Marijuana Blog

A medical marijuana grower who was caught with dozens of pounds of weed in Chicago was sentenced to six years in prison Friday.

Ryan Bailey, 29, was a mortgage broker in Chicago before he moved to Colorado to get into the medical marijuana business, CBS Chicago reports.

Bailey was allegedly holding a package of marijuana on March 9, 2010, when Chicago police raided a Northwest Side home. The drugs had been shipped to the city, but he was only charged with possession. About a year later, he was busted again -- this time in Colorado.

Though medical marijuana is legal in Colorado and his wife operates a medical marijuana dispensary, he allegedly was caught growing more than 600 plants. Colorado's medical marijuana law states that a patient can grow six plants a month for personal use, and "caregivers" can grow more -- but not that much more, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Before he was sentenced by Cook County Judge Lawrence Flood, prosecutors called Bailey the ringleader of a drug operation that shipped 42 pounds of marijuana to a Chicago home, CBS reports. Judge Flood then handed down the six-year sentence. He is still awaiting trial on felony charges in Colorado.

“Some people in the industry have gotten lucky,” Bailey told the Sun-Times. “Other guys like me have gotten caught in the system.”