Foster, a 42-year-old father of two, was arrested in 1995 for growing marijuana in the basement of his Tulsa, home.  He used the marijuana to relieve chronic pain caused by acute rheumatoid arthritis. Foster is quick to explain his medical condition.  

"The drugs that I was getting, Percodans and Percosets make you really moody.  They turn you into a junky.  And these come with the recommendation of the doctor.  With marijuana, you can control your dosage, control what you want it to do." 

Police raided Foster's home on December 28, 1995.  They were acting on a fraudulent tip that Foster was selling methamphetamine.  The raid terrified Foster and his family including their 5-year-old daughter who watched police tear apart her teddy bear looking for drugs. Only when they forced open a locked steel door did police find Foster's small, 25 square foot growing room. 

During Foster's trial, the prosecution claimed the plants were equivalent to 2,652 joints.  Ed Rosenthal, a marijuana cultivation expert, testified that the yield would be at most 600 joints, a proper amount for a medical patent taking it as medication on a daily basis. At the time of the raid, Foster was a highly paid computer programmer.  

"My medical use of marijuana never interfered with my work, I ran a successful business. I told my conservative doctor what I was doing, he did not really agree with it ‘cause of the health risk of smoking, but he witnesses my positive results.  I was minding my own business taking care of my health and my family.  What was I doing to anybody that got me 93 years?" 

There was absolutely no evidence of any sales, but a jury was convinced to convict him with cultivation and intent to distribute. Aggravating factors of possession "in the presence of a minor under age 11," and failure to obtain marijuana tax stamps increased the sentence to 93 years.  

In 1998, an appeals court found that the 93-year term "shocks our conscience" and reduced the sentence to 20 years, which opened up the possibility of parole for Foster. The parole board quickly issued a unanimous recommendation for the release of Foster.  Oklahoma governor Frank Keating made the unusual move of turning this down. 

The next year Foster came up for parole and he received the recommendation of the board but Keating rejected it.  On his third attempt at parole, Keating was busy being a candidate for attorney general and then the drug czar. Only when it was clear that Keating would not get either position did he finally agree to release Foster.

Foster immediately flew to California where he plans to rebuild his life. For more information, please contact Will Foster in care of the Quick Trading Company 510-533-0605 or through Attorney Don Wirtshafter 740-662-5297.