People v. Jones CA2/6

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Jones was the owner of Santa Barbara Collective (SBC), a medical marijuana dispensary duly registered as a California corporation. SBC did not have a storefront and operated exclusively as a delivery service. At all relevant times, Jones possessed a valid recommendation for medical marijuana. In late 2010, the San Luis Obispo Police Department, in conjunction with the now-defunct San Luis Obispo Narcotics Task Force, began an undercover investigation targeting several medical marijuana dispensaries, including SBC. To further that investigation, San Luis Obispo Police Detective Amy Chastain obtained a medical marijuana recommendation under an assumed name and purported to live in an apartment secured by the City of San Luis Obispo. Detective Chastain called Jones and arranged to have one-eighth of an ounce of marijuana delivered to her on November 10, 2010. Jones notified Chastain that the marijuana would cost $50. When Jones arrived at Chastain's apartment, he asked for a copy of her medical marijuana recommendation. Jones told Chastain he had run out of SBC's membership forms. He then sold Chastain an eighth of an ounce of marijuana for…