INTERNET POT BUST LEADS TO INDICTMENT OF CALIFORNIA MAN

A California man and his company that advertised marijuana for medicinal
purposes on the Internet were indicted Friday for selling the drug to
undercover agents in the New Orleans area at least seven times last year.

Arizona Company Medical, based in Anaheim, distributed more than 6 ounces
of marijuana between April and August 1999, the indictment says. A federal
grand jury also indicted the company and its president, Michael Aronov,
also of Anaheim, for a separate charge of promoting the sale of an illegal
drug over the Internet.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. attorney's office
announced the indictments late Friday. Aronov's attorney acknowledged his
client sent marijuana to two undercover agents but said he had good
intentions because the agents claimed to have severe health problems.

"My sense is that Michael responded to a sense of moral righteousness
rather than legal judgment," lawyer Eric Shevin said. "He at no time
possessed any criminal intent. His desire has and is to help people who are
in need."

California allows distribution of marijuana for medical purposes if
patients are advised by a doctor the drug might help them for specific
medical conditions, such as glaucoma, seizures or loss of appetite from
cancer treatments or AIDS. Distribution of marijuana is illegal in
Louisiana, though there has been a medical marijuana law on the books for
years. It never kicked in because the board that was to oversee such
prescriptions never functioned and was abolished in 1989.

U.S. Attorney Eddie Jordan called the case significant because of the
Internet connection.

"This is another example of our expanding effort to pursue individuals who
use computers to conduct illegal activities," Jordan said.

Aronov started advertising marijuana for sale on an Internet Web site in
1996, the year California's law took effect, according to court papers.
Documents filed by federal drug agents said undercover agents posed as
people who needed marijuana because of illnesses and sent Aronov fictitious
medical histories. Aronov closed his business three days after one of the
agents in Louisiana received the last shipments, the papers say.

"I'm hoping that the court will give him some attention addressing the
mitigating circumstances behind his true intent," Shevin said. "All the
evidence will show he was only involved in trying to assist people who had
what appeared to be legitimate medical need for serious illnesses."

If convicted, Aronov faces up to five years in prison on each of seven
counts of distributing the drug. He is scheduled to be arraigned in U.S.
District Court on Feb. 22.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

02/13/00