Texas teen with no criminal record faces life in prison for selling pot brownies

ROUND ROCK, Texas, May 19 (UPI) -- 19-year-old Jacob Lavoro could be sentenced to life in prison for using hashish oil instead of traditional marijuana plants too make pot brownies in Texas.

"I've been doing this 22 years as a lawyer and I've got 10 years as a police officer and I've never seen anything like this before," Jack Holmes, Lavoro's attorney, said.

The fact that the brownies were made with hash oil instead of the marijuana plant the oil is derived from allows prosecutors in Texas to count every portion of the pastry -- including the sugar, cocoa, butter and eggs -- as an illegal drug. Lavoro's single-batch produced a pound-and-a-half of brownies, or, in the eyes of prosecutors, 660 grams of marijuana.

"Five years to life?" said Joe Lavoro, the accused's father. "I'm sorry. I'm a law-abiding citizen. I'm a conservative. I love my country. I'm a Vietnam veteran, but I'll be damned. This is wrong. This is damn wrong!"

If he did something wrong, he should be punished -- but to the extent that makes sense.This is illogical. I'm really upset, and I'm frightened, I'm frightened for my son.