Marijuana Grower Sentenced to 27 Months

The first Californian to fight federal drug charges using the state’s voter-approved medical marijuana law was sentenced Friday to 27 months in prison.

B.E. Smith, an outspoken proponent of Proposition 215 who was accused of growing marijuana on federal land, was convicted in May of felony marijuana possession and cultivation.

U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell, imposing a higher sentence than prosecutors sought, said Smith has shown an “utter disdain for federal marijuana law.”

“Marijuana is an evil in American society and a serious threat to people,” Burrell told a courtroom packed with Smith’s supporters. “The public is only going to be protected from further crimes if Mr. Smith is incarcerated.”

Proposition 215, approved in 1996, permits the growth and consumption of marijuana for medical use.

The law could have shielded Smith in state court because he has a doctor’s recommendation to grow and smoke the plant to relieve post-traumatic stress disorder from his service in Vietnam.

But possession and cultivation of marijuana remains illegal under U.S. law. Federal officials have repeatedly told state officials that medical marijuana users risk federal prosecution.

“Marijuana is a political tool but this is an issue of compassion and patients are caught in the middle of this politicking,” said Thomas Ballanco, Smith’s attorney. “And B.E Smith was brave enough to stand up and put his foot in the middle of that wheel.”

Smith plans to appeal his conviction, Ballanco said.