The General
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Washington State - Cowlitz County Prosecutor Sue Baur has dismissed all charges against five people involved with two Cowlitz County medical marijuana dispensaries nearly a year after they were arrested on suspicion of illegally selling the drug. Baur said in a written statement that it would have been impractical to prosecute the cases because voters decided last year to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. In addition, she said confusion over laws governing both medical and recreational pot would have further complicated matters.
"The people of our state clearly stated that marijuana use and possession should be decriminalized," Baur wrote. "Marijuana prosecutions (even dispensaries) became problematic given this decision by the voters." "Even if the defendants had been convicted," Baur wrote, "they would have most likely been sentenced to no more than a few months in jail. Given my office's priorities, it did not make sense for me to pursue these cases any further."
Baur also wrote in the statement: "Marijuana prosecutions are not the highest priority for my office." Charges were dismissed last week against the operators of the Grass Rootz dispensary in Lexington: Kirk Kightlinger, 50; his girlfriend, Mandy F. Henderson, 52; and his sons, Aaron Kightlinger, 30, and Steffen Kightlinger, 25. Charges also were dismissed against Kellie Opsal, 37, of Toutle, who operated a dispensary called Naturally Yours in West Longview.
Operators of both dispensaries said this week that they are still providing cannabis to patients, and both dispensaries are now publicly displaying the green cross, which signifies the availability of medical marijuana. The Longview Police Street Crimes Unit raided Opsal's dispensary just more than a month after voters approved I-502, which legalized possession of an ounce or less of marijuana. Street Crimes cops raided the Grass Rootz dispensary in February. In each case, the dispensaries' proprietors were accused of selling marijuana. But police and prosecutors never said exactly how the dispensaries ran afoul of the state's medical marijuana laws, which allow pot to be grown in collective gardens and distributed to people with doctor-certified credentials.
Both the Naturally Yours and Grass Rootz operators insisted they never sold to anyone without a medical marijuana card. In an indication of how confusing the situation had become, police allowed the Grass Rootz operators to keep their marijuana plants following the raid. The dispensaries' operators said they never intended to make a lot of money on the marijuana trade. Rather, they said they developed close relationships with the patients and became committed to providing a medication that clearly improved people's quality of life.
"It just doesn't seem fair," Kirk Kightlinger said Monday of the nearly year-long legal battle and thousands of dollars in lawyers fees he and his family racked up. "I guess that's the cost of being in the movement that we're in." The raids and hours in court "didn't need to happen," he said. "What damage has been done to society?" he asked, referring to the medical marijuana trade. "What truck has gone off the cliff because – my God! – this is taking place?" Opsal, who had faced charges of operating a drug house and leading organized crime, said Monday that she was "astonished" when she learned that the charges had been dismissed. "I was like, 'Thank goodness. It's about time,'" she said. "The whole thing was screwed up," she said. "I don't know why they did it. I don't know why they wasted a bunch of taxpayers' money on dragging it along this long." Longview police did not respond this month to several requests to comment on the dismissal of the cases.
News Hawk - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Tdn.com
Author: Tony Lystra
Contact: Contact Us
Website: Prosecutor drops cases against medical marijuana shops
"The people of our state clearly stated that marijuana use and possession should be decriminalized," Baur wrote. "Marijuana prosecutions (even dispensaries) became problematic given this decision by the voters." "Even if the defendants had been convicted," Baur wrote, "they would have most likely been sentenced to no more than a few months in jail. Given my office's priorities, it did not make sense for me to pursue these cases any further."
Baur also wrote in the statement: "Marijuana prosecutions are not the highest priority for my office." Charges were dismissed last week against the operators of the Grass Rootz dispensary in Lexington: Kirk Kightlinger, 50; his girlfriend, Mandy F. Henderson, 52; and his sons, Aaron Kightlinger, 30, and Steffen Kightlinger, 25. Charges also were dismissed against Kellie Opsal, 37, of Toutle, who operated a dispensary called Naturally Yours in West Longview.
Operators of both dispensaries said this week that they are still providing cannabis to patients, and both dispensaries are now publicly displaying the green cross, which signifies the availability of medical marijuana. The Longview Police Street Crimes Unit raided Opsal's dispensary just more than a month after voters approved I-502, which legalized possession of an ounce or less of marijuana. Street Crimes cops raided the Grass Rootz dispensary in February. In each case, the dispensaries' proprietors were accused of selling marijuana. But police and prosecutors never said exactly how the dispensaries ran afoul of the state's medical marijuana laws, which allow pot to be grown in collective gardens and distributed to people with doctor-certified credentials.
Both the Naturally Yours and Grass Rootz operators insisted they never sold to anyone without a medical marijuana card. In an indication of how confusing the situation had become, police allowed the Grass Rootz operators to keep their marijuana plants following the raid. The dispensaries' operators said they never intended to make a lot of money on the marijuana trade. Rather, they said they developed close relationships with the patients and became committed to providing a medication that clearly improved people's quality of life.
"It just doesn't seem fair," Kirk Kightlinger said Monday of the nearly year-long legal battle and thousands of dollars in lawyers fees he and his family racked up. "I guess that's the cost of being in the movement that we're in." The raids and hours in court "didn't need to happen," he said. "What damage has been done to society?" he asked, referring to the medical marijuana trade. "What truck has gone off the cliff because – my God! – this is taking place?" Opsal, who had faced charges of operating a drug house and leading organized crime, said Monday that she was "astonished" when she learned that the charges had been dismissed. "I was like, 'Thank goodness. It's about time,'" she said. "The whole thing was screwed up," she said. "I don't know why they did it. I don't know why they wasted a bunch of taxpayers' money on dragging it along this long." Longview police did not respond this month to several requests to comment on the dismissal of the cases.
News Hawk - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Tdn.com
Author: Tony Lystra
Contact: Contact Us
Website: Prosecutor drops cases against medical marijuana shops
