CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
A federal judge on Tuesday invoked a rarely used rule when giving reduced sentences to a Ventura County, Calif., couple charged with growing marijuana for a West Hollywood medical marijuana club, the Los Angeles Times reports. U.S. district judge A. Howard Matz relied on the "lesser harm" rule--that a defendant may commit a crime to avoid a perceived greater harm--in sentencing Judy Osburn, 50, to one year of probation. She could have received a prison sentence of up to 37 months. Osburn's husband, Lynn, 54, received a one-year prison sentence stemming from weapons charges and one year of probation for the marijuana charge. "You are a principled person," Matz told Judy Osburn at the sentencing hearing. "I don't consider you to be a threat or menace to society. But however salutary your purpose," he added, "the ends do not justify the means." The couple pleaded guilty in October after the judge ruled that they could not tell a jury during a trial that they were growing marijuana for medicinal purposes and with the support of West Hollywood city officials and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. California voters approved a ballot measure legalizing the medicinal use of marijuana in 1996. Judy Osburn was a director of the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center, which dispensed marijuana to about 960 people, who used the drug to treat symptoms of AIDS or cancer or to counter nausea caused by medications to treat the diseases. Agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in October 2001 raided the club and shut it down. Federal officials plan to appeal the probation sentences given to the Osburns.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Here Are Our 2024 Election Predictions. Will They Come True?
November 07 2023 1:46 PM
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
17 Celebs Who Are Out & Proud of Their Trans & Nonbinary Kids
November 30 2023 10:41 AM
Here Are the 15 Most LGBTQ-Friendly Cities in the U.S.
November 01 2023 5:09 PM
Which State Is the Queerest? These Are the States With the Most LGBTQ+ People
December 11 2023 10:00 AM
These 27 Senate Hearing Room Gay Sex Jokes Are Truly Exquisite
December 17 2023 3:33 PM
10 Cheeky and Homoerotic Photos From Bob Mizer's Nude Films
November 18 2023 10:05 PM
42 Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters Calendar
November 10 2023 6:08 PM
These Are the 5 States With the Smallest Percentage of LGBTQ+ People
December 13 2023 9:15 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
Watch Now: The Daily
Trending stories from our video partner Advocate Channel.
For more videos and shows go to advocatechannel.com.
Trending stories from our video partner Advocate Channel.
For more videos and shows go to advocatechannel.com.
Latest Stories
Serial killer of gay men in New Orleans released after 46 years in prison
April 24 2024 2:16 PM
The 'largest bi+ event in the world' is happening this year. Here's when and where
April 24 2024 12:42 PM
What happens if Donald Trump is jailed for criminal contempt?
April 24 2024 12:22 PM
Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird, and more urge NCAA to stand up for trans inclusion
April 24 2024 8:00 AM
Over 90% of trans youth live in states pushing anti-trans legislation: report
April 23 2024 10:08 PM
George Santos pulls out of New York congressional race
April 23 2024 7:04 PM