PARKER COLEMAN

Incarcerated: 2010   |  Sentence: 60 years

Parker Coleman, Jr. is serving a 60-year sentence in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cannabis and money laundering. At his trial, no witness testified they had ever bought marijuana from Coleman. Parker and his family are working with The Weldon Project and others in hopes of commuting the de-facto life sentence. 


Parker Coleman is the poster child for inequity and injustice according to Kyle Kazan in a recent interview with High Times Magazine. Kazan, who is a retired law enforcement officer and current CEO of cannabis brand Glass House Group, has become an advocate for Coleman and others like him. Kazan believes incarceration for cannabis-related activities falls disproportionately on Black and brown communities, while predominantly white business owners, like himself, make huge profits on cannabis cultivation and retail.


“Having already served 10 years of hard time with another five decades to go while the cannabis industry was the biggest job creator in the booming U.S. economy of 2019, with many states deeming cannabis businesses as “essential,” demonstrates the massive inequity Parker is living,” Kazan told a High Times reporter in January 2021.


Upon conviction, Coleman was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for marijuana trafficking and money laundering, although there was no witness testimony of anyone buying marijuana from him.


He received an additional 30 years because two firearms were discovered in the vehicle he was in at the time of the arrest. Neither firearm was registered to Coleman and at no point was he accused of, charged with or convicted of threatening violence, being in possession of any weapon on his person, or any violent crime. Despite these facts, Coleman is serving a 60-year sentence in a federal prison in Beaumont, Texas – far away from his family and friends in North Carolina. 


In 2020, Kazan sent a letter to President Trump, asking for clemency for Parker Coleman. His request was denied, but Coleman’s fight is not over.


The Weldon Project is advocating for Coleman and others who are serving time for cannabis offenses in hopes of getting the necessary attention and action from the Biden/Harris administration.

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