As Laguna Beach medical marijuana criminal defense attorneys, we were interested to read an article about a marijuana "bust" in which the men arrested said they were growing medical marijuana. The Orange County Register reported Sept. 2 that the two men were arrested in a condominium complex in Laguna Hills after a six-hour standoff with the police. One was released; a second man, 34-year-old Matthew Greenberg, was arrested on unnamed charges and booked into Orange County's Men's Central Jail. A third man fled the building and remains at large, according to the article. The Orange County Sheriff's department rejected the medical marijuana claims, saying the operation was "way outside the medical marijuana program."
The incident started at 1:30 p.m. that day, when U.S. Marshals attempted to serve a search warrant at the condo. The article did not say what the search warrant was for or whose home it was. It also did not say what led to the subsequent standoff with police, which reportedly lasted five and a half hours, although a photo caption said a man with a high-powered rifle was believed to be inside. However, a SWAT team was called and surrounded the building on Caminito Luisito. When the standoff was ended around 7 p.m., for reasons not reported, sheriff's deputies were able to enter an empty condo. There, they found 171 marijuana plants being cultivated with elaborate indoor lighting and irrigation systems, as well as a device to increase the electricity in the condo. Deputies also found 1.5 pounds of dried marijuana, a shotgun and two semi-automatic weapons. The two men taken into custody said the marijuana was intended for a medical collective.
Our Cypress medical marijuana criminal defense lawyers would like very much to see more information that could help determine whether this was a legitimate collective's growing operation or an excuse from people who are selling drugs illegally. Without a doctor's recommendation for more, patients and their primary caregivers may have up to six mature marijuana plants or 12 immature marijuana plants at a time, plus up to eight ounces of dried marijuana. That means a collective or cooperative that is a primary caregiver can have those amounts for each patient. The grow operation the deputies found would support 14 to 29 patients, depending on the maturity of the plants -- if it was really a collective's farm. If it was, Greenberg and the other men should be able to prove their claims relatively easily by providing all of the right paperwork. Police officers prejudiced against medical marijuana may not be willing to look at that paperwork, but an experienced attorney can use the paperwork to have the case thrown out of court.
Howard Law, P.C. vigorously defends clients who are accused of California state drug crimes because of their legal involvement with medical marijuana. Unfortunately, this can be necessary because some law enforcement officers simply don't like the idea of legal marijuana, despite decades of evidence that the plant has medical benefits. Rather than respecting the law and taking the time to verify medical cannabis claims, some officers prefer to treat all patients, collectives and cooperatives like criminals. Our Chino medical marijuana criminal defense attorneys help victims of this kind of overreaching defend the serious charges they may face, including unjustified charges of cultivating, selling or trafficking drugs. We can often have charges dismissed by proving with paperwork that our clients were doing nothing wrong, but when we must, we can and will go to court for a not guilty verdict.
If you're accused of a narcotics crime because of your legal use of medical marijuana, don't wait before calling Howard Law, P.C. for help. To learn more or set up a free consultation, call us today at 1-800-872-5925 or send us a message online.
