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Counties at odds over pot arrest Medical cannabis workers arrested
Mendocino holds couple affiliated with medical marijuana club sanctioned in East Bay
UKIAH, CA – The operator of a recognized East Bay medical marijuana dispensary and his girlfriend were pulled over on Highway 101 near Willits in Mendocino County on Tuesday night for a traffic violation, then both were arrested on suspicion of transporting more than 40 pounds of pot in their car.
Winslow Norton, 24, and Jessica Gibson, 20, both of Berkeley, say they presented sheriff's deputies with documentation that they were taking the pot back to the medical marijuana dispensary called the Compassionate Cooperative of Alameda County in an unincorporated part of Hayward, their attorney, William Panzer of Oakland, said Thursday.
But deputies in the Mendocino County Sheriff's Department took the two into custody, where they remained Thursday in lieu of $250,000 bail each. In addition, $150,000 in cash was confiscated from Norton's father – a fellow cannabis club member – who attempted to post their bail Wednesday, with officials saying it was possibly "drug money," authorities said.
"That's ridiculous," Panzer said. "They're not evil drug dealers using evil drug money to spread more evil drugs around the world. (Norton) runs a legitimate medical marijuana dispensary that's been recognized by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors."
Norton and Gibson were pulled over about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday for a suspected traffic offense, police said. Deputies then detected an odor of marijuana and performed a vehicle search, finding the pot packaged for sale and $2,280 in cash, according to sheriff's reports.
"They claimed to be buying for a cannabis club in Alameda County but couldn't produce enough documentation to show that they were legitimate, and we caught them with 44 pounds of buds," said Mendocino County District Attorney Norm Vroman.
Michael Norton, Winslow's father, appeared at the Mendocino County Jail on Wednesday to bail his son and Gibson out with
$150,000 in a knapsack that "smelled of marijuana," Vroman said, and the bail money was confiscated.
"They sent someone up from Alameda County to bail them out with money that smelled of marijuana and stunk to high heaven," Vroman said. "We confiscated that as being fruits of criminal activity, and the burden is on them to show that it is legitimate money. If they are a legitimate operation, why didn't they just call a bail bondsman?"
East Bay cannabis club owners and a member of Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley's office have gotten involved. All are amazed at the arrest but say various interpretations of state law may be the problem.
"Because there's not really a state-sanctioned permitting process, it's not so easy to get recognized when you're out of your own jurisdiction, no matter what kind of paperwork you have with you," said Jeff Jones of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative.
When Bob Swanson, a member of Miley's staff, heard of the arrests Wednesday, he called Mendocino County authorities on the couple's behalf, explaining that the Compassionate Cooperative is one of seven permitted medical marijuana dispensaries in Alameda County.
"I think I was able to give (Norton and Gibson) some credibility, but I'm not sure how much impact it had," Swanson said.
"The Mendocino DA's interpretation of Prop. 215 and SB 420 is the most rigid interpretation I've ever heard from anyone," Swanson said. "They're reading things into it, such as that you can't transport medical marijuana across a county line, and can't operate a dispensary unless you're a nonprofit, which is not so. I suppose it could be construed that way, but I've never heard of anyone doing that before."
Vroman acknowledged Swanson's call. "Someone from the supervisor's office contacted us and said that they have the legal approval of their county council down there, and we explained to them that they are in violation of the law," Vroman said.
Panzer said his next step is to get the money and medical marijuana back by presenting documentation to prove Norton operates a legal dispensary.
"I think, in the end, cooler heads will prevail," Swanson said.
Source: InsideBayArea.com The Oakland Tribune
initially publushed by THE (UKIAH) DAILY JOURNAL
Copyright: © 2005 ANG Newspapers
Contact: Angela Hill and Quincy Cromer
Website: Counties at odds over pot arrest Medical cannabis workers arrested – East Bay Times
Mendocino holds couple affiliated with medical marijuana club sanctioned in East Bay
UKIAH, CA – The operator of a recognized East Bay medical marijuana dispensary and his girlfriend were pulled over on Highway 101 near Willits in Mendocino County on Tuesday night for a traffic violation, then both were arrested on suspicion of transporting more than 40 pounds of pot in their car.
Winslow Norton, 24, and Jessica Gibson, 20, both of Berkeley, say they presented sheriff's deputies with documentation that they were taking the pot back to the medical marijuana dispensary called the Compassionate Cooperative of Alameda County in an unincorporated part of Hayward, their attorney, William Panzer of Oakland, said Thursday.
But deputies in the Mendocino County Sheriff's Department took the two into custody, where they remained Thursday in lieu of $250,000 bail each. In addition, $150,000 in cash was confiscated from Norton's father – a fellow cannabis club member – who attempted to post their bail Wednesday, with officials saying it was possibly "drug money," authorities said.
"That's ridiculous," Panzer said. "They're not evil drug dealers using evil drug money to spread more evil drugs around the world. (Norton) runs a legitimate medical marijuana dispensary that's been recognized by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors."
Norton and Gibson were pulled over about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday for a suspected traffic offense, police said. Deputies then detected an odor of marijuana and performed a vehicle search, finding the pot packaged for sale and $2,280 in cash, according to sheriff's reports.
"They claimed to be buying for a cannabis club in Alameda County but couldn't produce enough documentation to show that they were legitimate, and we caught them with 44 pounds of buds," said Mendocino County District Attorney Norm Vroman.
Michael Norton, Winslow's father, appeared at the Mendocino County Jail on Wednesday to bail his son and Gibson out with
$150,000 in a knapsack that "smelled of marijuana," Vroman said, and the bail money was confiscated.
"They sent someone up from Alameda County to bail them out with money that smelled of marijuana and stunk to high heaven," Vroman said. "We confiscated that as being fruits of criminal activity, and the burden is on them to show that it is legitimate money. If they are a legitimate operation, why didn't they just call a bail bondsman?"
East Bay cannabis club owners and a member of Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley's office have gotten involved. All are amazed at the arrest but say various interpretations of state law may be the problem.
"Because there's not really a state-sanctioned permitting process, it's not so easy to get recognized when you're out of your own jurisdiction, no matter what kind of paperwork you have with you," said Jeff Jones of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative.
When Bob Swanson, a member of Miley's staff, heard of the arrests Wednesday, he called Mendocino County authorities on the couple's behalf, explaining that the Compassionate Cooperative is one of seven permitted medical marijuana dispensaries in Alameda County.
"I think I was able to give (Norton and Gibson) some credibility, but I'm not sure how much impact it had," Swanson said.
"The Mendocino DA's interpretation of Prop. 215 and SB 420 is the most rigid interpretation I've ever heard from anyone," Swanson said. "They're reading things into it, such as that you can't transport medical marijuana across a county line, and can't operate a dispensary unless you're a nonprofit, which is not so. I suppose it could be construed that way, but I've never heard of anyone doing that before."
Vroman acknowledged Swanson's call. "Someone from the supervisor's office contacted us and said that they have the legal approval of their county council down there, and we explained to them that they are in violation of the law," Vroman said.
Panzer said his next step is to get the money and medical marijuana back by presenting documentation to prove Norton operates a legal dispensary.
"I think, in the end, cooler heads will prevail," Swanson said.
Source: InsideBayArea.com The Oakland Tribune
initially publushed by THE (UKIAH) DAILY JOURNAL
Copyright: © 2005 ANG Newspapers
Contact: Angela Hill and Quincy Cromer
Website: Counties at odds over pot arrest Medical cannabis workers arrested – East Bay Times
