Free Will...Again

Jacob Sullum | June 26, 2009

In 2002 I interviewed Will Foster, on Oklahoma man whose 1995 arrest for growing medical marijuana had attracted international attention after he received a 93-year prison sentence. Foster, who grew the marijuana to treat his rheumatoid arthritis, had been released in April 2001 after serving four and a half years, thanks to an appeals court that reduced his sentence to 20 years, making him eligible for parole. "A lot of people tell me I give them hope," Foster said, "because I did have 93 years in prison, and now I'm free."

Not anymore. The Drug War Chronicle reports that Foster has been behind bars for nearly 16 months in California, where he moved (with Oklahoma's permission) after his release, because of a dispute over the terms of his parole. The story is  a bit complicated, but the basic thrust is that California officials said Foster had completed his parole, while Oklahoma officials disagreed. In 2006 he successfully fought an Oklahoma warrant, but later the state issued a new warrant after Foster refused to agree to a retroactive four-year extension of his parole. That was not a problem until Foster was busted for growing marijuana by Sonoma County sheriff's deputies. The cultivation charges were dropped after it became clear that the plants were for Foster's own medical use, but he remains in jail awaiting extradition to Oklahoma, which wants him to complete his 20-year prison sentence.  

"In their warrant, they said I violated the terms and conditions of parole in Oklahoma, then fled Oklahoma to escape justice," Foster told the Chronicle. "But I haven't been back in Oklahoma since I left in 2001. I successfully finished parole here, I beat back that earlier extradition effort, and they're still coming after me."

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Oklahoma Gov. Brady Henry have the power to stop what looks like vindictive harassment of a man who has already spent a total of nearly six years behind bars for something that should not have been a crime to begin with. Previous Reason coverage of Will Foster's case, including Adam J. Smith's 1997 story, here.

Comments

|6.26.09 @ 12:34PM|#

Foster was busted for growing marijuana by Sonoma County sheriff's deputies.

Way I hear it. It's no problem to grow pot in Sonoma County, but you gotta pay the tax.

Paul|6.26.09 @ 12:36PM|#

That was not a problem until Foster was busted for growing marijuana by Sonoma County sheriff's deputies.

*rubbing temples* Ok, I just have to ask. You get hit with a 93 year prison sentence because you grew some medical weed. Through a miracle of god or... something, that sentence gets reduced to 20 years, you do roughly five and get released on good behavior. You'd think that the last goddamned thing you'd do would to be start growing more "medical weed". Believe it or not, there are other treatments for Rheumatoid arthritis (got a little of it myself), and I'm just not sure spending the rest of my life in jail would be worth growing the weed, regardless of how forceful my feelings on it. Next time, Mr. Foster, start a blog or something if you feel that strongly about it.

|6.26.09 @ 12:43PM|#

Ahhnult will totally tell those Okies to piss up a rope.

Right?











Right?

|6.26.09 @ 12:43PM|#

I reckon he figured Cali wouldn't mind as much as Oklahoma did. I figure he's right.

|6.26.09 @ 1:02PM|#

You'd think that the last goddamned thing you'd do would to be start growing more "medical weed".

No shit. He lives in California, where its not hard, not hard at all, to legally acquire medical weed. Why take the chance? I mean, even if the local cops all cleared it in advance, you've still got the feds to worry about, and you've got an unresolved parole dispute with OK putting you on the radar, and turning any arrest into a potential automatic jail term.

The whole thing is unjust and unconscionable, but he took some seriously stupid risks, here.

JB|6.26.09 @ 1:39PM|#

They spend resources on this while they have plenty of unsolved murders, rapes, and robberies.

The government of Oklahoma should be kicked to the curb and then some. A whole lot more of 'then some'.

Would this then be incitement if I mentioned that the government of Oklahoma is in Oklahoma?

|6.26.09 @ 2:00PM|#

"The whole thing is unjust and unconscionable, but he took some seriously stupid risks, here."

As Ron White said -- You can't fix stupid.

ChrisO|6.26.09 @ 2:08PM|#

The state is an ass.

Fred|6.26.09 @ 3:16PM|#

They spend resources on this while they have plenty of unsolved murders, rapes, and robberies.

I guess, however, how many of those are drug related. Why go after the symptom and just go after the cause (drugs).

JB|6.26.09 @ 3:31PM|#

Fred, the cause is often the black market, not drugs.

Kreel Sarloo|6.26.09 @ 4:05PM|#

Fred, murders, rapes, and robberies are not drug related in the sense that 100% of drug users go out and commit murders, rapes, and robberies.

Going after drug users because of the small percentage of them who commit violent crimes is like banning marriage because some people murder their spouses.

Complete The Sentence Genuises|6.29.09 @ 10:53AM|#

"That was not a problem until Foster was busted for growing marijuana by Sonoma County sheriff's deputies. The cultivation charges were dropped after it became clear that the plants were for Foster's own medical use..."

The charges were dropped. He was legal, as in not taking risk. Oklahoma will have none of that though.