Prosecutors are now 11-0 in their yearlong effort to convict 12 medical marijuana collective operators, after a San Luis Obispo County Superior Court judge recently dismissed two more defendants’ cases.
None of the so-called “Doobie Dozen” has even made it to trial.
On Feb. 15—the date designated as “Medical Marijuana Day” after Proposition 215, which legalized cannabis for medicinal use in California by safe access proponents—charges against Shelly and Rianna Allred were dismissed by Judge Jacqueline Duffy after prosecutors said they couldn’t bring the cases before a jury.
The Allreds were arrested with 10 other county residents in the last days of 2010, following a two-month investigation into medical marijuana providers, named “Operation Green Sweep” by the now-defunct SLO County Narcotics Task Force.
Now law enforcement is one conviction away from being swept—at least on the local level. The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office has pledged to take all 11 dismissals to the state appellate court in an attempt to force some clarity on state law. According to Chief Deputy District Attorney Jerret Gran, the office has filed the required paperwork for its intent to appeal.
One lone defendant, Peter Miller, of Paso Robles, potentially faces a similar fate in March.
Despite the dismissals, most former defendants have yet to convince a judge to return their property—seized bank accounts, personal computers, and cannabis—which could be held during the appeal process.
This article appears in Feb 23 – Mar 1, 2012.
