Cannabis Cancer Patient Relieved From 4 Year Prison Sentence

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All he had was some THC infused chocolates - but that was enough to take his freedom:

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker just commuted the four-year prison sentence of a cancer patient and let him free on Monday. His only crime was having nearly 43 pounds of cannabis-infused chocolates delivered to his home – which he stated he needed to help himself and others when initially questioned about them. Thomas J. Franzen, 37, was not so quietly released from the minimum-security wing at the Stateville Correctional Center Monday afternoon and is staying with his father in Sugar Grove. Both his imprisonment and release have sparked quite a bit of social media conversation as the news hits the airwaves.

Last night, they ate a dinner of New York strip steaks as Franzen tried to comprehend the last 24 hours. In June 2019, he pleaded guilty to a reduced felony marijuana charge and was sentenced to the minimum of four years in prison that could be cut in half for good behavior – and that news shocked the world as nobody expected a cancer patient to face a literal life sentence like that. “I prayed every night and day this day would come. I figured (the governor) was busy,” Franzen said in a phone interview. “It’s definitely surreal.”

In 2019 this article stunned people across the nation.

Franzen, who has battled various forms of cancer since he was in high school, was arrested and charged with felony cannabis trafficking in February 2014 after having nearly 43 pounds of THC chocolates mailed to his house. Franzen had a medical marijuana card at the time but possessed significantly more than what was allowed and he ordered it from out of state, which was illegal. He faced a minimum of 12 years in prison to be served at 75% if convicted of the most severe charge.

Prosecutors argued Franzen was selling the drugs for profit, but Franzen contended the chocolates were needed to self-medicate. Defense attorney David Camic argued in October 2019 before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board that Franzen’s sentence should be commuted or Pritzker should issue a pardon.

In the past nine months, Franzen’s family said he was not getting the medical treatment he was promised, his health was declining and they feared he could die while awaiting Pritzker’s decision. “The whole family is ecstatic. They think it saved his life,” Camic said. “It would be easy to look back and say this should have happened sooner. But everybody’s gratified that he’s out and getting better medical care.”

Lindsey Hess, the spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Corrections, said Franzen’s sentence was commuted Monday to time served and he was to complete two years of mandatory supervised release, or parole. Hess said neither the department nor the state’s Prisoner Review Board comments on the reasons the governor grants or denies a request for executive clemency.

A message left with Pritzker’s spokesperson Tuesday was not immediately returned. Franzen’s father, Michael, said he was grateful his son was home and called the four-year sentence “harsh from the beginning.” “I was hopeful. I talked to him at least once a day on the phone. We weren’t going to give up,” the elder Franzen said. “I’m still concerned about his health.”

Thomas Franzen didn’t want to talk too much about his criminal case. He said his next steps were contacting his parole officer and calling his doctors for a CT scan.

As cancer patients we have the right to try various medications through a federal ‘right to try act’ and that would have protected just about anyone in the event they were caught with cannabis edibles. It’s important to highlight the ‘problem’ with Thomas’ case and why he got 4 years. As much as I don’t like prohibition or the laws surrounding cannabis – we also have to look at an ongoing drug trade. This is where quickly we run into a huge quandary of sorts – is cannabis a drug or is it a beneficial herb? Should we allow unlimited trading of the herb or should there be limited much like there is on other foods, produce, and more? I don’t believe he should have ever served a day in jail but do believe that Thomas did, indeed, commit a crime. But according to his detailed accounts, it was done to make sure he and others had a supply. The laws of the land created the ‘crime’ which means Thomas is by far not a criminal.