cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Club Owner Charged in Federal Court 





Marijuana Club Owner Charged in Federal Court 
Posted by CN Staff on September 14, 2002 at 09:19:37 PT
By Jeremy Hay, The Press Democrat
Source: Press Democrat
The owner of a Petaluma marijuana club was arraigned Friday on drug charges that carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. Robert Schmidt, 52, was arrested Thursday by federal agents who raided a ranch near Sebastopol where he had been growing marijuana since March.He was arraigned in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on charges of manufacturing and possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, and assaulting a federal agent.
The maximum penalty for the drug charges is life in prison and a $4 million fine; the assault charge carries a maximum sentence of three years plus a $250,000 fine, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mathew Jacobs said in a statement Friday.He said U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents seized 3,454 marijuana plants from the Martin Lane ranch west of Sebastopol.Several others questioned at the ranch told agents that Schmidt had hired them to guard the crop, which one DEA agent estimated to be worth nearly $2 million.Neighbors said authorities told them that Schmidt had been under investigation for more than a year.Schmidt is the owner of Genesis 1:29, a marijuana buyers club named for a Bible verse about God providing herb-bearing seeds.Supporters said Schmidt was growing cannabis for nearly 800 members of his club as well as for other clubs that opened in the Bay Area after voters approved a 1996 initiative allowing marijuana use for medical reasons.Federal law doesn't recognize any legal use of marijuana. Medical marijuana advocates say stepped-up DEA enforcement efforts are misfocused."The DEA is needed to help fight the war on terrorism," said Ernest "Doc" Knapp, spokesman for the Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana. "When they devote such huge resources to going after sick and dying people, what does it say about them?"Marijuana plants and computer equipment also were seized from the Petaluma club, located in a business park on South Point Boulevard.Calls to the club seeking comment weren't returned Friday. An answering machine message said: "We are closed due to the DEA overriding state law on the 12th of September."Schmidt is next scheduled to appear in court Sept. 18.Note: DEA agents uprooted 3,454 marijuana plants on land near Sebastopol. Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)Author: Jeremy Hay, The Press DemocratPublished: September 14, 2002 Copyright: 2002 The Press DemocratContact: letters pressdemo.comWebsite: http://www.pressdemo.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Genesis 1:29http://www.genesis129.org/Marijuana Club Founder Faces Charges http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14108.shtmlWhen A Neighborhood Goes To Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14107.shtmlFeds Raid Sebastopol Pot Farm http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14096.shtml 
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on September 19, 2002 at 13:33:53 PT
Around the Empire - The Press Democrat
Hearing Delayed in Pot CaseSeptember 19, 2002A hearing to determine whether a Sebastopol man arrested during a drug raid should be released from jail was continued Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.Robert Schmidt, founder of a medicinal pot dispensary in Petaluma, was arrested a week ago in Sebastopol when federal drug agents raided a ranch he was renting and seized 3,454 marijuana plants.The continuance was granted to provide his attorney more time to prepare for the detention hearing, which resumes Friday, a court official said.Schmidt is charged with manufacturing and possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, and assaulting a federal agent. The assault charge stems from allegations that he tried to take an automatic rifle away from a Drug Enforcement Administration agent during the raid.His attorney, federal Public Defender Alexandra McClure, could not be reached for comment. Schmidt is being held at Alameda County's Santa Rita Jail.His supporters have said he was growing pot to provide to medical marijuana patients at his Petaluma pot club, Genesis 1:29, and other Bay Area clubs.-- Jeremy Hay
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