Musician Resentenced for Cannabis Possession

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap] Jamaican-born musician, Patrick Beadle, 46, who had been previously convicted of drug trafficking in Madison County, Mississippi for possessing medical cannabis, could now be out of prison in as little as three years. He faced up to 40 years in prison initially but was sentenced to eight years without parole last October under state drug trafficking laws.

However, with the recent decriminalization of cannabis possession adopted by many states, Beadle was allowed to plead guilty to simple possession of drugs. He has been sentenced to 12 years in prison but will be eligible for parole after serving three. Beadle is housed at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Rankin County.

“My client didn’t want to roll the dice on an appeal since he was facing eight years in prison day for day,” Cynthia Stewart, Beadle’s lawyer told the Clarion-Ledger. Stewart also said that being a first-time offender would be an advantage for Beadle for receiving early release from the Department of Corrections.

Patrick Beadle commented on his case by saying that  he has a medical cannabis card from Oregon to treat chronic pain in both knees. He was traveling south on Interstate 55 after entering Madison County and he was pulled over on I-55 near Canton, Mississippi by a Madison County deputy for the violation of crossing over the fog line. He disputes the deputy’s allegation that he crossed over the fog line.

Prosecutors admitted there was no evidence to prove Beadle was trafficking drugs other than the amount of cannabis which was 2.89 pounds.In the Beadle case, authorities found no large sums of money, drug equipment or weighing scale to back up the trafficking charge. “This is not the typical defendant you see. He is not a drug dealer,” said Randy Harris, who was Beadle’s trial attorney.