Texas Teen Could Receive Life in Prison For Pot Brownies

It's just a little pot right? Wrong. Texas resident, Jacob Lavoro could face life in prison for making pot brownies with the intent to sell. In April, Lavoro's neighbor called authorities when the smell became so strong she allegedly felt sick. Lavoro was found to have one and half pounds of pot brownies, $1,600 and an alleged client list.

"They just bowed their way in because they thought because they smelled marijuana in the apartment, they thought they had permission right then based on the law, and they're wrong about that," explained Jack Holmes, a former police officer and Lavoro's attorney.

Jack Holmes told reporters that a lab found there was only 2.5 grams of THC in all of the brownies. Lavoro being charged for a pound and half of pot is a misleading statistic. Authorities also reportedly confiscated 145 grams of hash oil that was found in a separate container.

"I'm scared. Very scared," Lavoro said. "I'm 19 years old and still have a whole life ahead of me. Take that into account."

Texas is a notoriously tough state on marijuana charges. While Washington and Colorado have legalized marijuana, Texas is holding onto their conservative roots.

First District Attorney Mark Brunner holds onto the distinction that Lavoro wasn't simply making the brownies for his friends. "If this was just some college kid experimenting in his friend's Easy-Bake Oven, with a reefer's worth of pot and a bunch of brownies, that'd be different," Brunner said. "This man was trying to run a business, allegedly."

Both sides have been pointing fingers about the severity of the sentencing. Lavoro sympathizers gathered outside of the courtroom and cheered when Lavoro was ushered in. A petition with more than 243,000 signatures was presented to the court, in an attempt to reduce the charges.

Brunner contends that the District Attorney's office is not trying to keep Lavoro locked up forever. Allegedly Brunner's office offered Lavoro a plea deal that would require no jail time but harsh probation protocol.

Holmes and Lavoro rejected the offer citing that if Lavoro missed a single meeting with his probation officer, the "over-zealous" district attorney would throw him in jail.