03/10/2007 00:00:00
US: Edible Marijuana Maker To Surrender On Thursday
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Edible medical marijuana producer Michael Martin will turn himself over
to federal authorities Thursday in response to an arrest warrant,
officials from Oakland-based Americans for Safe Access said today.
Officials from the San Francisco office of the Drug Enforcement
Administration labeled Martin a fugitive last week when they raided
Tainted Inc. in Oakland and arrested three employees but couldn't locate
Martin, 33, who lives in El Sobrante.
Kris Hermes of Americans for Safe Access said today that Martin wasn't a
fugitive but simply was out of town on vacation last week. However, DEA
spokeswoman Casey McEnry said her agency still considers Martin to be a
fugitive because an arrest warrant was issued last week and her agency
hasn't been able to locate him.
Hermes said Martin, his attorney and supporters will hold a rally at the
federal building in Oakland at 9 a.m. Thursday. Martin and his attorney
will then go to San Francisco, where Martin will turn himself in and
have his initial appearance in federal court there, Hermes said.
Martin and the three other defendants in the case are charged with
conspiracy to manufacture or distribute controlled substances. McEnry
said the DEA began investigating Tainted Inc. two years ago when it
received information that it was manufacturing marijuana-laced candy
bars and Martin was the owner.
According to the criminal complaint, Tainted began as a small operation,
which initially cooked marijuana leaves in butter and made chocolate
truffles, but expanded into an enterprise that supplied marijuana-laced
candies to cannabis clubs in the Bay Area, Seattle, Vancouver and Amsterdam.
Jessica Sanders, 30, of San Leandro and Oakland residents Michael
Anderson, 42, and Diallo McLinn, 35, appeared in federal court last
Thursday and were released on bail.
According to the DEA, Anderson was a manager at Tainted and Anderson and
McLinn were couriers.
Americans for Safe Access officials said in a news release that Tainted
provides clearly labeled baked goods and other marijuana edibles to
medical cannabis patients and collectives all over California.
The group said, "Edible cannabis products are an alternative to smoking
cannabis and are preferred by many patients. The products made by
Tainted Inc. are available only through medical cannabis dispensaries
and carry prominent warning labels."
In a letter released by Americans for Safe Access, Martin said, "I
believe truly in my heart that I have committed no crime" but that he
will turn himself in voluntarily.
He said, "I am obviously frightened, but also confident that the truth
will be brought to light and we, as a society, will learn a valuable
lesson somewhere in all this madness."
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=12883
Author:
Bay City News via UKCIA
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