cannabisnews.com: Inter-Agency Cooperation Under Fire 





Inter-Agency Cooperation Under Fire 
Posted by CN Staff on February 16, 2003 at 10:45:21 PT
By Michael Coit, Staff Writer
Source: Press Democrat 
Mark Whitney believed he was growing medical marijuana within Sonoma County's local guidelines, but that didn't keep him from becoming a law enforcement target. Medical marijuana advocates point to his case as an example of how local and federal agents might work too closely, a charge the county drug task force commander disputes.
Whitney had been growing for himself in the basement of the Santa Rosa home he rented. He expanded into a cooperative and grew for 10 others as their caregiver.County drug task force officers began their investigation a year ago following an informant's tip, according to court records.A background check of Whitney turned up a 1979 marijuana arrest in Salinas. A drive by his home revealed boarded up windows on the ground floor. A subsequent review of PG&E bills, obtained with a search warrant, revealed excessive electricity usage.Officers then had reasonable cause to suspect marijuana was being grown in the home with special lights, hydroponic equipment and other supplies.Shortly after 7 a.m. March 28, officers, with a search warrant, entered the home when no one answered repeated knocks and calls to open the door. They found a multiroom growing operation in the basement. Whitney was upstairs, where officers interviewed him, according to an incident report.Whitney was questioned about his operation, how he got started, whom he supplied, his physician's recommendation, and the recommendations for others in the cooperative. Whitney also was questioned about his financial assets, monthly expenditures and how he was paid for marijuana.With some 400 plants and 10 cooperative members, Whitney believed he was well within the guidelines that allow up to three pounds or 99 plants for each person with a physician's recommendation. Whitney also said he did not have fixed prices, was paid for costs and materials, and some members provided supplies. The cost for an ounce ranged from $100 to $250.But the officers suspected Whitney was selling marijuana for his own gain and that he and his patients were coached on amounts they claimed and how they compensated each other.After officers contacted several cooperative members on the phone, an officer called Scott Wygant, the DEA agent in charge of the agency's Santa Rosa office. The officer described Whitney's growing operation and noted he had not paid taxes the previous year.Within a few minutes, Wygant called back and said his office would investigate. A short time later, Wygant and several agents arrived and took over the investigation.Kent Shaw, commander of the county task force, explained that his officers called DEA agents after Whitney told them he provided starter plants to a Santa Rosa medical marijuana dispensary. Shaw said the officers already were aware the DEA was investigating the dispensary."If we have knowledge of an individual that's potentially part of an ongoing investigation of another law enforcement agency, we would certainly provide that information to them and we would hope they do the same for us," he said. "It would put us in a very precarious position to contest investigations they're doing."But Whitney doubted that account and said the case has shaken his faith in the local guidelines."Medical marijuana is a defense for me if I have a problem. I was confident I could defend myself in local court," Whitney said.What he didn't expect was a visit from federal agents.While Whitney knew federal agents weren't bound by the local guidelines, he didn't think local officers would help federal counterparts make arrests."They were clearly in my view acting as federal agents," he said.Note: Pot advocates point to Whitney case as example of too much interaction.Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)Author: Michael Coit, Staff WriterPublished: February 16, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Press DemocratContact: letters pressdemo.comWebsite: http://www.pressdemo.com/Related Articles:Medical Pot Growers Find No Refuge from Feds http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15490.shtmlFederal, State Laws Duel Over Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15489.shtmlSeparate Drug Agencies Work Together http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15488.shtmlCounty Pot Growers Nailed by DEA http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15487.shtml
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