Richard Evans, founder of the Greater Cincinnati Buyers Club — one of an estimated 30 underground clubs located across the country that supply marijuana as a therapeutic agent to seriously ill patients who possess a physician’s recommendation — pled not guilty on Monday to three felony counts of trafficking marijuana within 1,000 yards of a school in connection with a February raid by law enforcement officers on the club’s headquarters. Evans’ home, which is located in close proximity of a school, served as the headquarters for the Cincinnati club. Evans informed NORML last February that he had two marijuana seedlings growing at the time of the bust.
“[This case] will have national implications,” stated attorney and marijuana activist Gatewood Galbraith, one of three lawyers representing Evans in the case. “I think the mood of the nation is: Why not let these people have their medication.” Galbraith maintains that he intends to launch a full-scale attack on Kentucky’s anti-marijuana laws.
“The resolution of this case could set an example for all legal treatment of Buyer’s Clubs in the future,” he said.
For more information on this case, please contact Richard Evans of Americans for Compassionate Use at (606) 431-8719. In addition, Gatewood Galbraith is asking for contributions to help offset expenses associated with bringing in expert witnesses such as NORML Board members Dr. Lester Grinspoon and Dr. John Morgan to testify in this case. Mr. Galbraith may be contacted via e-mail at: gatewood@mis.net or gatewood.com