Licensed marijuana grower charged with drug crimes

Submitted by MMMA SiteScribe on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 07:13

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/01/licensed_marijuana...

Licensed marijuana grower charged with drug crimes
By Aaron Aupperlee | Kalamazoo Gazette
January 13, 2010, 9:44AM

Lawyer says Three Rivers man complied with new medical marijuana law

THREE RIVERS, MI — A Three Rivers (southwest Michigan) shop owner cashing in on the emerging medical marijuana industry was arraigned Tuesday on felony drug charges.

Sean Muntian, 36, was charged with manufacturing marijuana, possession with the intent to deliver marijuana and maintaining a drug house, according to the St. Joseph County District Court.

He was arrested after officers from the Three Rivers Police Department searched his home and business, Triple Ripple Hydroponics, on Jan. 2.

Muntian’s lawyer, Michael Komorn, said his client is a licensed caregiver under Michigan’s medical marijuana program and committed no crime. The Southfield-based attorney said he has handled several medical marijuana cases similar to this.

“Our investigation shows that he is in compliance with state law. ...He was playing by the rules,” Komorn said. “Despite of all this, they decided to arrest him and destroy his operation.”

The Three Rivers Police Department referred questions to the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office, which refused to comment on the case.

Muntian is currently out on a $10,000 bond. His next court date is Jan. 19.

At the time of the arrest, Muntian had been approved by the state as a caregiver but did not yet have his state-issued identification card, Komorn said. Under state law, applicants may possess and provide marijuana 20 days after approval without a card.

According to a search warrant obtained by the police, the department received a tip about a drug operation at Muntian’s house in the 100 block of South Andrews Street in Three Rivers. Police found six ounces of marijuana, paraphernalia and several roaches.

Muntian told police that the marijuana was for his patients and that a patient smoked earlier at his house, the warrant stated. He told police he does not smoke marijuana.

Police then searched Triple Ripple Hydroponics, 416 W. Michigan Ave., near the Three Rivers police station, according to the warrant. Inside the shop, police found four large marijuana plants, 18 small plants and growing supplies.

Muntian, who last year lost his job building manufactured homes, opened the store in December to supply hydroponic-growing systems, which can be used to grow marijuana indoors.

Under state law, caregivers may possess no more than 12 plants per patient and no more than 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana per patient.

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sorry to vent like that.

Submitted by bobandtorey on Fri, 01/15/2010 - 09:53.

i here you and its not right for the state to do this to us maybe another March in April or March we have to stand up together

BURGLAR ALARM SPECIALS???!!!

Submitted by soul rebel on Fri, 01/15/2010 - 02:26.

WTF??!! If you want to place an ad then pay for it!

BURGLAR ALARM SPECIALS

Submitted by tutman2006 on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 11:43.

Ad removed for violating the website rules.

Only 1 free ad per month. You listed one here: http://www.michiganmedicalmarijuana.org/node/14443#comment-122581

and probably several more. You have been warned several times and continue to ignore the rules set by the site administrators. Start following them or your account will be deleted.

this right here is exactly why

Submitted by finallyfree09 on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 10:58.

i wont start my room til my card is here. the jerks are makin us wait so long for our cards so they can do stuff like this so we will be deterred from growing. then we get arrested if we do grow so we are tied up with the court system. many people are too scared to grow b4 their licenses get here and the state knows this. the mdch is behind because our elected officials are convinced that they are going to be able to change (nullify) the law so we cant have our meds again. they dont have to do anything to make the current system run better if they replace it with one that doesn't work for us at all. they do not want us to have our meds and they will not stop until they have taken them away from us again. all this procrastination is evidence that we are gonna end up losing our rights. they havent done anything because they are looking for the best way to nueter us.

sorry to vent like that. got to sleep in for a change and woke up to find that my card still isn't here. 72 days since they got my app AND 67 DAYS SINCE THEY CASHED THE FREEKIN CHECK.. imagine what a cop would do if i looked at him and said "i know my drivers license is 67 days past renewal officer but i just cant meet the states demand that i renew it before the expiration date... sorry." sh********t! i am POSITIVE that that would go over about as good as a fart in church.

how about treating us like human beings granny? but then again you arent human so you cant possibly know what compassion is or what right and wrong are.

this will not end

Submitted by maxmax on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 10:32.

this will not end untill we stand up to Leo how i dont know more court days for me thats the least i can do is show up at his court date and support him

HOW ARE PEOPLE GETTING BUSTED?

Submitted by tutman2006 on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 09:40.

Its says they got a search warrant, and they had a tip.

So if someone tips off the police is it that easy for them to go get a warrent over a tip??

AS a patient and as a caregiver you can have more than 12 plants.

it is that easy

Submitted by finallyfree09 on Fri, 01/15/2010 - 00:03.

someone in my family was turned in two days ago for "abusing" prescription drugs and endangering his children as a result of that "abuse." the guy has a prescription from a doctor for all of the meds he is on. he does not take anything that wasnt prescribed to him. child protective services showed up at his house today and said they had recieved a tip and demanded entry into his home. they are coming back tomorrow to get his medical records and are forcing him to take a drug test or lose his children. as i said... he has a legal prescription for eveything he takes. he actually weened himself off of the heavier pain killers about a month ago. he is surrounded by family and has all the help he needs and his children are not in any danger. still, the state "got a tip" and decided to take matters into their own hands. actually the county i believe. osceola county that is. and to top it all off... THERE IS NO WARRANT!!!! they just do this type of thing and get away with it all the time. if there is anything in his system they will do what i have seen them do to others and put the guy on probation for 90 days. if he stays clean they expunge his record. if not they charge him with a crime and take his kids. welcome to michigan... come here on vacation and leave on probation!

Some swat teams have judges

Submitted by thanks2 on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 12:40.

Some swat teams have judges that will even sign a search warrant after the fact. The fourth amendment has been damaged and is dieing. The War on Drugs is a vale for the war on freedom.

I say

Submitted by Brad on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 12:50.

Hell yes... right on brotha (or sista)! I believe that's exactly what happened in Bob & Torey's case, and continues to happen all the time because of the cozy relationship between law enforcement and the judiciary.

I just wonder how those corrupt bastards sleep at night?

Yep

Submitted by bobandtorey on Fri, 01/15/2010 - 09:47.

what Brad said is true they have it in for us what else can it be we were legal no matter what people say we had under plant count under 2.5oz they had no warrant it was locked up why are they doing this its not about us its about the Law we have known that from day one

there may be a reason Johnny,

Submitted by hayduke on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 09:24.

but that does not make a bust legitimate. I don't trust the police at all. I don't trust the police to be careful or honest. This is all about maintaining busts so they can continue to steal via seizure and court fees, so they can maintain their lifestyles. And just because their job depends upon it (I do agree with that) does not mean they are morally or ethically or legally in the right.

You will find that every case

Submitted by Johnny Grower on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 09:15.

You will find that every case that has happened with a medical card holder or a care giver there was a reason they got busted. Trust that the police are being very careful wat they do, they know there job's depend on it.

WTF

Submitted by rbuck1501 on Fri, 01/15/2010 - 11:08.

"You will find that every case that has happened with a medical card holder or a care giver there was a reason they got busted. Trust that the police are being very careful what they do, they know there job's depend on it."

The reason is LEO violated their right's!
MMJ patients are not criminals!
Their sick!

Most cases have come down to interpretation of the law or blatant disregard for it by LEO. PA's are trying to portray patients as criminals. I.E. Guns, Money, Prescription drugs, Drug Paraphernalia, Packaging Materials, etc, all noted when a patient is raided. (We have a weight limit we must adhere to!) And they look for any reason they can to take them down! Give them enough time in any home and your going to be arrested for something. Any reason they can create. Then good by medicine, there main focus and objective.

When's the last time you heard LEO admit they made a mistake???????
It never happens, they always defend their actions right or wrong. And the PA always wants to win their case! Justice is something that happens occasionally, but winning cases is what the PA's are all about, not doing whats right.

And they always justify their actions in the media too, they (manipulate the truth) and portray the patient (or victim) as a criminal and deserving of the abuse they suffered at the hands of those we trust to protect and serve!

And who knows the judicial system best? LEO who works with it daily. Or the MMJ patient that gets thrust into the legal system by LEO's actions, It's business as usual for them, they need funding. And we flounder to survive after the raids.

Sad to say, we are under attack by those in charge of protecting our freedom.
It's this mind set that the patient's did something wrong and deserve more suffering and abuse. That I feel needs to stop! The assumption that using MMJ for end of life or debilitating conditions gives LEO the right to destroy families is wrong. Period

The most vulnerable in our society deserve better. IMHO

And it's our responsibility to make LEO and the Judicial system understand that. rbuck

Law enforcement can't be

Submitted by peanutbutter on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 09:13.

Law enforcement can't be trusted to respect the law.

The only solution is complete legalization.

That way LEO doesn't have to figure out where the line is.

Great just what we need

Submitted by 420Helpsmypain on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 09:08.

another blog where this guy can be slammed a little more by people who think they are either lawyers or are so law abiding they have never done anything wrong.

he has other patients

Submitted by ccpulsipher on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 09:00.

as far as i know he had other patients as well so he could have more than the 12 plants not sure how many patients he had

16 plants?

Submitted by sensigardens on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 08:41.

was he alowed 24 or only 12 plants? if only 12 then he was not in the boundries of the law.. I

He also....

Submitted by motownbass on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 12:07.

had over the amount of usable MM, and already had established plants, but did'nt have the card. I think that leo knows the time frame of growing, or having to wait to get a card, to be in full protection of the law. Plus his plants were already established, that takes more than 20 days.

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