Continuing coverage on a large marijuana growing operation and the arrest of three men in Benzie County.
For three months the sheriff’s office worked with the Traverse Narcotics Team to investigate, and ultimately raid the medical marijuana farm. They found $10,000, guns and hundreds of marijuana plants on a property in Homestead Township.
This was such a big operation that it was in operation 24 hours a day.
Which led to neighbors calling the Benzie County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Ted Schendel says, We received some tips from the community about three months ago regarding the growing of marijuana continually growing in size. There was quite a significant amount of marijuana being grown more than the amount that it would be for a medical marijuana grow.
More than 300 marijuana plants were discovered Wednesday and in order for law enforcement to remove those plants they ended up filling road commission dump trucks like this one four times.
Sheriff Schendel says, The street value of this marijuana was well over a million dollars so this was not for five medical patients.
But the director of the local National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, Rev. Steven Thompson says it actually was legal because there wasn’t just one grower.
Growers out at this gentleman’s property that were co-oping together. The plants belonged to the patients they were separated they’re allowed to grow 12 plants per each patient, these plants were separated and marked with the patients names.
But three men are now in the Benzie County Jail waiting to be arraigned.
Their friends say their arrest is going to impact a lot of patients.
Rev. Thompson says, Now we have 35 patients in the area that are without their medicine and they’re scared to death that they’re going to come after them next.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Benzie County Sheriff’s Office, Local Medical Marijuana Community React To Marijuana
Author: Megan Woods
Contact: (231) 775-3478
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: 9&10 News
