MAN PLEADS INNOCENT TO MARIJUANA CHARGES

A 35-year-old Whitefish man has pleaded innocent to federal charges
related to coordinated raids of medical marijuana dispensaries across
Montana in March.

[name1 redacted], former owner of the Black Pearl dispensary in
Olney, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah C. Lynch on
Tuesday on charges of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana, conspiracy
to distribute marijuana, possession with intent to distribute
marijuana, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and money laundering.

His marijuana operation was among 26 raided by state and federal law
enforcement officials in mid-March.

If convicted on all charges, he faces a mandatory five years of prison
and a possible maximum sentence of 40 years.

[name1 redacted] is the fifth Flathead County man hit with federal charges
following the raids. Whitefish resident [name2 redacted], and
Kalispell residents [name3 redacted], [name4 redacted], and
[name5 redacted], were arraigned July 6 in U.S. District Court.

[name1 redacted] was among a crowd of medical marijuana advocates who lined
the streets near the Whitefish Performing Arts Center on May 5 to urge
Gov. Brian Schweitzer to veto a bill that sharply restricted the
state's medical marijuana industry.

"I was probably one of the biggest players in this industry,"
[name1 redacted] told an Inter Lake reporter at the time.

[name1 redacted] said he invested about $300,000 in the business, including
the purchase of an 18,000-square-foot warehouse and advanced growing
equipment and technology.

He said he effectively had been out of business since the
raids.

[name1 redacted] said he believes the state failed the industry by not
adequately regulating it over the last few years.

"I'll be honest. This industry will attract a lot of people with bad
intentions," he said. "We were let down by our own state ... We were
asking, if not begging for guidelines. The bottom line is there are
people out there who needed this."