Jonathan Magbie

Twenty-seven-year-old Jonathan Magbie died while serving a 10-day sentence for marijuana possession in a Washington, D.C., jail. Magbie, a quadriplegic since age 4, used his chin to operate a motorized wheelchair and required a ventilator to help him breathe. The jail could not provide the medical help he needed, and by the time he was taken to a hospital, he was dead. Magbie was a first-time offender who told the judge that marijuana made him feel better and that he didn't think there was anything wrong with using it.

Jimmy Montgomery

Paraplegic medical marijuana patient Jimmy Montgomery was given a life sentence (later reduced to 10 years) for possessing two ounces of marijuana with intent to distribute. Evidence that he intended to distribute the marijuana came from a sheriff's deputy who was later convicted of embezzling seized property and assets.

Jeffre and Alice Sanderson

Jeffre Sanderson and his wife, Alice Wiegand, owned a garden that supplied medical marijuana to ten patients under California state law. But because the federal government did not recognize California’s Compassionate Use Act, the couple was arrested in 2006 and had their children turned over to social services.

James Burton

Glaucoma patient James Burton served one year in prison and lost his home after being convicted of possession of marijuana. He now lives in the Netherlands, where he can obtain his marijuana by prescription from pharmacies.

Goose Creek, South Carolina, School Raid

In November 2003, police officers with guns drawn swept through Stratford High School in South Carolina. Officers held guns to the backs of 130 students — a majority of whom were black though the school population is only 25% black — who were ordered to lie on the floor or kneel against lockers while police dogs sniffed for drugs. No drugs were found and no arrests were made.