosecutors, judges, and jurors to persecute a man who morally had done nothing wrong.
Nevada had done more with legalizing medical marijuana in the time that he was awaiting trial: he spent 3 whole years wondering if he was going to spend his old age in prison for treating himself with a plant.
Which is heinously wrong.
There is doubt he will get his money back, because...it's a lot and cops can take it under forfeiture.