Black Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Mississippi Prison for Marijuana Legally Obtained in Oregon

If you needed more proof that America’s drug laws are insanely punitive and racist, here it is: A Jamaican-born 46-year-old black musician named Patrick Beadle was just convicted of drug trafficking in Mississippi and sentenced to an eight-year prison sentence. This punishment would be harsh and insane even with solid proof that Beadle was a drug trafficker, and I want to make that clear—nobody who gets caught dealing marijuana should go to jail, especially not for that long.

But in Beadle’s case, the conviction was even more egregious for two reasons:

1. The marijuana was bought legally in Oregon, where Beadle bought it with a medical card.

2. There were 2.89 pounds in his possession, but no money, no measuring scale, and no other paraphernalia. In other words, absolutely nothing to prove that he was a drug trafficker.

This is utter madness, but if you’re one of the “rules are rules!” types, you will find your justification in Mississippi law, as the Clarion Ledger reported:

Prosecutors admitted there was no evidence to prove Beadle was trafficking in drugs other than the amount of marijuana, 2.89 pounds, and that it was concealed in his vehicle.

Chapman departed from giving Beadle the 10 to 40 years under the drug trafficking law, but he wouldn’t reduce it to simple possession because he said the jury convicted Beadle under the drug trafficking law.