Culture

Robert Platshorn, aka “The Black Tuna,” spent some 30 years in federal prison on non-violent marijuana charges, the longest-serving prison ever for marijuana.

Robert now spends his time advocating for medical marijuana among seniors, especially those in his home state of Florida.

In the video below he tells some of his incredible story, and he really puts a human face on the ridiculous policies of the federal government when it comes to marijuana. When Robert was indicted on federal marijuana conspiracy charges, he had already been out of the smuggling business for over a year. But the DEA wanted to get into the cannabis business, and Robert and his gang were their knock of opportunity.

Imagine 30 years of your life taken for a non-violent crime. Many reading this haven’t even been alive for 30 years. And for what? To justify an agency budget or two?

Decades later, prohibition still rolls on, based on the ever-increasing budgets of entities like the DEA. Robert’s story is a symbol of everything that’s wrong with the war on marijuana users in this country and why our prisons are bursting at the seams with non-violent offenders.