Maryland Judge Bans Any Speech Of Legalization In Cannabis Trafficking Trial |

A cannabis trafficking case between California and Maryland highlights the apparent hypocrisy of the justice system when it comes to cannabis-related charges.

According to prosecutors, Jonathan Wall, now 27, and 10 others transported more than 1,000 kilograms of cannabis from California to Maryland over a two-year period. Given those amounts, Maryland law defines him as a “drug king.”

A federal grand jury indicted him in 2019. In the case of United States v. Wall is threatening Wall, if convicted of “conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana,” a sentence of up to 10 years to life in federal prison, with a mandatory 10-year sentence hanging over his head.

Today is Wall’s first appearance in court as he is incarcerated in a federal supermax prison. The elephant in the room, however, is the fact that cannabis is legal in 18 states and multiple jurisdictions for adult purposes, and dozens more legal for medicinal purposes.

On April 26, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher approved a motion by prosecutors asking the court to bar any discussion of the cannabis legalization movement currently underway in the United States, according to the Outlaw Report.

In other words, given the law changes, the defense team must not point out how hypocritical non-violent cannabis-related cases are in 2022.

Prosecutors for the Justice Department filed the motion weeks ago, asking the Maryland U.S. District Court to bar Wall’s defense team from “asking questions, presenting evidence, or making arguments about how the law in other jurisdictions treats marijuana.”

“Marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance and under federal law it is [a] Crimes of conspiring with others to distribute or possess marijuana with intent to distribute marijuana,” prosecutors wrote in the filing. “The fact that other jurisdictions have legalized marijuana, decriminalized marijuana, are considering decriminalizing certain amounts of marijuana, or have declined to prosecute individuals for marijuana-related crimes is not relevant to the issues in this process.”

The judge claims that the issue of legalization is irrelevant to the process. The motion added that “evidence and arguments of this nature are irrelevant and should be excluded from this trial.”

Who is Jonathan Wall?

Andrew Ward introduced Wall for High Times Most Affected last year. “Everyone knows it’s illegal federally, but certainly not to this extent until they’ve been affected by it firsthand,” he explained. Wall was held at the Chesapeake Detention Facility in Baltimore, which is known for its high levels of violence. Is it really fair that a person should endure extreme prison conditions for something that is now legal?

Wall’s attorney, Jason Flores-Williams, a well-known activist, agreed that the war on drugs is a dead idea and people are still feeling the consequences of it. The question is whether it is fair for Wall and others to be among the last.

“There are so many people who gave their lives to get this plant to where it is today, on the verge of legalization,” Wall Insider said from inside the prison. “Do I have to be the last person to be charged for a product that makes billions of dollars worldwide?”

Federal authorities allege that Wall served as the program’s “architect” when he was just 20 years old and living in Humboldt County. If only Wall had a license to transport that amount, he would have simply been a “dealer” in the legal cannabis world. A piece of paper makes the difference between that and human trafficking charges.

Read Wall’s own account of the alleged crimes. In it, Wall describes how rape allegations can result in fewer jail terms than the drug allegations he’s facing.

Wall attempted to get the court to dismiss his case on geographic procedural grounds and again on grounds of equal protection given the arbitrary enforcement of federal cannabis prohibition by state.

Wall’s trial begins Monday morning in US District Court in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. At the time of writing, his Change.org petition has received over 16,000 signatures.

Visit FreeJonathanWall.com to learn more about his ongoing case.