U.S. Citizen Jailed In Russia For Medical Marijuana Not Included In Prisoner Swap Despite Pleas From Bipartisan Lawmakers

Despite pleas from bipartisan congressional lawmakers, a U.S. citizen imprisoned in Russia over possession of medical marijuana that he obtained as a registered patient in Pennsylvania was not included in a high-profile prisoner swap on Thursday.

Marc 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 cannabis. Amid news of a prisoner swap, members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation urged the Biden administration to secure his release.

While there’s widespread relief about the release of individuals such as Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. marine Paul Whelan, Fogel will continue to serve out his sentence, at least for the time being.

“As news of a potential prisoner exchange is being reported, we urge that any swap include Pennsylvania’s Marc Fogel, along with Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich,” Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA), as well as Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA), Chris Deluzio (D-PA) and Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), said in a press release on Thursday.

“Marc is a Pennsylvania teacher with severe health issues who has been unjustly imprisoned in a Russian prison for three years, and as the congressional members who represent Marc and his family, we have been pushing to bring Marc home as quickly as possible,” they said.

.@SenFettermanPA, @MikeKellyPA, @RepDeluzio, @GReschenthaler and I are urging the administration to include PA’s Marc Fogel, who has been unjustly imprisoned for 3 years, in any potential prisoner swap. Full statement: https://t.co/Z58Pb4FgiN

— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) August 1, 2024

“As negotiations are ongoing with the Russian Federation, we respectfully request that any potential prisoner swap include Marc Fogel,” the lawmakers continued.

In a statement on Thursday that didn’t reference Fogel by name, President Joe Biden said he “will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family.”

Although we’re happy to hear of the impending release of Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, I join my friend Guy Reschenthaler in calling for any prisoner swap to also include wrongfully imprisoned Pennsylvanian, Marc Fogel. https://t.co/0mITY6MaPS

— Congressman Dan Meuser (@RepMeuser) August 1, 2024

“My Administration has now brought home over 70 such Americans, many of whom were in captivity since before I took office,” the president said. “Still, too many families are suffering and separated from their loved ones, and I have no higher priority as President than bringing those Americans home.”

This comes days after the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill 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.

“Marc Fogel has undergone three back surgeries, a spinal fusion, a hip replacement, and two knee surgeries to correct various injuries and health issues, which have left him with chronic back pain and a permanent limp,” the Senate-passed measure says. And he “did not wish to use opioids to manage his pain and was instead prescribed medical marijuana for pain management in a manner consistent with the State law of Pennsylvania.”

Fogel “stated he intended that marijuana solely for personal consumption, and the Government of the Russian Federation has presented no evidence to the contrary,” the resolution reads, yet he received a 14-year sentence following a “politicized show trial.”

Any potential prisoner swap must include Pennsylvania’s Marc Fogel, along with Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich. Our full statement:https://t.co/PU7eJ1XMS0

— Rep. Mike Kelly (@MikeKellyPA) August 1, 2024

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.

Lawmakers have made repeated pleas for the State Department to escalate Fogel’s case, including by formally designating him as wrongfully detained. The resolution also urges that designation.

They’ve pointed out that his 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 a prisoner swap that the Biden administration negotiated.

Signatories also filed a bill last June that would require the State Department to explain to Congress why it has not designated Fogel, as well as other Americans detained abroad, as “wrongfully detained.”

Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul also sent a letter to the secretary of state, 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.

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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.

As State Department spokesperson Ned Price explained, officials take into account 11-point criteria when determining whether a given case amounts to a wrongful detention. 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.

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.

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Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.