Case result
New Jersey
82-month sentence. Released, now working in legal cannabis.
After meeting Donte West in prison, Kyle Page received his help toward release from an 82-month cannabis sentence and came home in time for Christmas with his family.
Video
At a gathering at the White House, Kyle said on camera that Donte West is the reason he is out of prison.
Kyle served time with Donte West as his bunkmate. Donte lobbied the parole board on his behalf, and Kyle was reunited with his daughter before her graduation. (TriplePundit)
“Donte West got me out of prison.”
— Kyle Page
Playing here loads Instagram. You can also watch it on Instagram directly.
The case
Kyle Page’s first brush with cannabis law came in 1997, when a possession case sent him to prison for roughly two and a half years.
He later moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where he trimmed cannabis for a California medical operator that ran three licensed farms. From there he moved into brokering crops — work he himself describes as illegal — and kept at it for about five years.
That ended when an informant pointed to Page and a partner as moving cannabis across state lines. He was arrested and offered 20 years; his lawyer brought that down to 82 months. His daughter was 12 when he went in and 18 by the time he came home.
The path to freedom
Kyle Page met Donte West while they were incarcerated. West was fighting his own case from inside prison. After securing his own release, he followed through on his promise to reach back and help Kyle come home.
In his February 2023 Cannabis Business Times interview, Kyle recalled that his fellow prisoner promised to help him get out — and did. Kyle credited that help with bringing him home in time for Christmas with his family. His daughter was 12 when he went into prison and 18 when he returned.
Once out, Page connected with attorney Chirali Patel, founder of Blaze Law Firm, who helped him find his way back into cannabis — this time legally — and referred him to Ascend Wellness Holdings.
The interview documents Kyle’s account of the help he received, but does not name the fellow prisoner or describe the legal filings behind his release. Forgotten Prisoner identifies that fellow prisoner as Donte West. A January 2023 public account by Mary Bailey also names West as having supported Kyle while in prison. These accounts document support and advocacy, not legal representation by West.
Donte West — from his own freedom to advocating for others
Read Kyle’s account in Cannabis Business Times (February 2023)
Original sentence
82 months
Result
Released
Timeline
Page serves about two and a half years in prison for cannabis possession.
After trimming for a licensed California medical operator, he brokers cannabis crops for about five years.
An informant implicates him; a 20-year offer is reduced to 82 months.
Kyle meets West while West is fighting his own case. After his own release, West follows through on his promise to help Kyle.
With help from Donte West, Kyle comes home to his family. The interview does not specify the release year or legal mechanism.
He works as a cultivation technician at Ascend Wellness Holdings in New Jersey.
The work behind the result
West knew Kyle as a fellow prisoner. After winning his own freedom, he reached back to help Kyle toward release. Kyle’s account emphasizes that personal commitment and the chance to spend Christmas at home with his family.
Attorney Chirali Patel of Blaze Law Firm and its nonprofit Blaze Responsibly helped him re-enter the industry. Page now joins their expungement clinics.
Life after release
Page works as a cultivation technician at Ascend in New Jersey and takes part in Blaze Responsibly’s expungement clinics, helping others clear old records.
He points to education and community engagement as the keys to moving forward.
“He got me out in time to be home for Christmas for my family.”
Why this result matters
Punished for cannabis then, building a career in it now.
Someone with earlier cannabis convictions now works inside the legal market he was once imprisoned for — and spends his time helping others clear similar convictions from their records.
Help create the next result
People still serving disproportionate cannabis sentences today.
Fund the legal work that turns sentences into second chances.
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Last updated October 2026.
