POT DISPENSARY OWNER IS ARRESTED, HOME IS SEARCHED BY POLICE

San Diego police arrested the operator of two medical marijuana
dispensaries yesterday on charges that he illegally possessed
marijuana with the intent to sell the drugs, officials said.

Jon Sullivan was handcuffed at his home along La Jolla Boulevard as a
team of drug agents executed a search warrant, said Damon Mosler,
chief of the district attorney's narcotics division.

According to Mosler, police obtained the search warrant last week
based on a neighbor's complaint, not on the fact that Sullivan
operates marijuana dispensaries in North Park and Pacific Beach.

Police "are focusing on activities that were not occurring at the
businesses," Mosler said.

Sullivan was one of a handful of San Diego operators who chose to
stay open despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month that federal
authorities may prosecute dispensary owners even if they comply with
state law. California is one of 10 states to adopt laws that allow
sick and dying patients to use marijuana to ease symptoms.

According to Sullivan's girlfriend, Joanna Howell, police showed up
outside the apartment sometime before 7 a.m. yesterday. She said they
both cooperated with the officers.

Howell was unsure how much marijuana was inside the home, but said it
was more than a pound. She said the marijuana was going to be used to
stock the dispensaries.

Investigators spent most of the day searching the home and taking
inventory of records and other evidence, Howell said. There were
approximately 15 police officers and a drug-sniffing dog, she said.

"They're looking at the computers," she said. "They were in every
part of the house."

Sullivan, 37, has been operating the Tripple Holistic Chronic
dispensary on El Cajon Boulevard for months. He opened a second shop
in Pacific Beach last month. In previous interviews, Sullivan said
his storefronts sell marijuana products to qualified patients who
have a doctor's recommendation to use the drug.

Sullivan could not be reached for comment yesterday, but Howell said
he probably would be released after posting bond.

"We have a lawyer and we expect to make bail," she said. "He's
operating within the letter of the law. He really believes he's
helping the community."