Medical marijuana dispensary owner gets year in jail

LOS ANGELES - A former medical marijuana dispensary owner Monday was sentenced to one year in county jail and was ordered to perform 500 hours of community service as part of a five-year probation term.Superior Court Judge Gail Feuer suspended the execution of a four-year state prison term, but indicated that if Jeffrey Keith Joseph, 42, violates the terms of his probation he will face prison time. Joseph is also prohibited from selling, serving, storing, keeping, manufacturing, cultivating or giving away marijuana. Joseph was charged last year in connection with a DEA investigation. He pleaded no contest to two counts each of sales of marijuana and money laundering on March 29. Prosecutors said that Joseph - the former owner of Organica, a medical marijuana dispensary in Culver City - was engaged in illegal over-the-counter marijuana sales. The DEA initiated its investigation after Organica fliers were distributed at a local high school. Joseph was charged in February 2010 after a financial investigation revealed that the dispensary's average monthly income was $400,000. In August 2009, DEA officers recovered 80 kilograms of marijuana, 12 kilograms of hash oil and 125 kilograms of edible marijuana products at Organica.

********** Published: September 29, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 24