Medical Marijuana Case Heading To Trial

Sonora, CA — The case against four workers at Foothill Care Collective heads to trial next week.

Jason Brisco, James Brisco, Rhett Schuller and Renee Lyn Rivera were arrested last May when their marijuana collective on Mono Way was raided by authorities. The four were represented this morning in Tuolumne County Superior Court by Sacramento area attorney Sarah White. Judge Eric Dutemple set a trial readiness conference for this coming Monday, with a trial scheduled to begin next Wednesday. The four face charges related to the sale of marijuana, but they argue that they should be protected under state laws regulating medicinal marijuana.

There was debate this morning over whether the state’s Compassionate Care Act and Medical Marijuana Protection Act should be relevant in this case. Tuolumne County District Attorney Michael Knowles argued that the Compassionate Care Act is related to the use of marijuana, and not the sale of the drug. On the other side, White cited that in 1996 California Attorney General Dan Lungren wrote in election documents supplied to voters that the Compassionate Care Act could lead to dispensaries in the state.

The trial will begin next Wednesday at 8am in Department One of Tuolumne County Superior Court.