P. v. Solis
Juan Solis, Sinthia Martinez, and Rudy Lopez operated what purported to be a medical marijuana collective serving some 1,700 members. In defending against various marijuana charges, they invoked the defense provided by the Medical Marijuana Program (MMP)[1] for qualified patients who associate to collectively or cooperatively cultivate medical marijuana. The defense does not apply, however, if the operation does not meet the definition of a "collective or cooperative" and marijuana has been sold for a profit. Here, all of the collective's excess income—purportedly about $80,000 a year—was simply treated by Solis as his personal "salary" without any accountability or disclosure to the collective's membership. Moreover, the collective was not registered as a nonprofit and appellants admitted purchasing marijuana from individuals who were not members of the collective. Because there was no evidence to raise a reasonable doubt whether the collective operated for profit or was otherwise lawful, the MMP defense did not apply.
Comments on P. v. Solis