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MISSOULA - A long-time medical marijuana advocate who faced federal prison time for his involvement in a statewide medical marijuana business received a five-year probationary sentence.

Prosecutors say in early 2009 Tom Daubert joined in the Montana Cannabis medical marijuana business that was involved in producing a large amount of marijuana. It generated a lot of money and federal agents seized numerous weapons during a March 2010 raid.

They say Richard, Sherry and Justin Flor had an outdoor marijuana grow operation on their property in Miles City and they also grew pot in large greenhouses in Helena, Billings and Missoula.

Daubert told the judge he backed out of the business four months before the raids because it started taking up too much time and he didn't like where the business was heading. He also said that he knew that some of the employees at the business had weapons for protection, but he didn't know how many they had until after the raid.

Daubert helped write Initiative 148, which set a national record in its margin of public support for a compassionate statewide medical marijuana policy. Daubert later founded, and until recently, directed Patients & Families United, a non-profit public education and support group for Montana medical marijuana and pain patients, and Citizens for Responsible Crime Policy, a non-profit education group focused more generally on drug policy issues.