John Inman, 45, walked out of the Clay County jail exhausted but determined.
In a soft spoken voice, he explained why he was arrested on marijuana charges and why he believes it was a wrongful arrest.
“I was doing what my doctors told me to do, smoke marijuana,” he said.
The Clay County Sheriff’s arrest report shows he had bags of marijuana, vials of oil, bongs and more. Both Inman and his daughter, Shae, are Medical Marijuana card holders.
He said he prefers the organic form of the drug because the marijuana from the state licensed dispensaries makes him sick.
“I made complaints to my doctor and they told me to smoke marijuana and that’s what I’ve been doing,” Inman said. “They know it, my doctors are well aware of it and they tell me to keep doing it.”
He was arrested on charges of intent to distribute or sell, a charge he denies.
Cellphone pictures of his home shows how investigators went in and how the condition they left it.
Shae, 20, was read her rights and arrested, but she was released
“I’m just trying to take my medication and to help my dad,” she said.
Ethan Dowdy is a neighbor and a friend of the family.
“Everything that I know off there was no operation going on,” said Dowdy,”he was using it for himself and her.”
Inman said he decided to buy his marijuana from the streets, he prefers the raw form of his prescribed medicine.
“I purchased it on the streets and I had it in my house and they arrested me for it,” he said.
He said his preference is driven by his concerns over the use of chemicals to process the marijuana sold in dispensaries.
“Our government is regulating ethanol in stuff and it is making us more unhealthy,” Inman said. “Florida is not a compassionate state.”
Inman said he’s expressed his concerns to the Florida Department of Health before. He said he will fight the charges against him.
“I’m going to fight this because there are many going through the same thing and Florida has been sitting on this for way too long,” Inman said.
Christopher Padgett with the Clay County Sheriff’s office said Florida’s medical marijuana laws are very clear.
“These laws can be reviewed with the booking sheet of Mr. Inman … showing the violations of Florida State Statute.”
And according to the office of Medical Marijuana Florida law makes it illegal to buy your prescribed medicine from the streets.
“Only approved Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers can dispense medical marijuana or low-THC cannabis legally in Florida,” Mara Gambineri said.
