NEW YORK (MainStreet)  Even as landmark developments in the legalization of the cannabis industry proceed at an increasingly fast pace this year and at both a federal and state level, one cautionary tale stands out because it seems on many levels to be one of the sad legacies of the nation's war on drugs.

The Harvey family, Washington state residents that include the 70-year-old patriarch and several other family members with chronic disabilities, are being hauled into federal court in a case that unsettles many. Family members now face mandatory federal prison time for growing (and some purport) selling marijuana in ways that opened them to federal (if not state) prosecution.

Because the health of those accused is a major concern, in addition to the issue regarding the legality of home-grown cannabis crops, the situation is being widely watched across the U.S.

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For many, the case is a comment on the development of both acceptance of medical marijuana if not the burgeoning recreational market set to begin in state in just two months.

The case is also going to trial against the backdrop of dramatic developments on the federal level.

In late May, the House of Representatives voted to defund both Department of Justice (DOJ) and Drug Enforcement Administration raids in states where medical marijuana use is legal per state law. It will be increasingly unlikely to see additional cases like this in the future, particularly in states where cannabis is legal for medical or even recreational use.

"The Harvey family resorted to growing medical marijuana themselves because of its high cost at dispensaries, especially since they cook with it which requires greater quantities of cannabis," said Kris Hermes of Americans for Safe Access, a national patient advocacy group.

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That said, even among pro cannabis proponents, this is already a contentious case.

According to Kevin Oliver, executive director of Washington NORML, a pro legalization lobbying group, "I believe that [the Harveys] are most likely good folks and it is an unfortunate result of prohibition that people are prosecuted for pot."

That said, Oliver is less sanguine than Hermes about the Harvey's actions, although he points to a combination of factors which led to what just about everyone agrees is a highly tragic situation.

"In the case of the Harvey's, local law enforcement, along with at least one DEA agent conducted the first raid only a week before the Feds came to their property," he said. "At that time, they had about 70 plants with an outdoor canopy visible from the air, along with a sign advertising medical marijuana for sale, again visible for miles as well as from the air, none of which is in compliance with Washington state medical marijuana law."

Oliver also believes that this case should not be made into a poster child for the legalization community because of the many problems he sees with the situation.

"Anyone who says that the above scenario is in strict compliance with Washington state law is doing an extreme disservice to the local medical marijuana community and providing an honest injustice to WA medical marijuana patients and providers," he said. "While much larger grows and even more blatant forms of marijuana sales are tolerated in the larger municipalities around the state, it still isn't legal by state law, therefore it does not fall under the protective guidance offered by the DOJ not to prosecute those in strict compliance with state medical marijuana law."

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Hermes, whose group ASA is advocating for legal relief for the Harvey family, stressed that this case is actually one that should focus on patients' rights, not to dissect the many vagaries between state and federal law enforcement.

"Mr. Harvey is certainly suffering from debilitating medical conditions and he says that cannabis controls his pain like no other medication," Hermes said. "Mr. Harvey and the rest of the defendants are simply trying to use whatever medicine is at their disposal in order to improve their quality of life."

Beyond the distinctions between federal, state or overreaching jurisdiction which dramatically altered the fate of a highly secluded rural family with several members suffering chronic conditions, perhaps the one issue that everyone agrees on is that the issue of home-grown marijuana, when within existing state regulations, is a freedom that should be left alone.

This is an issue itself in this complicated case that is of vast import to patients and caregivers in Washington state and beyond right now as states continue to actively clamp down if not actively discourage home grown gardens in the process of regulating a new industry.

That said, there are few who work in the industry or as advocates for reform who are not sympathetic to the plight of the family. Off the record, several members of the established business community expressed sympathy for the Harvey Family.

And as Hermes said, "Growing a botanical medicine may be innovative or less mainstream than using prescribed pharmaceuticals, but they are merely trying to do what works for them."

As she summed up, to ASA at least, this should be a situation where compassion takes precedence. "The message here is that the federal government should open up the available options to sick and dying patients, instead of restricting those already limited options by prohibiting botanical medicines like cannabis," she said.

--Written by Marguerite Arnold for MainStreet