A man convicted of running a California medical marijuana operation and sentenced to over two decades in federal prison is expected to walk free on Friday after a federal judge granted a motion to reduce his sentence.

Luke Scarmazzo was 26 years old when he was sentenced in 2008 to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison for his role in running a California medical cannabis collective.

In an order Thursday granting his motion for a sentence reduction, U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd wrote that "changes in the legal landscape" regarding marijuana and the gulf between Scarmazzo's served time and that of his co-defendant, among other factors, supported a reduced sentence.

"The court is persuaded that the granting of the requested relief is appropriate at this point and is supported by both extraordinary and compelling circumstances and consideration of the sentencing factors set forth," Judge Drozd wrote.

Drozd noted that in the years since Scarmazzo's trial and sentencing, federal marijuana offenders receive far shorter prison terms, federal prosecutors have taken a largely hands-off approach to state-regulated cannabis activities and federal prosecutions of marijuana crimes has gone down.

Scarmazzo's arrest, conviction and sentencing occurred within a 13-year window after California had legalized medical marijuana but before the U.S. Department of Justice amended its policy to deprioritize prosecution of state-legal cannabis activities.

According to court documents, Scarmazzo's numerous appeals were unsuccessful, and his request for clemency was not granted by President Barack Obama, even though Obama commuted the 20-year sentence of Scarmazzo's associate Ricardo Montes, who was tried and convicted at the same time.

In November 2019, Scarmazzo filed his motion for reduction in sentence, arguing that the prison term he was given in 2008 was unusually long and noting that his co-defendant had received a commutation.

He also noted that the federal government no longer prosecutes individuals involved in medical marijuana activities that are legal at the state level, and in fact has been barred from doing so by congressional spending bills since 2014.

As recently as last week, federal prosecutors asked the court to deny Scarmazzo's motion for a reduced sentence, writing in a Jan. 27 filing, "The government's view is that a change in law or policy is not permissible grounds, standing alone, for a sentence reduction."

Kerrie Dent, counsel at King & Spalding and an attorney for Scarmazzo in his motion, told Law360 on Friday, "Luke spent almost 15 years in federal prison for a non-violent, victimless marijuana offense because of a mandatory minimum sentence."

"We are thrilled that Judge Drozd wrote a thoughtful, well-reasoned opinion and reached the right result, granting Luke's request for compassionate release based on a 'unique confluence of circumstances,'" Dent wrote in an email.

Scarmazzo had been scheduled to be released from FCI-Yazoo City, a medium-security federal prison in Mississippi, on March 14, 2027.

In a separate order issued on Friday, Judge Drozd instructed that Scarmazzo be immediately released to begin a five-year term of supervised release.

"Luke is now looking forward to spending time with his daughter and other family members when he gets home to Modesto," Dent told Law360.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California declined to comment on Friday.

The government is represented by Kimberly A. Sanchez of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California.

Scarmazzo is represented by Kerrie C. Dent and Bailey J. Langner of King & Spalding LLP.

The case is U.S. v. Scarmazzo, case number 1:06-cr-00342, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

--Editing by Peter Rozovsky.