Fake IDs got cops into pot dispensaries, hearing told

[Bozita]

Last Updated: January 08. 2011 1:00AM
Fake IDs got cops into pot dispensaries, hearing told
Exam for eight charged under medical marijuana law to resume Jan. 19
Micki Steele / The Detroit News


Waterford Township — Eight co-defendants accused of running afoul of Michigan's medical marijuana law will have to wait a bit longer to find out if they will be ordered to stand trial.

After a full day of testimony Friday in Waterford's 51st District Court, Judge Richard Kuhn Jr. adjourned a preliminary exam for the defendants, who were arrested after an August raid at several locations in Waterford. The hearing will resume Jan. 19.

"We did nothing against the law," said defendant William Teichman. "We followed the guidelines of the medical marijuana act."

Undercover officers of the Oakland County Sheriff's Office testified that they showed fake medical ID cards to gain entry and make purchases at Everybody's Café and Herbal Remedies, marijuana dispensaries owned by Teichman and his wife, Candace, last summer on several occasions.

The visits were part of an ongoing investigation that began in July and led to an Aug. 25 raid of the dispensaries and the Teichmans' home.

The Teichmans and vendors affiliated with the two businesses were arrested after the bust on several charges, including a felony count of possession with intent to deliver.

Marijuana products were sold at the dispensaries by caregivers to people with patient identification cards issued by the Michigan Department of Community Health, the defense argued.

more...

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110108/METRO/101080346/Fake-IDs-got-cops-into-pot-dispensaries--hearing-told#ixzz1AfcKFqxD

[rfranklin]

1. sounds like the cops violated the Fourth Amendment....

oh yeah, I forgot...that one no longer applies to American citizens, only corporate "persons."

[DCKit]

5. Not to mention forging state-issued IDs.

That's got to count for something.

[Bozita]

6. They used the same software to create the phony IDs - Same as legit ones

http://michiganmedicalmarijuana.org/topic/24838-cops-used-fake-patient-ids-to-buy-medical-pot/

Cops Used Fake Patient Ids To Buy Medical Pot;
was it entrapment?
By BILL LAITNER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Oakland County Sheriff's deputies used phony Michigan medical-marijuana cards -- created on a county computer -- to trick state-approved medical marijuana providers into selling the drug to the cops, according to documents obtained by the Free Press from defense attorneys.

Days after the drug buys, county narcotics agents raided two medical-marijuana dispensaries Aug. 25 in Ferndale and Waterford.

"These officers were denied entrance on several occasions because of improper paperwork, but when they appeared with these cards, I had no way to check," said Brian Vaughan, a doorman at the now closed Everybody's Café dispensary in Waterford, who is charged with multiple drug violations.

"You've got law enforcement spending time and money to entrap users of medical marijuana," Southfield attorney Michael Komorn said Tuesday.

But law-enforcement officials said Tuesday the phony patient ID cards were a legitimate way to get evidence.

"Regardless of whether the cards were real or not, the pure and simple fact is, dispensaries are not legal in Michigan," Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe said.

Whether the fake cards constitute entrapment and whether dispensaries are legal will be decided by judges in cases expected to land in state appeals courts, as both sides predict that the raids could lead to landmark decisions that interpret the murky Michigan Medical Marijuana Act.

more...

[DCKit]

9. Misuse of state property and fraud with intent. nt

[Ian David]

2. So, if I got a fake police I.D. and gained access to the police station, would they shut it down? nt

[Ghost in the Machine]

7. Good question :-) n/t

[MrScorpio]

3. Bad Cop...

No hash brownie.

[Warren DeMontague]

4. Great, Your tax dollars at work,

Here's the answer: Legalize it, regulate it, tax it. Enough, already.

[Mojeoux]

8. Exactly, There are so many real problems to deal with, lets get on with it. nt