Several months after her 11 year-old son was taken by Child Protective Services, published author and medical marijuana advocate Shona Banda has turned herself in to Kansas State officials on five non-violent felony counts, which were all regarding her use of medical cannabis. In the hands of Kansas state officials, she faces up to 30 years in prison, and with her debilitating disease, which prior to her cannabis use, had been deemed terminal at one point, this would be a ‘death sentence’, said her lawyer.
A significant part of the United States has accepted the idea of legalized cannabis as policy, but many states in the Midwest and South, such as Kansas, are yet to do so. “I’m very afraid,” Banda said, in an interview with the Washington Post. “I cannot believe that I could be facing 30 years in prison for trying to save my life.”
