Biden Administration Finally Says American Incarcerated In Russia Over Medical Marijuana Is ‘Wrongfully Detained’

The U.S. State Department has officially designated an American imprisoned in Russia over medical marijuana possession as a “wrongfully detained” person, which is expected to escalate diplomatic efforts to secure his return.

For years, advocates and lawmakers have pushed the administration to assign that wrongfully detained status to Marc Fogel, a U.S. teacher who is serving a 14-year sentence after being convicted of “drug smuggling” over possession of a half-ounce of cannabis.

They’ve pointed out that he obtained the marijuana lawfully in Pennsylvania as a registered medical cannabis patient, and that he used it as an opioid alternative to treat pain.

Now Fogel has finally been designated as wrongfully detained, a States Department spokesperson confirmed to CBS News. An attorney and family of Fogel separately confirmed the news.

“We’re so grateful for the support we’ve gotten from Butler and Pittsburgh, and the media attention from the newspapers. We’re very grateful for everything everyone has done, and we’re still working,” Marc’s sister, Anne Fogel, told the Butler Eagle. “The job’s not done.”

There have been repeated calls for the diplomatic status change, including a letter sent to the Biden administration by over a dozen members of Congress in August that emphasized that Fogel’s access to marijuana was “necessary to subdue his pain.”

Following an historic, multinational prisoner swap this summer, 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 Fogel.

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.

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 earlier this year 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 didn’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 said 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.

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.

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) 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.

Retiring Congressman Says Feds Are ‘Trapped In Time’ On Marijuana