Over a dozen members of Congress are putting pressure on the Biden administration to secure the release of a U.S. citizen incarcerated in Russia over possession of medical marijuana he lawfully obtained in Pennsylvania—with bipartisan lawmakers, including those who generally oppose cannabis reform, emphasizing that access to marijuana is “necessary to subdue his pain.”
About two weeks after an historic, multinational prisoner swap where several Americans were released, the bicameral legislators sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, expressing their “gravest of concerns” about the continued imprisonment of a U.S. teacher, Marc Fogel, and urging the administration to designate him as a wrongfully detained person to escalate diplomatic efforts to secure his release.
The letter, led by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), also requests that Blinken “redouble your efforts to ensure that Marc has access to the medical care and consular services he needs as his health continues to deteriorate.”
Fogel, who used cannabis as an opioid alternative to treat pain, is serving a 14-year sentence after being convicted of “drug smuggling” over possession of a half-ounce of marijuana. After three years of prison, however, he’s yet to be classified as a wrongfully convicted person. President Joe Biden did say following the recent prisoner swap, however, that he’s “not giving up” on Fogel’s case.
Today marks three years since Marc Fogel was wrongfully detained in Russia.
That’s 1,096 days away from his family and loved ones, imprisoned in a penal colony.
The Biden-Harris Administration must prioritize his release and bring him home to Pennsylvania. pic.twitter.com/D5XnDxrbhG
— Guy Reschenthaler (@GReschenthaler) August 14, 2024
The lawmakers also noted that Fogel’s situation is comparable to that of WNBA player Brittney Griner, who also served time in a Russian prison over possession of cannabis oil that she also lawfully obtained as a medical marijuana patient in Arizona before being released as part of an earlier prisoner swap that the Biden administration negotiated.
“While efforts to bring about Marc’s release continue, we are urgently concerned about Marc’s declining health. He has lived with chronic pain for decades, having undergone three back surgeries, a spinal fusion, a hip replacement, and two knee surgeries,” they said. “Without access to the medical marijuana and other specialized treatments necessary to subdue his pain, Marc’s condition has progressively worsened.”
That’s a notable statement, as the bipartisan and bicameral legislators are effectively recognizing the medical value of cannabis, even though not all signatories on the letter are supportive of broader reform.
For example, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) signed the letter. Previously, he’s expressed skepticism about medical cannabis, stating that he’d only be “open to” allowing access if it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and made available as a prescription drug without any intoxicating effects.
“Marc needs more attention and services than younger or healthier prisoners,” the letter says, urging the State Department to continue to request consular visits and also “arrange to bring a doctor on those visits to evaluate Marc’s condition and to provide the prison’s medical staff with any specialized medications Marc may require.”
Today marks 3 years that Marc Fogel has been detained in Russia. To mark this day, I joined a bipartisan letter calling for the State Department to finally designate Marc Fogel as “wrongfully detained.”https://t.co/ZRVEvJmXS7
— Congressman Chris Deluzio (@RepDeluzio) August 14, 2024
Other signatories on the letter are: Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA), Jon Tester (D-MT) and Chris Coons (D-DE), as well as Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Susan Wild (D-PA), Summer Lee (D-PA), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Glenn Thompson (R-PA), Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Chris Deluzio (D-PA).
In a recent interview with Reuters, Fogel’s mother lamented that it “just seems like an unbelievable occurrence to think that they released all those prisoners and they didn’t include Marc.”
“It just took the heart right out of him when he heard,” she said. “He’s just shattered.”
The family’s lawyer, Sasha Phillips, was critical of the Biden administration’s lack of transparency throughout the diplomatic process, saying they have “been kept in the dark the entire time, with no direct contact from the Biden administration and only vague, confusing messages from the State Department.”
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said earlier this month that the administration intends to “build on” this latest prisoner swap, “drawing inspiration and continued courage from it for all of those who are held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world, and that includes Marc Fogel, who we are actively working to get his release from Russia.”
While it seemed unclear whether Sullivan was suggesting that Fogel has been formally designated as wrongfully detained, as lawmakers have pushed for, a White House National Security Council told Marijuana Moment that he “has not” in fact been given that status.
The State Department looks at an 11 criteria when determining whether a given case amounts to a wrongful detention, which can escalate diplomatic efforts to secure their release. For example, if the U.S. has reason to believe that due process is being impaired, that the person was arrested solely because they are a U.S. national or that they are innocent of the stated charges, that would warrant a wrongful detention designation.
Meanwhile, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill last month with an attached report demanding that the Biden administration explain why it has not escalated diplomatic efforts to secure the release Fogel.
While the section doesn’t describe the specific details of Fogel’s case, the committee passage followed the Senate approving a resolution calling for his release, emphasizing that he was a lawful medical cannabis patient in Pennsylvania using state-legal products as an opioid alternative.
The resolution says the 14-year sentence that Fogel received after being convicted of “large-scale drugs smuggling” over possession of a half-ounce of cannabis is politically motivated and disproportionate, especially when taking into account the fact that he was using marijuana for medical purposes in accordance with a doctor’s recommendation.
The resolution was introduced last July shortly after family of Fogel visited the White House to meet with high-level officials and also raise attention to his case with members of Congress. While the Senate version has now been enacted, a House companion version has not yet advanced in that chamber.
Meanwhile, a separate coalition of more than 20 U.S. senators filed a different resolution in April condemning the arrests of American citizens in Russia, including Fogel.
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul also sent a letter to the secretary of state last year, imploring the administration to “immediately” escalate diplomatic efforts to secure Fogel’s return.
In 2022, more than two dozen members of Congress called on the State Department to step up diplomatic efforts to secure the release of Fogel, calling his incarceration over marijuana that he used to treat chronic pain “unconscionable.”
The White House said that year it was actively investigating Fogel’s case, and lawmakers have been keeping the pressure on to ensure it’s doing all that it can to secure his release.
—
Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,500 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—
When asked about the administration’s work to secure the release of other Americans like Fogel who are imprisoned abroad, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre deferred to the State Department, arguing that “every case is different” and saying she didn’t want to get ahead of any ongoing diplomatic efforts.
Casey also led a letter with other senators that similarly asked the State Department to classify the citizen, an American teacher, as “wrongfully detained.” That came shortly after other bipartisan members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation again pleaded with the State Department to escalate Fogel’s case, drawing parallels between his and Griner’s cannabis-related convictions.
Russia, for its part, has taken a particularly strong stance against reforming cannabis policy at the international level through the United Nations. And it condemned Canada for legalizing marijuana nationwide.
Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our cannabis advocacy journalism to stay informed, please consider a monthly Patreon pledge.
