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Berrien County Medical Marijuana Center Could Close After Sting

kruztydj

By kruztydj
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kruztydj Advanced Member

kruztydj

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Front page in our local paper and dont look good for the man. Seems he sold meds to a under cover officer that told him he didn't have a card. This could put evey person he signed at risk of loosing their cards. A doctor should never make the medicine he's prescribing and only out to make a buck. If this is true then I'm glad we never sent any of our members to him. Not good for the cause either

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Dr. Bob Advanced Member

Dr. Bob

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I read the write up of this center and actually spoke to Sean last month. I was very impressed with the procedures he had in place and the attitude he expressed about his certification center. Truthfully I am shocked that such a serious breech of conduct took place, if indeed it did.

 

Selling for 5 weeks without a card could be a paperwork based sale, which as we all know is legal, in an area with a very anti-mmj pa. I have heard reports from Oakland of problems from LEO based on some reported time frame that the paperwork 'expires'. Is this more of the same? Or did he really screw the pooch and break the law. I would like to see the complaint, most of the time they are pretty telling.

 

Dr. Bob

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Dr. Bob Advanced Member

Dr. Bob

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Front page in our local paper and dont look good for the man. Seems he sold meds to a under cover officer that told him he didn't have a card. This could put evey person he signed at risk of loosing their cards. A doctor should never make the medicine he's prescribing and only out to make a buck. If this is true then I'm glad we never sent any of our members to him. Not good for the cause either

 

My doc Cohn is down in Buchanan with the club so you have folks to certify people properly. But I actually spoke with Sean a month ago, and as noted above this surprises me. I also don't think this had anything to do with certs, it is a sale/dispensary issue. He seemed to have excellent protocols in place for certifications and got a very good write up in the Star last month.

 

Dr. Bob

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EdwardGlen Advanced Member

+EdwardGlen

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When a man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself as public property.

- Thomas Jefferson

 

very sketchy reporting, no card doesn't mean he didn't have (forged) paperwork stating its 21 days or older and if that's the case, its entrapment.

 

And if the cop only presented paperwork just how the hell is an individual to verify the legitimacy of said paperwork.

 

Another gratuitous failure on Lansing's part, only a politician could do a halfhearted job and still keep it, for now!

 

Violators of the public trust should get the death penalty! Its what they're giving some of us!!!

 

The very essence of a free government consists in considering offices as public trusts, bestowed for the good of the country, and not for the benefit of an individual or a party.

- John Caldwell Calhoun

 

Ed

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Dr. Bob Advanced Member

Dr. Bob

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Call me crazy, but given where this happened, I am definitely giving this guy the benefit of the doubt.

 

Thanks for the support of my earlier position. This guy didn't strike me as a hood. Let's wait and see what shakes out.

 

Dr. Bob

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Dr. Bob Advanced Member

Dr. Bob

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I don't believe this was a standards of practice case, it was on the dispensary/sales side. Dr. Cohn, one of my docs, is getting pretty active in that area and I think we can handle the needed capacity so everyone is taken care of.

 

Dr. Bob

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DayTripper Advanced Member

DayTripper

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I don't believe this was a standards of practice case, it was on the dispensary/sales side. Dr. Cohn, one of my docs, is getting pretty active in that area and I think we can handle the needed capacity so everyone is taken care of.

 

Dr. Bob

 

Forgive me if I am wrong; but I thought it was illegal for a Doctor to sell? and/or provide marijuana. I was of the impression that all they can do is recommend it for a patient because it is a scheduel 1 drug.

 

I've been seeing the same Dr. for over 20 years and he has never ever charged me for medicine he gave me from office samples. I can't even think of any Doctors office I have ever been inside that sold anything but medical services. Some hospitals and medical buildings have pharmacies in them; but the Dr. is not behind the counter.

 

Doctors running dispensaries or compassion clubs that distribute; that's bound to bring the Feds running.

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bobandtorey Advanced Member

bobandtorey

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Berrien County’s prosecutor wants to shut down a local business that helps people obtain medical marijuana cards.

 

That, after 14 criminal counts were filed against the owner/operator of Your Three M Medical Marijuana Center in St. Joseph Township.

 

Court documents allege that 42 year old Sean Erhard of Berrien Springs sold marijuana to an undercover police officer and that the officer made it clear that he did not have a medical marijuana card.

 

It all started on March 4th when the undercover officer allegedly bought a loaf of marijuana bread inside the office of Your Three M Medical Marijuana Center off Niles Avenue at its intersection with I-94.

 

The center’s bread and butter business was helping people to obtain medical marijuana cards—the business was not legally allowed to distribute marijuana.

 

“Well, I went to lunch yesterday and noticed there was a few officers there and a couple of trucks and heard on the radio that they got themselves into some legal trouble,” said Drew Sarola who works at another business near the center.

 

From what Sarola noticed, business at the center seemed slow. “To be honest, it actually has been pretty empty, hasn’t been a whole lot of traffic there.”

 

The criminal case filed against Erhard seems to paint a different picture. Erhard is accused of selling pot to an undercover officer seven times in the past five and a half weeks.

 

Four of those alleged sales took place inside the office, where more than 35 grams of pot changed hands.

 

The business is now closed due to a Temporary Restraining Order. At a hearing on April 21st, the prosecutor will seek to have the business declared a public nuisance and shut down permanently.

 

Erhard remains in jail on $25-thousand bond. Court records indicate that Erhard was previously convicted of Possession of Marijuana on March 1st of this year, in a criminal case out of Niles.

 

 

http://www.wndu.com/localnews/headlines/Officials_want_Marijuana_Center_shut_down_119877484.html

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Dr. Bob Advanced Member

Dr. Bob

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Dr. Bob, The point is they understand that Doc's are the bottleneck. You take out one Doc, you take hundreds or thousands out of the system. Thanks, Joe

 

Couldn't agree with you more and as you know I feel that acutely. Sometimes I think I have a target painted on my back.

 

Dr. Bob

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Dr. Bob Advanced Member

Dr. Bob

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Forgive me if I am wrong; but I thought it was illegal for a Doctor to sell? and/or provide marijuana. I was of the impression that all they can do is recommend it for a patient because it is a scheduel 1 drug.

 

I've been seeing the same Dr. for over 20 years and he has never ever charged me for medicine he gave me from office samples. I can't even think of any Doctors office I have ever been inside that sold anything but medical services. Some hospitals and medical buildings have pharmacies in them; but the Dr. is not behind the counter.

 

Doctors running dispensaries or compassion clubs that distribute; that's bound to bring the Feds running.

 

It is my understanding that the individual involved is not a physician. He had doctors working for him in the clinic. In my practice I am the physician, I have nothing whatsoever to do with medication and in all honesty I know nothing about strains. I do have members of the local compassion clubs that help me, give the patient follow up and can assist with caregiver contacts. They do not work for me and are fully independent of me, as I am of them.

 

It is also my understanding that a physician cannot be a caregiver, just like a doc can't run a medical supply company. There is a presumed conflict of interest. Either way, I prefer not to be in the supply business.

 

Dr. Bob

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Dr. Bob Advanced Member

Dr. Bob

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Berrien County’s prosecutor wants to shut down a local business that helps people obtain medical marijuana cards.

 

That, after 14 criminal counts were filed against the owner/operator of Your Three M Medical Marijuana Center in St. Joseph Township.

 

Court documents allege that 42 year old Sean Erhard of Berrien Springs sold marijuana to an undercover police officer and that the officer made it clear that he did not have a medical marijuana card.

 

It all started on March 4th when the undercover officer allegedly bought a loaf of marijuana bread inside the office of Your Three M Medical Marijuana Center off Niles Avenue at its intersection with I-94.

 

The center’s bread and butter business was helping people to obtain medical marijuana cards—the business was not legally allowed to distribute marijuana.

 

“Well, I went to lunch yesterday and noticed there was a few officers there and a couple of trucks and heard on the radio that they got themselves into some legal trouble,” said Drew Sarola who works at another business near the center.

 

From what Sarola noticed, business at the center seemed slow. “To be honest, it actually has been pretty empty, hasn’t been a whole lot of traffic there.”

 

The criminal case filed against Erhard seems to paint a different picture. Erhard is accused of selling pot to an undercover officer seven times in the past five and a half weeks.

 

Four of those alleged sales took place inside the office, where more than 35 grams of pot changed hands.

 

The business is now closed due to a Temporary Restraining Order. At a hearing on April 21st, the prosecutor will seek to have the business declared a public nuisance and shut down permanently.

 

Erhard remains in jail on $25-thousand bond. Court records indicate that Erhard was previously convicted of Possession of Marijuana on March 1st of this year, in a criminal case out of Niles.

 

 

http://www.wndu.com/localnews/headlines/Officials_want_Marijuana_Center_shut_down_119877484.html

 

If that is the case, it is beyond stupid. Wasn't even a dispensary. Like my receptionist selling pills.

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JimD Advanced Member

JimD

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Sounds incredibly dumb on his part.

About a month ago I was listening to an NPR program about MMJ in Israel. There, MJ patients go to dispensaries and are allowed to obtain set amounts each month.

At one particular shop, a 21 yr old worker was arrested for giving an undercover leo more than the stipend. Turns out they had been sending this elderly undercover in there under the pretense of being a cancer patient, even dressing her the part. She begged repeatedly for help, saying her amount was gone and she was suffering. All the employees refused the uc leo, except this one girl who took pity and gave her more.

I think this raises a serious issue.

What do you do when confronted with someone that is suffering, but the paperwork is either new or not passed the 21 days? For a caregiver, the answer is obvious in light of this case. ..you make em wait (and suffer). But a physician? Would they not be bound by oath to provide relief of some kind?

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Dr. Bob Advanced Member

Dr. Bob

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Sounds incredibly dumb on his part.

About a month ago I was listening to an NPR program about MMJ in Israel. There, MJ patients go to dispensaries and are allowed to obtain set amounts each month.

At one particular shop, a 21 yr old worker was arrested for giving an undercover leo more than the stipend. Turns out they had been sending this elderly undercover in there under the pretense of being a cancer patient, even dressing her the part. She begged repeatedly for help, saying her amount was gone and she was suffering. All the employees refused the uc leo, except this one girl who took pity and gave her more.

I think this raises a serious issue.

What do you do when confronted with someone that is suffering, but the paperwork is either new or not passed the 21 days? For a caregiver, the answer is obvious in light of this case. ..you make em wait (and suffer). But a physician? Would they not be bound by oath to provide relief of some kind?

 

The problem you run into with the Oath is that yes, being a physician (he was not) does carry with it a moral and social obligation. The paradox is that the ones that take it the most seriously are the easiest targets not only for LEO but for patients trying to supplement their incomes or feed their narcotic addition. Typically they come in complaining of pain, which cannot be verified or ruled out, cry, beg, and otherwise try and manipulate the 'good hearted' doc into giving them a break and 'helping' them. Often it is the caring physician that falls prey, from there it is a slippery slope. Examples would be Dr. Yff in Harbor Springs, Dr. Gosling in Grayling, and now Dr. Buck.

 

Are these folks bad, uncaring doctors? Not really, they simply did not know when to say enough. 1.5 million doses of narcotics, is a huge amount, look at what the Uc officers were prescribed. People have pain, but those dosages will not help. Then to combine it with the no record certifications of people for something as controversial in the eyes of the general public as MMJ. The result was that yesterday her bond was revoked after the judge called her a 'danger' to society. She will have her day in court, and has my best wishes, but we have to use judgement and NOT give LEO excuses like this to act.

 

As for this case, it is a hostile county, it was a medical clinic and unlike a doctor giving samples of antibiotics we don't give 'samples' of MMJ. Furthermore, it is a crime to sell antibiotics or blood pressure medications given by the drug companies as 'office samples'. The same standard should apply to Canna Butter Bread.

 

Dr. Bob

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