Richard Evans, founder of the Greater Cincinnati Buyers’ Club, plead guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge of trafficking in marijuana under eight ounces and was sentenced to serve 29 days in county jail. Evans will begin his sentence in September. Evans had been facing three felony counts of trafficking in marijuana within 1,000 yards of a school following a February raid by law enforcement officers on the club’s headquarters.
“I was facing a total of 15 years in prison; they were offering 29 days in county jail,” Evans said after he entered his guilty plea in Kenton Circuit Court. Initially, Evans had considered battling the charges on constitutional grounds. Prosecutors agreed to reduce the charges against Evans after conceding that his actions “were not done as part of a commercial enterprise [or] … for purposes of profit.” Evans told NORML that the judge in the case remarked that she believed that marijuana for medical purposes would eventually be legal in America, but noted that individuals have to abide by the law.
When asked whether he would continue to operate the buyers’ club once he completes his jail term, Evans responded that it wouldn’t be “in this country.” However, he added that, “There’s plenty of people lined up to take over.” Evans called the judgment a “partial victory” and told NORML that a short stay in jail was a fair price for the large amount of publicity his case generated.