Petrelis Files

Louisiana Man Gets Life Sentence 
for 2-lbs. of Pot Distribution

The American war on marijuana and the millions of citizens who use it for either medicinal purposes or in the pursuit of happiness, is sending another person to prison, this time for life and it all has to do with measly two-pounds of pot.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been and will be spent arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating for the rest of his days a man who sold pot to folks who wanted to use it. As they say in the criminal justice community, this was a clear-cut victim-less crime, as far as I can tell. A waste of good money, not to mention throwing away a man's life over a weed.

This story appeared last week in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, with almost 350 comments left thus far, showing a wildly divergent number of views about this case and the matter of sending non-violent pot dealers to jail, on the taxpayers' dime:

Cornell Hood II got off with probation after three marijuana convictions in New Orleans.

He didn't fare too well after moving to St. Tammany Parish, however. A single such conviction on the north shore landed the 35-year-old in prison for the rest of his life.

State Judge Raymond S. Childress punished Hood under Louisiana's repeat-offender law in his courtroom in Covington on Thursday. A jury on Feb. 15 found the defendant guilty of attempting to possess and distribute marijuana at his Slidell home, court records show.

Hood moved from eastern New Orleans to the Slidell area after he admitted to separate charges of distribution of marijuana and possession with intent to distribute marijuana on Dec. 18, 2009, in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court. ...

When Hood switched homes, he also requested a new probation officer based in St. Tammany. ...

[Hood's new probation officer] found nearly two pounds of pot throughout the house, according to court records. ...