Man with medical marijuana card growing and selling pot instead of using it for himself

[The Straight Story]

...

State Police Col. Steven G. O’Donnell and Little Compton Police Chief Sidney Worrell said in a news release that the two agencies spent the past two months investigating the marijuana operation.

Maney had a medical marijuana card issued by the state Health Department that allowed him to grow up to 24 marijuana plants and have up to five patients in the state program. But the state police allege that he was “operating outside the scope” of the program and “selling to individuals without a medical marijuana license.”

More than 5,000 patients in Rhode Island have medical marijuana cards that allow them to buy marijuana to treat a variety of ailments including glaucoma, HIV-AIDS, loss of appetite and stress. In recent months, the state permitted two marijuana dispensaries, otherwise known as compassion centers, to open in Providence and Portsmouth. Only patients in the state medical marijuana program are allowed to buy the drug from the highly regulated establishments.

The police reported that on three different occasions, an undercover state police detective bought marijuana from Maney and, on Sept. 5, he was arrested in Tiverton. The authorities said the sale marked the fourth time that Maney had sold marijuana to the undercover police officer.

http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20130919-two-charged-with-illegally-growing-selling-marijuana-in-little-compton.ece

[DJ13]

1. "the sale marked the fourth time that Maney had sold marijuana to the undercover police officer"

[Nuclear Unicorn]

4. I'm assuming they made multiple buys to establish a pattern before busting him

So the dealer didn't see an undercover cop, in his eyes, he saw a regular customer.

[DJ13]

7. I would hope so

[Sunlei]

13. so the police could have enough charges to not hand out a parking ticket type single charge.

They have to justify spending a million dollars on sting of one person.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

20. I'm not endorsing what they did, I'm assuming if they want to prove he was a dealer

they would want to show he was doing this regularly rather than allow him to claim it was a one-off event.

However, as wasteful as this entire episode may be I wholly blame the dealer. He exploited something for his personal profit and thereby jeopardized MMJ laws. I endorse de-criminalization altogether. This doesn't help, it harms those efforts and it could harm people who have been fighting for MMJ while they suffer.

[Sunlei]

24. me too. "I endorse de-criminalization altogether" I think med. MJ increases arrests,states love this

[Nuclear Unicorn]

27. It does seem to have a certain -- pardon the pun -- "honey pot" vibe to it.

[cui bono]

15. Or maybe the cop smoked it, forgot he had bought it, then went back to buy some pot.

Rinse repeat.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

2. There is no act of compassion that cannot be exploited by some jackass, somewhere, somehow

Hopefully, this won't give the anti-MMJ set a canard to hammer.

[Adsos Letter]

43. Spot On. n/t

[CreekDog]

3. do you have an opinion on any of these OP's you're posting?

you keep posting them but without comment.

what's the purpose of this?

[The Straight Story]

11. Crime is crime, hoping we can discuss it all and find new ways to stop it before it happens

Why did this man have a card to begin with? How did he slip through the cracks? Is this common? Should I worry that people with such a card are selling to kids (lots of people sell pot to kids already). Are these things allowed close to schools and playgrounds?

[Throd]

14. Decriminalize it.

[ohheckyeah]

16. Lots of people sell alcohol to kids....

was this man accused of selling pot to kids? If not, I really don't care about him selling it to adults except for the people who will use that to increase the hysteria over marijuana use.

[Cali_Democrat]

23. Are you one of those church mom types?

[CreekDog]

29. What do you mean "we can discuss it all", your last 10 OP's have no content from you

do you want us to discuss it all and you not venture an opinion on the matter?

what gives?

[Mojorabbit]

51. He posts good articles and has for years. nt

[WCLinolVir]

31. So much hyperbole over so few facts.

How is it we go from selling to adults to kids? Oh that's right, lots of people do. Statistically I don't think so. What things are allowed close to playgrounds? Straw men? This smacks of propaganda.

[Comrade Grumpy]

40. Crime is crime...and selling a bag of weed to a consenting adult doesn't fit in that category.

Why did this man have a card to begin with?

He must have followed the rules to get one.

How did he slip through the cracks?

What cracks?

Is this common?

Diversion is always an issue with medicalized drugs. It has been an issue with medical marijuana, too, although less so in states, like Rhode Island, where it is pretty tightly controlled.


Should I worry that people with such a card are selling to kids (lots of people sell pot to kids already).

No, you should worry that kids' classmates are selling weed to them. That's who it usually is.

Are these things allowed close to schools and playgrounds?

What things? This guy apparently had an indoor grow. The feds really want to enforce a 1,000-foot rule on medical marijuana establishments, and most state laws comply with that. I'm not sure about Rhode Island. But that rule is really quite arbitrary. Kids walk past bars, liquor stores, drug stores, and strip joints going to school. I'm not sure why walking past an establishment that sells marijuana to adults should be any different.

[Adsos Letter]

45. Excellent point in #4

The first joint I ever smoked was sold to me by a classmate in Junior High, who got it from his older brother.

It was pretty much a big stem rolled up in some harsh yellow Zig-Zag wheat paper.

[liberal_at_heart]

48. no they are not allowed close to schools and playgrounds. Wow. I see we disagree on more than just

guns.

[Heddi]

47. It's his way of adding to the discussion about guns, CCW, and expanding gun laws

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023697360#post11

he admits it here.

I figured that it had to do something with guns or smoking, the only 2 things in this entire world that the OP seems to care about

[Starry Messenger]

50. +1

[CreekDog]

54. +2

[bunnies]

5. Dumbass.

Idiots like this could ruin it for all of us.

[Niceguy1]

33. there was a guy

In my area that had a dispensary and was making over $50k a week.....they are supposed to be non profit in my state..

[bunnies]

35. Did he get popped?

I dont understand why people are doing these kinds of things. He probably would have been better off selling weed the old fashioned way. Seems so stupid to blatantly fly in the face of a law thats meant to help people. I mean... your names on a list, dumbass!

[Niceguy1]

37. yup

Shut down and seized. There are a lot of overt violations of CA's mmj laws...and peiple still act surprised and complain when they get busted. Remember, the PoTUS said that they woild have to follow the state' s laws....

[bunnies]

39. Right.

If youre going to go on record as being a grower, have the smarts to do it right. What an idiot.

[Comrade Grumpy]

41. The feds have also attacked numerous dispensaries in strict compliance with state law.

Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana
Wo/Man's Alliance for Medical Marijuana
Northstone Organics
Berkeley Patients Group
Harborside Health Center
Oaksterdam University

...and that's just off the top of my head.

[Niceguy1]

46. if you dig deep

You will find violations of ca's law.... even the source of the plants is regulated..and many of those were famous for their exoric selections...whoch were a violation. The mmj advoctes wrote a steict law that many are trying to twist into a defacto legalization.

[Comrade Grumpy]

49. Dude, Northstone had their plants tagged by the Mendo Co. sheriff's office!!

And paid a pretty penny to be totally legit.

They got raided by the feds, who also managed to blow up Mendo's tightly regulated tagged plant system.

I challenge you to show me where any of the places I mentioned are accused of violating state law.

I don't think you know what you're talking about regarding California's medical marijuana law. Prop 215 was written very loosely and ambiguously, which has allowed the proliferation of dispensaries, commercial grows, and personal medical grows. There is NO effective statewide regulation--the latest effort, AB 604, was shot down in Sacramento last week by the cop lobby--and instead there is a crazy-quilt patchwork of city and county ordinances, bans, moratoria, and the like.

The source of plants is NOT regulated. I'm growing nine plants myself in compliance with Sonoma County ordinances, and so can anyone else who bothers to get a medical marijuana card. I can take my harvest to any number of dispensaries and sell it to them (provided it meets their quality standards).

California's medical marijuana law damn near IS de facto legalization (but not quite). It's written so loosely that ANYTHING qualifies you for a pot doc recommendation, and in the more civilized parts of the state, you can just go to your local pot shop (dispensary). And you can grow your own, within local limits. Hell, it's a pretty decent model. Now, all we have to do is put a full legalization initiative on the ballot in 2014, or more likely 2016, win it, and pull down those green crosses, and we're in business.

[SomethingFishy]

6. Man this kind of shit does not help us...

If you are a legal caretaker please don't abuse it. The wind has shifted, within 10 years pot will be legal everywhere in the country.

If you are growing medical please limit it to the patients.

In spite of having the CIA, FBI, DEA, Local Cops and Military fighting the Stoners in the massive, multi hundreds of billions of dollars War On Drugs, they lost. I can walk out the door and have weed in an hour. Right now I am sitting in a hotel room in Canada and it took me all of this morning to find me some weed.

We can find the weed without the help of medical growers. Really, we've been doing it for years.

Let me say that I think this thing stinks to high heaven and wish the cops would go find some real criminals to bust but it als just gives them more ammo in their pointless 40 year battle.

[Politicalboi]

8. And underage drinking still exists

But the booze factories have nothing to worry about. No one is going to take away their license to pedal poison. This should have NO effect on medical MJ. But of course, they look for ANYTHING out of the norm to threaten to take away peoples medical MJ.

[Sunlei]

9. now the states have lists, names, addresses the police can sting from. more pot arrests.

how long before people get ahold of those lists and just go rob them.

[The Straight Story]

12. Good question (nt)

[cui bono]

17. Most people with cards just buy small amounts for themselves.

Nothing to steal except the normal stuff in an average household.

[Sunlei]

21. growers and drug stores are listed and also plagued with police stings from those lists.

[cui bono]

25. Yes, but you mentioned robbery by people who get hold of those lists.

I was merely pointing out that since most people with cards are simply average folk who buy just for themselves and don't grow, I don't really think that robbery is the concern.

Personally, I think anyone who grows on their own is taking a big chance if they are a homeowner. Feds can still arrest you and confiscate your home.

[Sunlei]

26. true. a lot of local police depts make a nice income from working with the Feds.

[Throd]

10. Just legalize it outright and end the whole charade.

[B Calm]

22. +1

[Rex]

19. Can't cure stupid.

nt.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

28. Arrested in my home town! Woo hoo!

This is a big fucking deal for Little Compton. They call a cop from our town if a cow gets stuck in a fence.

[WCLinolVir]

34. So do they need the revenue?

Are they cash strapped? I am reminded of the Henrico police dept. who wait just outside the Richmond city limits to snare drivers to boost revenue.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

36. Maybe

Looks like the state police had more to do with this, however. Little Compton is seriously a one cop town. The thing is you don't drive there unless you have a reason to be there. It is on the edge of Rhode Island near the ocean and thirty minutes away from civilization.

[DireStrike]

30. What a waste of law enforcement resources. nt

[Th1onein]

32. REALLY? Don't we have a better use for our tax dollars?

OH, that's RIGHT! They probably get to use the forfeiture laws to take all of his property!

Fuck Da Police

[kestrel91316]

38. Well, now, if we had sensible drug decriminalization/legalization, we wouldn't have this sort

of petty BS going on, now, would we?

[Iggo]

42. Don't care. Shit should be legal.

[morningfog]

44. Easy fix to this is legalization for recreation.

[NBachers]

52. So . . . What?

[cthulu2016]

53. OMG. Was he using the profits to buy crab legs?