MIAMI (Reuters) - A Miami jury convicted a man who faces up to 35 years in prison for growing marijuana in a bedroom of his house in what he says was an act of love to help his wife who is recovering from breast cancer, local media reported.

Ricardo Varona, 43, was arrested in July 2014 and charged with marijuana trafficking after police said they seized 15 live marijuana plants that could have produced more than 30 pounds of usable weed.

In closing arguments on Friday, Varona's lawyer, Jose Aguirre, told jurors in Miami state court that detectives did not find any money ledgers, drug scales or packaging equipment at Varona's house that would show he was selling pot for money.

Ricardo Varona is accused of trafficking the drug in Southwest Miami-Dade

He claims he grew the plants to help ease his wife’s cancer-related suffering

A pot businessman testified the defendant’s operation was ‘amateur’

With its established medical and recreational pot industry, Colorado loomed large Thursday over the trial of a Miami man who insists he operated a marijuana growhouse only to help ease the suffering of his cancer-stricken wife.

Ricardo Varona makes no apologies for running a sophisticated, high-powered hydroponics lab inside a second-floor bedroom of his Southwest Miami-Dade home. He went to trial on Tuesday to insist he was innocent of breaking the law — arguing he was growing the marijuana solely to help his wife stricken with breast cancer.

“Love and compassion, that’s what this case is really about,” Assistant Public Defender Adam Bair told jurors. “In particular, this case is about a man willing to do anything to ease his wife’s suffering.”

The unusual defense, in a state where medical marijuana is not yet allowed, was unconvincing to prosecutors. They tried walking a tight rope Tuesday, offering sympathy for Varona’s wife but casting her husband as a big-time dope dealer.

Yuri Soares is chief of development effectiveness at the Multilateral Investment Fund. He holds a PhD in economics from Michigan State University and a Master's degree in agricultural economics from the University of Florida. He has worked in the United States and Brazil.

The United for Care campaign came very close to legalizing medical marijuana in Florida during the 2014 Election. The initiative received roughly 58% of the vote (Florida requires 60% of the vote in order for the initiative to pass). The campaign took the loss in stride, regrouped, and has been working towards a 2016 effort. The campaign is on a roll right now, having gathered over half a million signatures already. Per The Joint Blog:

WEST PALM BEACH (CBS12) - A state lawmaker from the Lake Worth area, has filed a bill named for a Wellington teenager who lost her life in a tragic crash.

The legislation, filed by State Representative David Kerner, a Democrat, would set a blood test standard for marijuana in prosecutions involving fatalities and property damage.

“Everybody that met her, loved her; she was a gift, said Steven Turner, talking about his granddaughter, 16-year old Naomi Pomerance.

“A beautiful young lady, whose life was cut short,” said Turner.  “And everybody misses her.”

Florida hasn’t been particularly friendly to cannabis, and the procedure of legislating medical cannabis has actually been absolutely nothing if not a long, uphill struggle. This hasn’t prevented advocates though, and recreational cannabis is starting to wind its method up the very same road.

Florida voters could decide if recreational pot is legalized like alcohol, if Regulate Florida gets its initiative on the 2016 ballot.

Michael Minardi is on a mission to make recreational marijuana legal in Florida next year. 

Asked how he would do that, considering that a ballot measure to legalize just medical marijuana didn’t pass in 2014, he says, “We’re going to use science, and we’re going to use stats.” 

A Florida man looking to score drugs was arrested this month after police say he mistakenly texted the captain of the Martin County Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit, The Washington Post reports.

“When 29-year old William Lamberson of Port St. Lucie wanted a ‘hook up,’ he began texting friends, or so he thought,” wrote the Sheriff’s Officeon Facebook. “It turns out, Lamberson’s misdial connected him to someone who knows all too much about illegal drugs.”

Some of us are still processing this whole marijuana legalization deal. For many people, it’s kind of hard to believe legalization is actually really happening — it’s no longer simply a topic of discussion marijuana smokers debate over, it’s right here and right now. Imagine going back in time and telling yourself 10 or 15 years ago that in 2015, recreational pot would be legal in four states — and even Washington D.C.