Black man sentenced to 8 years in Miss. prison for marijuana he said was legally obtained in Oregon: report

A black man was convicted in Mississippi this week for possessing marijuana he said was legally obtained in Oregon, The Clarion-Ledger reported.

Patrick Beadle, 46, of Oregon, was sentenced by Madison County Circuit Judge William Chapman on Monday after a jury convicted him in July of drug trafficking.

{mosads}The sentence stems from an incident in March 2017 when Beadle was found with 2.89 pounds of marijuana concealed in his vehicle after being stopped by a Madison County deputy.

Beadle, who says he has a medical marijuana card to treat chronic pain in his knees, said he obtained the marijuana in Oregon, which legalized the use of medical marijuana in 1998. The state also approved the recreational use of marijuana in 2014.

Beadle was not in possession of a large sum of money, drug paraphernalia, a scale or any other items to suggest he was a drug trafficker. He was initially stopped by police for crossing a fog line in the road, something Beadle disputes.

The Jamaican-born musician said he believes his dreadlocks and out-of-state license plate made him a target for racial profiling.

Beadle’s mother, Tommy Beadle, pleaded with the judge not to sentence her son to prison.

“Judge, I’m asking for mercy for my son,” she said. “I wouldn’t stand here before you if my son was trafficking in drugs. As a mother, I’m asking you to please don’t lock him up behind bars.”

Chapman said he will not reduce Beadle’s charge to simple possession because the jury already convicted him under the state’s drug trafficking law. He also said Beadle would have to serve the entire eight-year sentence since the state does not permit parole or probation.

Cynthia Stewart, an attorney representing Beadle, said his sentence will be appealed.