Why Are We Punishing This Man?

Here’s a set of facts for you.

It appears that an Iowan jury has convicted a 48-year-old man of felony drug charges for growing marijuana that he uses to treat his terminal cancer.

It appears the jury was not permitted to hear one word about why the man was growing the marijuana because there was no medical-marijuana law in Iowa, so his medical condition was legally irrelevant. (Morally, of course, it was.)

It appears the man has two prior drug convictions—one in 2000 for growing psychedelic mushrooms, and one in 2011 for the same pot growing (for the same reason) he was convicted of last week—so he may be labeled a “habitual offender” and receive a three-year, mandatory-minimum sentence. He calls it a death sentence. In 2011, he pleaded guilty to avoid jail time; this time, he took his case to trial.

It appears that his full-time, caretaker wife was convicted along with him, and his parents, who are in their mid-seventies, have also been charged with running a drug house because they allowed their cancer-stricken son to move in and grow marijuana in their home.

The man’s name is Benton Mackenzie, his wife is Loretta, his parents are Charles and Dorothy, and his sentencing is set for August 28.

And boy, is he suffering. In 2011, he was diagnosed with severe angiosarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer of the blood vessels that produces large, nasty skin lesions. If you’re not faint of heart, you can see a photo of them here, but beware, it’s graphic.

Just this year, the Iowa legislature passed a narrow medical-marijuana bill that permits the parents of epileptic children to use cannabis oil as a treatment. The same cannabis oil Mr. Mackenzie uses to treat his lesions and obtain relief from his terminal cancer.

But there’s no other law on the books to cover anyone else, so Mr. Mackenzie wasn’t allowed to breathe a word to the jury about medical necessity or any such defense, and now he’s a convicted felon again.

Is that what one looks like?