Those who smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes -- and are following a recommendation from a qualified doctor - will soon have another identification card to add to their wallet. Run through the county's public health department, the identification card program for medical marijuana users adheres to a California law legalizing the use of the drug with a doctor's recommendation. The program was unanimously approved by county supervisors at a meeting earlier this month. Supervisor Norma Santiago said it was a mandate from the state. [continues 448 words]
The first major marijuana bust of the year that netted nearly $1 million worth of planted and processed marijuana was discovered at a Tahoe Keys home. Roughly two weeks later more than $560,000 worth of marijuana was found by authorities in a home along Tahoma Drive. Jeff Catchings, commander of SLEDNET, South Shore's drug enforcement agency, said 117 marijuana plants were discovered Friday at a home near Tata Lane with a value around half a million dollars. In all, the three busts netted marijuana with a street value in the ballpark of $2 million. [continues 420 words]
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE - A four-month investigation by an undercover agent posing as a South Tahoe High School student resulted in the arrest Wednesday morning of eight teenagers accused of selling drugs during school hours. The arrests occurred minutes after school began. Three teams of law enforcement officers from around the area in raid gear went into classrooms of the alleged drug dealers and arrested them in front of their classmates. The undercover agent, a member of the California Alcoholic Beverage Control who pretended to be an upperclassman, bought psychedelic mushrooms, cocaine, marijuana and Ecstasy, authorities said. Prescription pills such as Ritalin, Adderall and Vicodin were also purchased. [continues 424 words]
It's been a quiet but good year for medicinal marijuana proponents in El Dorado County. Last April county authorities granted cultivation and possession guidelines that continue to draw praise from supporters who now face a new hurdle. One South Lake Tahoe caregiver, Shelly Arnold, said she has felt unusual peace in the past year. A visit by authorities to inspect her garden ended in handshakes and good vibes for all. "I'm snug as a bug. I feel great," said the woman who also goes by the moniker of "The Green Goddess." [continues 635 words]
Marijuana Use Among Teens, Potency Escalate Youths are more dependent on marijuana than cigarettes or alcohol, provoking the White House drug czar to call for drug testing at middle and high schools. John Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, made the statement during a keynote speech at a conference attended by members of the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting at Embassy Suites on Tuesday night. Walters said school drug testing would not be used to punish children, but the results can be used for rehabilitation and education. Drug testing is used for Fortune 500 executives, pilots and law enforcement. It will work for teenagers, Walters told the dinner crowd of about 240. [continues 400 words]
Twenty-one tickets given to parked cars in the Sierra Tract on Friday for obstructing snowplows were dismissed by the South Lake Tahoe Police Department. Dave Cunningham, a 15-year resident, was one of those surprised when he found a ticket for $102 on the windshield of his truck. Cunningham ignored advice from his wife to move his car from the street, knowing the city typically gives warnings during the first storm and snow plows were not out. "It definitely ruined my weekend," Cunningham said. "I thought I was going to have to pay a $102 ticket for nothing. I think the guy got a little overzealous for sure." [continues 157 words]
A South Lake Tahoe doctor has been accused of prescribing highly addictive drugs to people who didn't need them and committing fraud against Medi-Cal. Joseph Simon, 72, was arraigned Monday in El Dorado County Superior Court on eight counts of drug diversion and one count of fraudulent medical claims. Both charges are felonies. Visiting Judge Thomas Smith released Simon on his own recognizance. A Nov. 10 court date will schedule his preliminary hearing. Simon is charged with overprescribing drugs such as OxyContin, a federally controlled narcotic. OxyContin, an opiate-based pain reliever that has been compared to heroin, made recent headlines when conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh admitted he was addicted to the drug. [continues 364 words]
Impacts of the California budget continue to ripple to El Dorado County as the sheriff's department announced it will drop the DARE program instead of cutting jobs to help cover a $647,000 hole. When Gov. Gray Davis finally signed a budget in August, the sheriff's department was caught off-guard after learning $647,000 would not be arriving. The department counted on that money to pay salaries and receive reimbursement for training jail deputies. "Until the last night of the legislative session, we were confident we would have all of this money," said Nancy Egbert, director of administrative services for EDSD. [continues 264 words]
More than a year after meetings began to revise El Dorado County guidelines for medical marijuana, new policies for possession and cultivation are being enforced this week by authorities. The new policy has been used by investigators for months but service training for patrol officers was finished this week, El Dorado County Sheriff Jeff Neves said. Broken into four areas, the revised policy replaces the one instituted in 1996 that allowed caregivers and users the possession of 2 processed pounds and/or six plants. [continues 471 words]
The dreadlocks are gone, replaced by a crop of straight brown hair. His wrists were still bound by handcuffs. A white jail jumpsuit, indicating kitchen duties, clothed Matt Macosko rather than the customary orange. Macosko, in custody since Oct. 16 when police found about 11 ounces of marijuana in his vehicle, was sentenced to nine months in El Dorado County Jail and three years probation Friday after pleading no contest to possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. The sentencing marked a subdued conclusion for Macosko, a self-titled medical marijuana provider who had numerous encounters with authorities who believed him to be a drug dealer. Three related marijuana cases, including providing the drug to a minor and mailing marijuana, were dismissed at the sentencing. [continues 491 words]
A judge being figuratively fired, attorneys spitting venom at each other outside the courtroom, discussions about "shake" and "bud," a dread-locked man in shackles. The preliminary hearing for Matthew Scott Macosko, who carries a medical marijuana recommendation, lasted nearly three hours after defense attorney J. David Nick asked for a different judge. Macosko is accused of possessing 11 ounces of marijuana for sale. His attorney said he had a bad feeling about retired Judge Terrance Finney. "After doing this for years, you just read the tea leaves," said Nick, an attorney based in San Francisco, about sizing up Finney and wanting another judge Friday in El Dorado County Superior Court. [continues 574 words]
Matt Macosko Is Back In Inmate Orange. Macosko, 30, was placed into custody Wednesday afternoon on a warrant of supplying false information to a police officer and possession of marijuana for sale. He was being held on $113,000 bail in El Dorado County Jail and faces about six years in prison if convicted. Arraignment is planned for Friday afternoon at El Dorado County Superior Court. The warrant, filed Oct. 11 by the district attorney's office, was based on Macosko reportedly supplying a false Gardnerville address to a police officer during a traffic stop Sept. 10. He was stopped for having different license plates on his old blue bus. [continues 524 words]
Retired South Lake Tahoe police Officer Paul Huard treats elementary students like he did criminals: he wants them to learn, respect him and themselves. Huard, known as "Officer Paul," has taken over the DARE program. In the process, he has renamed, restructured and expanded it to the SMART program. But he still drives the same purple paddy wagon. Officer Paul, 56, the original South Lake Tahoe DARE officer in the 1980s, has viewed the evolution of students while the school drug program remained static. [continues 384 words]
It may be a tad ironic that Gary Lacy, the El Dorado County district attorney, plays on a softball team sponsored by a pest control business. Holding the position of district attorney since 1994, Lacy said he was surprised at March's election results where he finished a slim 465 votes behind former friend, roommate and campaign aid Erik Schlueter, a deputy district attorney for the county. Lacy has made few changes to his campaign since March. He was forced to get a new campaign manager after his former top adviser, John McGinness, became undersheriff for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department. [continues 639 words]
Keith Whitaker, a Garden Valley man who has appeared in El Dorado County Superior Court numerous times on marijuana charges, committed suicide by hanging himself on a tree branch, authorities said. Shelly Arnold, a South Lake Tahoe medical marijuana proponent, said she was surprised to get a call from Whitaker on Wednesday because she thought he was still in jail. "He said no matter what, he was facing prison time," Arnold said. "He was pretty bummed. He called to say hello and let me know his trial was starting (this week). I think that was pretty much him saying he was outta here." [continues 502 words]
Four law agencies in California and Nevada are probably happy that Ciro Mancuso used drug money to purchase property in Hawaii. Mancuso, who lived in Olympic Village as a contractor, was arrested in 1989 for being involved in a trafficking ring that smuggled about 40 tons of marijuana from Thailand, Morocco and Mexico into the United States. The federal government seized his property in Hawaii, sold it, and will distribute the roughly $800,000 evenly to the four law enforcement agencies that investigated Mancuso for three years, starting in 1985, said El Dorado County sheriff's Lt. Les Lovell. [continues 353 words]
Assistant District Attorney Hans Uthe filed a motion to dismiss a transportation of marijuana charge against Matt Macosko, keeping focus on charges of furnishing marijuana to minors. Macosko appeared at El Dorado County Superior Court on Thursday with his attorney J. David Nick. The attorneys met before Judge Suzanne Kingsbury to decide whether the defense could raise a medical marijuana case on the transportation charge and how it could be presented. Macosko was arrested in October for allegedly furnishing marijuana to minors. During the warrant arrest, authorities reportedly found nearly 4 ounces of marijuana in Macosko's car. [continues 380 words]
There were humus, seafood dip and relish trays for the 50 people who gathered to talk about pot. Specifically, the 50 El Dorado County medical marijuana users and caregivers came to South Lake Tahoe for a three-hour discussion on the latest California Supreme Court decision that provides relaxation to Proposition 215 followers. The unanimous decision, "People vs. Mower," arrived last month to the delight of medicinal marijuana users. It will decrease the burden of proof for defendants, causing fewer cases to go to trial. [continues 321 words]
A recent unanimous decision by the California Supreme Court will cut the number of medical marijuana cases sent to trial and lower the degree of proof for defenders, attorneys say. The ruling allows users of medical marijuana who are arrested on drug charges to file pretrial motions that could lead to dismissal of their cases. Prosecutors and defense attorneys read the 31-page decision and came to their own conclusions. "If we can resolve these closer cases in a court, it will not only be quicker but it will also be a much cheaper way to go as far as taxpayers are concerned," said Gary Lacy, district attorney for El Dorado County. "It will also relieve prosecutors and defenders the rigors of going to a jury trial." [continues 391 words]
El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Suzanne Kingsbury pushed back a trial of a South Lake Tahoe man Wednesday, in part to wait for a California Supreme Court decision. Matt Macosko, arrested in October for allegedly furnishing marijuana to minors, describes himself as a provider of medicinal marijuana to the sick. Prosecutors say he's a drug dealer. During the pretrial motions, Kingsbury decided to cancel the trial to allow litigation on the issue of whether medical marijuana applies to the case. [continues 421 words]
