'Incredible Is What the Law Requires'

Jacob Sullum | May 22, 2009

This week U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Patel sentenced medical marijuana activist Eddy Lepp to a 10-year mandatory minimum prison term for openly cultivating cannabis near a state highway in Northern California. Lepp maintained that he was growing the marijuana for patients who are legally permitted to use the drug under state law, but (as usual in these cases) he was not allowed to mention that at his trial, since it does not matter under federal law. Lepp's attorney called the 10-year sentence, which was dictated by statute for cultivation of more than 1,000 plants, "incredible," to which Patel replied, "Incredible is what the law requires."