Isle pot advocate denied dismissal of case

A federal judge denied defense requests Friday to dismiss the marijuana case against Hawaii island cannabis advocate Roger Christie, clearing the way for his trial in July.

U.S. District Judge Leslie Koba­ya­shi issued an order saying the dismissal and other defense requests were denied. A more detailed order will come later, she said.

The ruling means Christie, who has been in custody without bail for more than 21⁄2 years, will continue to be held at the federal detention center until his trial.

The case of the 63-year-old man who ran the Hawaii Cannabis Ministry has become symbolic to marijuana supporters and others who say he is being unfairly prosecuted and detained because of his views.

Two resolutions calling for Christie’s release are pending in the state Senate.

Christie’s wife, Sherryanne, who is also charged in the case, said Friday’s ruling indicates that her husband won’t get a fair trial.

"Zero fairness for bail for Roger feels like zero fairness for trial," she said.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Kawa­hara noted that Koba­ya­shi would have been the first judge in the country to throw out marijuana charges because of its federal classification as a most highly restricted drug.

Christie’s lawyer Thomas Otake had argued that Christie’s constitutional rights are violated by the federal government categorizing marijuana as a Schedule I drug — a category that also includes heroin. He said the category is reserved for drugs that have no acceptable medical use, but Hawaii and 17 other states permit marijuana for medical reasons.

Kawahara, however, argued that courts have upheld marijuana as a Schedule I drug and that a recent federal appeals court decision from Washington, D.C., said there’s still a "serious debate" over the effectiveness of marijuana for medical purposes.

By denying the dismissal request, Koba­ya­shi apparently declined to strike down marijuana’s federal classification.

By the time the trial starts, Christie will have spent more than three years in custody since his arrest in July 2010.

Christie and 13 others were arrested on a federal grand jury indictment alleging marijuana trafficking.

He was charged with conspiracy and related charges of growing and possessing 284 marijuana plants. Each charge carries a prison term of five to 40 years.

Christie has maintained he promoted the religious use of marijuana as a sacrament at his ministry.

He has repeatedly sought release pending his trial, but federal judges here and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals turned down his requests, ruling that he poses a danger to the community.

Kobayashi also denied other defense requests Friday, including one seeking to suppress the prosecution’s wiretaps of some 17,000 calls on Christie’s home phone and cellphone and the ministry’s phone.

One pending issue is whether Christie will be able to raise the defense at trial under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Otake has said Christie sincerely believes in his Christian-based ministry and marijuana as a sacrament.

But federal prosecutors say Christie was using his ministry as a front for a large-scale marijuana trafficking enterprise that had up to 70 customers a day.

Kawahara said they will oppose the request.

Christie, his wife and the other defendants are scheduled to go on trial July 23.