The Strange Tale Of An Oregon Teen Facing Jail For A Single Gram May Have A Happy Ending

One of the most bizarre marijuana busts in recent history hasjust reached a more or less happy ending. Oregon teenDevontre Thomas will not be charged for possessing one gram of marijuana -- barely enough for a joint.

The case highlights just how confusing and conflicted America's marijuana laws are right now.

First off,Roben L. Iiguez, the lawyer representing Thomas, says that his client wasn't actually caught with cannabis when this situation began in March 2015.Iiguezasserts that Thomas simply admitted to buying a gram from a fellow student in Salem, Oregon. Admitting the purchasewas apparently enough for him to be charged. Since the accusedThomaswas 18 when the incident occurred, he was set to be charged as an adult, even though he is still considered a minor according to Oregon's state marijuana laws, which legalized recreational marijuana for those over 21 years of age.

Thomas - a Native American - was busted at the boarding school on his reservation. TheChemawa Indian Schoolin Salem, OR is overseen by the Bureau of Indian Education, which is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior. That means Thomas faced charges for violating federal law, which still prohibits recreational and medical marijuana. Cannabisis regulated like alcohol in Oregon, but the feds still define it as a drug that is as dangerous as heroin.

Thomas faced up to a year in jail for the single gram. However, Anthony L. Fisher of reason.com noted that first-time offenders like Thomas were more likely to receive a "deferred adjudication," meaning he wouldn't be sent to jail. Like other cannabis offenders, Thomaswould forfeit the right to receive any government assistance - including access to publichousing and student loans - in the future.

Jurisdictionalquagmire

Thomaswasn't the only one in hot water. The case put the federal government itself in an awkward position.Even though the school is administered federally, the line where tribal sovereignty ends and thegovernment's jurisdiction over Indian reservationsbegins is often unclear. Moreover, the idea of charging a Native American teen for a minor, non-violent cannabis infraction in a legal state was sure to draw ire from the cannabis community. Vince Sliwoski -- a lead attorney for Harris Moure's Canna Law Group-- told Civilized that the optics of the case were very poor for the government.

And that might be why the two sides came to an agreement instead of taking the case to trial. On August 4, KGW -- an NBC affiliate in Portland -- reported that both sides ...