Richard Flor Dies in Prison

Richard Flor died in a Las Vegas Bureau of Prisons medical facility on Wednesday.

Flor, 68, was just a few months into a five-year prison sentence for running a Billings, Montana marijuana dispensary with his wife and son. Flor also co-owned Montana Cannabis, one of the largest medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, and which was the subject of a March, 2011 federal raid. Montana legalized medical cannabis in 2004, but that doesn't matter under federal law.

Flor's wife got two years in prison for bookkeeping, and his son got five years for running the Billings dispensary. These were pleas entered and settled before the Department of Justice (DOJ) could make sure that medical marijuana went unmentioned in the court room....

One of Montana's first medical marijuana caregivers has died during a prison transfer in federal custody. He was being transferred due his worsening medical problems, and after mouths of delays was finally moved to a federal prison more properly equipped to handle his condition, but he never made it.

68-year-old Richard Flor, a Vietnam veteran, was sentenced to five years in prison earlier this year on drug related charges during some spring medical marijuana raids.

His family ran a dispensary out of their home, and Flor was a co-owner of Montana Cannabis. His wife and son were also sentenced to federal prison for their involvement in the business, but his daughter fought for a lighter sentence due her serious health problems.

Flor had been diagnosed with dementia and depression, and he had recently suffered two heart attacks aiding in a decline in his overall health. He was being held at a detention facility in Shelby since April awaiting this transfer to a federal prison better equipped to handle his condition, it was during this transport that Richard Flor passed away.

Family members are very upset about the whole situation that led up to Flor's death. His daughter Kristin told ABC 5 that the family was under the impression Flor was doing everything right and legal under state law, however the federal government felt otherwise and acted in disregard of the law.

MTCIA President Chris Lindsey was quoted by ABC 5 on Flor's case as saying, “It’s sad that Richard was in prison at all for being a caregiver, especially when such a large number of people think marijuana should be available as an option for sick patients . In affect he got a life sentence which is tragic and really kind of hard to imagine. My heart goes out to his family and I can only hope that our government will end the war on marijuana and come up with a better solution than throwing people like Richard into prison.”

As a result of the actions taken by the federal government against state laws, a family lost a father and are all imprisoned for trying to get patients their much needed medication. Their compassion were their own demise and now the feds have broken apart one more American family. This under supposed states rights in the land of the free.

Montana legalized medical marijuana back in 2004. But that didn't stop the feds from raiding his dispensary last year. Way to go, President Obama.

I would not legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, and the reasons are straightforward: As I talk to people in my state and at the federal government level about marijuana and its role in society, they are convinced that the entry way into a drug culture for our young people is marijuana. Marijuana is the starter drug....The idea of medical marijuana is designed to get marijuana out in the public marketplace and ultimately lead to the legalization of marijuana overall. And in my view, that's the wrong way to go. I know that other people have differing views. If you'd like to get someone who is in favor of marijuana, I know there are some on the Democratic side of the aisle who will be happy to get in your campaign. But I'm opposed to it, and if you elect me president, you're not going to see legalized marijuana. I'm going to fight it tooth and nail.

As I talk to people in my state and at the federal government level about marijuana and its role in society, they are convinced that the entry way into a drug culture for our young people is marijuana.

...Ryan noted that the issue “is something that is not a high priority of ours.” A Ryan spokesman later emphasized that he agrees with Mitt Romney that marijuana should never be legalized. In the video embedded below you can see how Romney scoffed at a reporter who dared to ask a question about medical marijuana: “Aren’t there issues of significance that you’d like to talk about?” He went on to call marijuana a “gateway drug to other drug violations.”