Grants Pass man gets 10 years for selling medical pot
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - A registered medical marijuana grower was sentenced Monday to 10 years in federal prison for conspiring to sell his crop illegally and for having machine guns and other illegal firearms.
Jason Michael Scott Nelson, owner of a Grants Pass bike shop, admitted taking advantage of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program out of greed and apologized to his family, the judge and the prosecutor for his lies.
"I was out of control," Nelson said in U.S. District Court, adding that even after his arrest he tried to grow more marijuana and sell it to "keep myself afloat."
Authorities have said Nelson, 37, was one of four medical marijuana growers from Southwestern Oregon who pooled their harvests and made monthly shipments from Portland to Boston in pods loaded with furniture bought from Goodwill. Police spotted one of the shipments and traced part of it back to Nelson.
When investigators searched Nelson's property, they found a room elaborately set up for growing marijuana, mature and immature plants, and another room hidden behind a gun safe that contained 29 heat-sealed packages of trimmed marijuana buds. Investigators also found the illegal firearms and silencers.
Prosecutor Doug Fong said he asked for the stiff sentence because Nelson lied during his trial, claiming he was growing only for four medical marijuana patients, denying he sold any of it, and trying to shift the blame to his co-defendant, Richard Sherman, who worked in the bike shop and testified to helping Nelson. Fong added that the guns and the fact Nelson was running the operation added to the prison time called for in federal sentencing guidelines.
In arguing for a five-year sentence, defense lawyer Mike Arnold said Nelson developed "this massive growing operation out of a sense of hard work and competitive spirit with other growers."
The judge said he had no doubt Nelson would never commit another crime, but added that he had no choice but to impose a harsh sentence due to Nelson's lying, which would earn him years more in prison if it were prosecuted.
Panner waived the $20,000 fine Nelson offered to pay, saying his family would be facing enough financial difficulties when he got out of prison.
Panner scolded Nelson for trying to shift the blame to Sherman, who worked for him for wages, for putting illegal immigrants in jeopardy by employing them in his growing operation, and for arranging for friends to dismantle a shop building so there was nothing of value for federal authorities to seize.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
Jason Michael Scott Nelson, owner of a Grants Pass bike shop, admitted taking advantage of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program out of greed and apologized to his family, the judge and the prosecutor for his lies.
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He knew he was wrong all along. No sympathy for him.
Wow, now that was a grow. Only 10 years?
Just another victim of the fascist police state and prison industrial complex. They love thier war on the people. "putting illegal immigrants in jeopardy "Â Cuz you know they are so precious and have way more rights than a regular citizen .
Medical cards are just cover ups for jobless junkies to make some money
Im glad to got 10 years. Â His pot addiction and drug pushing sure messed up his life.
I wonder whose little girl will be brutally raped & buried alive by the Predatory Sex Offender the state releases in order make room for this harmless marijuana farmer?
People of character don't believe that drug dealers of which, marijuana growers are included are harmless.
 All the evidence, history and current events show that marijuana users and distributors attractive the criminal element , even if you were to suggest that those involved aren't criminals.
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Trying to hide behind the veil of medical use for marijuana is just a very thin veil trying to hide the truth of drug addiction.
 For all of the suppose it medical applications there are legal drugs that do a better job.
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Next thing you know some gunrunner will argue that he needs to run guns to feel psychologically safe there by a medical excuse.
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The rapist, pedophile and public nudity offender will say their behavior is medically needed to release the stress of sexual frustration . Thereby their acts are medically required.
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Evil always has some clever misleading words to apply do what it wants to have socially accepted.
 @ORthinker Have you ever thought of taking a trip down the Yellow Brick Road to see The Wonderful Wizard of Oz?
Wow, that sure did make sense. (insert sarcasm)
@ORthinker uh.......dumb a s s ......there would be NOTHING criminal about it if it were legal. have another drink.
@jpdx00 Really? SMH..
Thats your reply to someone who said everyone feels the need to excuse their poor behavior by calling it medically needed? You tell him it would not be criminal if it were legal. Well holly heck why didnt anyone think about that before now?!!  Im glad you came along to tell us this.Â
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On the reality side Im not going to legalize everything anyone feels they need to simply because they call it medicine. There are plenty of studies that show the harm of marijuana, heck all I need do is point out a couple child hood friends that smoked it. Now days they have zero emotion, cant hold a job, and might as well live on the street which is where they are headed. Before they started smoking they were active vibrant kids, one very intelligent.   But hey all medicines have side effects right??
 ORthinker -- If you only had a brain!  Or, at the very least, some actual facts to think about!  You ought to change that moniker to OR-imaginative-thinker.
Another innocent person going to prison for a make-believe crime created out of thin air & people not in prison who have to work & fork-over $500,000 to pay for his incarceration...
even if pot was legal he would have gotten time for the illegal guns and suppressors, that is a major fed crime and the ATF really really does not like it when we mere peons ignore the rules.
 @Jeremy But if it was legal, he wouldn't have had the need for the guns, therefore, he'd not be going to jail for them. Problem solved!
Thats so laughable I had to whipe the tears from my eyes. Even legal these operations would still feel the need for security.
Keep laughing then, I do not see anything funny about owning a Machine Gun, unless this idiot thought the Mexican Cartels were coming for him.  And that is a stretch.
Nice title for the story K2.
Mislead anyone who isnt going to take the time to read the story. This POS was no medical grower, he was a pusher, a criminal about as bad as they come. Why the machine guns? Did he have them because he was never going to use them? The silencers?
Glad he got 10. Hope he serves every single day of it.
@Jack_Bauer ....."glad he got 10"......... You do realize that murderers don't get that much time!?
Ralph the sound of the bell ringing here also includes hints of south of the border...ie thumbing noses at the law and becoming very greedy...If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.
If marijuana is so good, why the machine guns to protect it? Shouldn't it be free for all?
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NOT!
the founding fathers would be appalled
So which violent felon or predator will vacate a jail cell so this guy can do time for having guns and growing plants? Regardless, the guy sounds like a total backstabbing creep.
Ten years for selling flowers, wow. And the drunk driver who killed somebody got 18 months. That's what you call a "justice" system lolÂ
They're going to have to let a child rapist out of prison to make room for this guy.
Portland is full of those kind of people and they advertise on Craigslist in violation of both state law and Craigslist policy.
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These folks don't care about rules or laws. All they can see is themselves making a lot of money. Then when they get flagged off they get really irritated. A very entitled bunch.
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http://portland.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=ommp&srchType=A&minAsk=&maxAsk=
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What I find interesting is that most are breaking the laws, they know they are breaking the laws and yet they feel entitled enough that breaking the laws is not an issue for them.
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@RalphCramden .......sounds like you just described our politicians, Ralph.
This whole marijuana thing seems kinda nuts. Lets relieve the police and court system from a behavior that's been going on for decades, regulate the sale and tax it.
@Rob C 503 The parasitic police state has based a major part of thier war against the people on marijuana prohibition.
@2easy2berightback ..........."parasitic" ????? Wow !
If they would just legalize it taxpayers like me wouldn't have to foot the bill for his incarceration.