Yes, the Pickard bust[0] was an interesting example of this. A highly productive, extremely smart and insightful researcher was given two(!) life sentences(something even most violent criminals, rapists and murderers don't get) at a high security prison. His crime was manufacturing LSD, which has no recorded overdoses, is not addictive, and reports of it harming users are extremely rare. Here[1] is a brief account of his heartbreaking story, and here[2] is more information about him, also containing links to recent papers that he published.
[0]- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Leonard_Pickard
[1]- http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/William-Pickard-s-long-s...
[2]- https://www.erowid.org/culture/characters/pickard_leonard/