I haven't read most of this thread but here is where I stand, not arguing anything, just my feelings:
The "laws" is what DAs and "legislating" judges decide them to be. When AG says that it's not "illegal to be illegal", this state (and most of the country) has reached the point when "laws" are just BS, they no longer represent what sane society feels should be punished, never mind that our society is mostly ****ing sheep and robots who exchange their brains and conscience for .gov handouts.
This said, I follow laws no matter how shitty they are and I don't advocate breaking them. In this case, if I was on the jury, my vote would be against any punishment. In my eyes, he is not guilty of anything.