LUKE SCARMAZZO

Incarcerated: 2008   |  Sentence: 22 years

In 2006, Luke Scarmazzo was running a state-legal medical cannabis dispensary in Modesto, California, when he was arrested by U.S. federal agents following a DEA raid of the business. Scarmazzo was prosecuted in federal court and received a 22-year jail sentence. He and his family have turned to The Weldon Project for support.


Though Scarmazzo’s dispensary was legal through California’s Proposition 215 – which legalized medical cultivation, sales, and consumption in the state – he and his business partner were charged under the Continuing Criminal Enterprise Statute. The CCE Statute, also known as the Kingpin Statute, is a federal law designed to target large-scale drug traffickers and cartels who are responsible for long-term and elaborate drug conspiracies. It carries a mandatory minimum jail sentence of 20 years.


In 2017, after serving nearly a decade in jail, Scarmazzo petitioned the Obama administration for commutation. His business partner, Ricardo Montes, received clemency, but Luke’s request was denied. In 2020, advocates with the nonprofit The Weldon Project included Luke's name on a list of 25 marijuana offenders sent to the Trump White House as part of a clemency campaign supported by Republicans, Democrats, law enforcement and various celebrities. Although President Trump granted nine of the requested pardons, Luke’s request was not granted.

Now, Weldon Angelos, president and co-founder of The Weldon Project, is focused on getting Luke’s case in front of the Biden/Harris administration. 


“We’re pursuing a compassionate release motion on the grounds that this type of case is no longer being prosecuted anymore,” said Angelos. “We are seeing a tremendous amount of support from citizens and politicians who believe non-violent cannabis offenders deserve to be released from prison and have their records expunged. I’m hopeful Luke and others like him will see their sentences commuted soon.”


As Luke bides his time in prison waiting for a decision, more than a dozen cannabis dispensaries operate in Modesto.

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