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MAN WHO GOT LIFE TERM ON MARIJUANA CHARGE IS FREED AFTER 2 DECADES

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.  ( AP ) - A man sentenced to life without parole on a marijuana-related charge was freed Tuesday from a Missouri prison after being behind bars for more than two decades - a period in which the nation's attitudes toward pot steadily softened.

Family, friends, supporters and reporters flocked to meet Jeff Mizanskey as he stepped out of the Jefferson City Correctional Center, wearing a new pair of white tennis shoes and a shirt that read "I'm Jeff & I'm free."

"I spent a third of my life in prison," said Mizanskey, now 62, who was greeted by his infant great-granddaughter.  "It's a shame."

After a breakfast of steak and eggs with family, Mizanskey said, he planned to spend his post-prison life seeking a job and advocating for the legalization of marijuana.  He criticized sentencing for some drug-related crimes as unfair and described his time behind bars as "hell."

Mizanskey was sentenced in 1996.  Medical marijuana is now legal in 23 states, and recreational marijuana has been legalized in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington state and Washington, D.C.