Pubdate: Sat, 14 Sep 2002
Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)
Copyright: 2002 The Press Democrat
Contact:  http://www.pressdemo.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/348
Author: Jeremy Hay

MARIJUANA CLUB OWNER CHARGED IN FEDERAL COURT

DEA Agents Uprooted 3,454 Marijuana Plants On Land Near Sebastopol

The owner of a Petaluma marijuana club was arraigned Friday on drug charges 
that carry a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Robert Schmidt, 52, was arrested Thursday by federal agents who raided a 
ranch near Sebastopol where he had been growing marijuana since March.

He was arraigned in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on charges of 
manufacturing and possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, and 
assaulting a federal agent.

The maximum penalty for the drug charges is life in prison and a $4 million 
fine; the assault charge carries a maximum sentence of three years plus a 
$250,000 fine, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mathew Jacobs said in a statement 
Friday.

He said U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents seized 3,454 marijuana 
plants from the Martin Lane ranch west of Sebastopol.

Several others questioned at the ranch told agents that Schmidt had hired 
them to guard the crop, which one DEA agent estimated to be worth nearly $2 
million.

Neighbors said authorities told them that Schmidt had been under 
investigation for more than a year.

Schmidt is the owner of Genesis 1:29, a marijuana buyers club named for a 
Bible verse about God providing herb-bearing seeds.

Supporters said Schmidt was growing cannabis for nearly 800 members of his 
club as well as for other clubs that opened in the Bay Area after voters 
approved a 1996 initiative allowing marijuana use for medical reasons.

Federal law doesn't recognize any legal use of marijuana. Medical marijuana 
advocates say stepped-up DEA enforcement efforts are misfocused.

"The DEA is needed to help fight the war on terrorism," said Ernest "Doc" 
Knapp, spokesman for the Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana. "When they 
devote such huge resources to going after sick and dying people, what does 
it say about them?"

Marijuana plants and computer equipment also were seized from the Petaluma 
club, located in a business park on South Point Boulevard.

Calls to the club seeking comment weren't returned Friday. An answering 
machine message said: "We are closed due to the DEA overriding state law on 
the 12th of September."

Schmidt is next scheduled to appear in court Sept. 18.
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MAP posted-by: Beth