Dispensary charges dropped

For the second time this year, the Butte County District Attorney’s Office has dropped charges against a medical-marijuana dispensary owner.

On March 26 the DA vacated charges against Jeff Sanford, who operated a dispensary in San Diego. He was arrested in October 2011 after testifying on behalf of dispensary member Timothy Skytte, who’d been arrested locally for marijuana cultivation.

Last month the DA dropped charges against Rick Tognoli, who operated a Butte County dispensary that was raided in 2010. That decision was made after the 4th District Court of Appeals reversed the conviction of Jovan Jackson, whose San Diego dispensary was raided in 2008.

Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey has said the ruling “makes it almost impossible to prosecute dispensaries that are disguised as collectives and making supposedly no profit.”