GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WLNS) – UPDATE (01/29/2020 6:20 p.m.): A Lansing man who operated marijuana dispensaries statewide, will spend over 15 years in prison after he was convicted of 10 federal marijuana trafficking charges.



On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Maloney sentenced to Trevino, a man who made YouTube videos calling himself the “professor of pot.”



Marijuana is legal for medical and recreational use in Michigan, but remains a Schedule I controlled substance on the federal level.



Shortly after medical marijuana was approved by Michigan voters, Trevino opened up multiple dispensaries around the state, according to reports from our sister station at WOOD-TV.



Under state law, Trevino could not be a caregiver because of a criminal record as a drug offender. Additionally, federal prosecutors alleged he had over half a ton of marijuana at his various facilities and described him as “thumbing his nose” at the law.



“Sometimes federal prosecutors have no choice, they’ve got to follow the law. And if someone is flouting the law, they’re going to bring a case,” said Former U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles.



While the sentence against Trevino seems harsh, it could have been much worse.



“Federal sentences tend to be long. My understanding in this case was that the sentence actually was at the lower end of the guidelines, but it’s still going to be long compared to a state sentence,” Miles said.



ORIGINAL STORY: The former owner of medical-marijuana dispensaries in several Michigan cities was sentenced to nearly 16 years in federal prison today.



Danny Trevino’s Hydroworld dispensaries were in locations such as Grand Rapids, Flint, Jackson, and Lansing.



The 47-year-old Lansing man was convicted of multiple federal charges.



“States are changing marijuana laws across the country, certainly that’s true, but federal law has not changed,” U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney said.



Trevino sought the statutory minimum sentence of five years in prison, according to reports from our media partners at MLive.



The judge instead sentenced Trevino to 15 years and eight months in prison.