All charges have been dropped from September's high-profile bust by the Drug Enforcement Agency of a Tempe medical marijuana clinic.
The DEA arrested James Chaney and Rachel Beeder of Arizona Go Green Co-Op on September 29 following a morning raid on the clinic and Chaney's Phoenix home. About 60 or 70 pounds of marijuana and pot-infused edibles were seized, along with at least one price list for various strains of high-quality herb.
Despite all that apparent evidence, plus the word of DEA undercover agents who claim to have purchased marijuana at the clinic, Go Green's seemingly off the hook.
The DEA turned over prosecution of the case to the office of Tom Horne, state Attorney General.
But Horne, despite his previous legal action against the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, dropped the charges last month against Beeder and Chaney.
Horne's office filed a motion on October 14, which was later granted, to
dismiss the eight felony counts against the pair for alleged
conspiracy, operating an illegal enterprise, sale of marijuana and
possession of marijuana.
"The AG's office is not pursuing the case at this time," wrote Horne's
spokeswoman, Amy Rezzonico, in an e-mail when we asked for comment.
No charges have been filed in federal court, either.
Arizona Go Green Co-Op, located in an office complex near Southern
Avenue and Rural Road, is open for business. The doctor is in -- but
they're not currently stocking medicine, James Chaney tells us.
"Our caregivers are taking care of that," he says, adding that the folks
who may supply card-holding patients with medical marijuana operate
independently of the clinic. Chaney says he hopes to open a "college" at
the site by the first of the year, at which "free" medicine would be
given away.
Sounds like Al Sobol's business model for the 2811 Club. But Sobol's
place was raided by Phoenix police on October 12, so that might not be
the safest route.
Then again, no charges have been filed as of yet in Sobol's case, Jerry
Cobb of the Maricopa County Attorney's Office confirmed for us this
week.
Nor were charges ever filed in two high-profile busts in June by Gilbert PD: Garry Ferguson and the Medical Marijuana Advocacy Group in Tempe, and the raid of a Gilbert patient's home over two ounces of weed.
So is medical marijuana winning the legal fight? Could be.
Prosecutors are in new territory when it comes to Arizona's medical pot law, which was approved in a narrow election just over a year ago. They're apparently being far more cautious than police -- or even the DEA.
Horne, however, is passing up pawns on his way to what he hopes is a checkmate. He's working diligently on a lawsuit against the pot law that was launched by his ally, Governor Jan Brewer. And he's still pressing for a declaratory judgment against compassion clubs, which he believes violate the Medical Marijuana Act.
At the least, the lack of convictions for accused medical-marijuana
sellers seems to indicate some respect by government officials for the
voter-approved law.
