According to Clarion Ledger reports, Patrick Beadle (an Oregon-based musician) was convicted last year of drug trafficking. The case raised tensions between different state laws regarding marijuana. Although Beadle was found guilty by a trial jury last summer, he and his family claimed that he had used marijuana for religious and medical purposes and wasn’t a trafficker. William Chapman (now retired judge) sentenced Beadle to eight years without parole in October. Cynthia Stewart, Beadle’s appeals lawyer, told the Clarion Ledger, that Chapman had overturned Beadle’s initial sentence and allowed Beadle plead guilty to simple possession. Chapman resentenced Beadle again to 12 years imprisonment, although he may be eligible for parole within three years. Beadle’s conviction was a major news story. His family and lawyers claimed that his arrest was due to racial profiling at the Madison County Sheriff’s Department. They also claimed that he was able to obtain the marijuana legally because Oregon has made it illegal. Mississippi is considering legalizing medical marijuana via a ballot initiative. Jurors discovered that Beadle had less than three pounds of marijuana in his car during the trial. You can read the Clarion Ledger story right here._x000D