OAKLAND (BCN)
An El Sobrante man who ran a business that made marijuana-laced
cookies and candy was sentenced in federal court in Oakland today to two
years of non-prison confinement.
Michael Martin, 34, operated an Oakland-based business originally
called Tainted Inc. and later known as Compassion Medicinal Edibles that
produced candy, cookies, ice cream, brownies, energy drinks and other treats
containing marijuana.
He was charged with marijuana conspiracy after federal drug agents
raided his Oakland facility in September 2007 and, according to federal
prosecutors, found 400 marijuana plants.
Martin pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken in
March to one count of conspiring to manufacture and distribute a mixture
containing a detectable amount of marijuana.
Wilken sentenced him today to one year of confinement in a halfway
house plus one year of home detention, according to defense attorney Sara
Zalkin.
Prosecutors had asked for two and one-half years in prison, saying
in a court filing that Martin "was running a profitable business."
Defense attorneys arguing for non-prison confinement said Martin
had a good-faith belief in the medicinal effectiveness of marijuana and that
he accepted responsibility for his acts.
Zalkin said, "We're very pleased that he is not going to be locked
up in a prison."
Martin was supported in the case by Oakland-based Americans for
Safe Access, an organization that advocates access to medical marijuana.
The group's chief of staff, Rebecca Saltzman, said before the
sentencing, "Enforcement actions against people like Michael Martin, who are
trying to produce edible, non-smoked medicine, is a travesty."
California's voter-approved Compassionate Use Act allows seriously
ill patients to use medical marijuana with a doctor's approval, but federal
laws outlawing marijuana use don't recognize the state law.
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials said last year that
Martin's company grew from a small operation to an international business
that supplied marijuana-laced foods to dispensaries in the Bay Area, Los
Angeles, Seattle, Vancouver and Amsterdam.
(� 2007 The Associated Press. All
Rights Reserved. In the interest of timeliness, this story is fed
directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain occasional
typographical errors. )
