Two medical marijuana patients face potential life sentences on federal drug charges after being turned over by local authorities. The two men, both 53, have doctor’s recommendations to grow and consume medical marijuana under California’s 1996 Compassionate Use Act (Prop. 215). The prosecutor diverted the defendants’ attorneys by taking them out of the courtroom for a conference, only to announce that she was dropping the state charges because at that moment they were being taken into custody in the courtroom on a federal indictment. On the other hand, the raid on their home had netted more than 60 lbs. of marijuana, leading authorities to doubt they fell within the personal use provisions of California’s law. The defendants, however, argue that the case was turned over to federal jurisdiction when it became clear that the state prosecutor was losing the case in court. —AlterNet