Alleged pot-candy makers appear ready to plead guilty
The owner of an Oakland marijuana candy factory and three other defendants are poised to enter guilty pleas in the case, according to federal court records filed today.Michael Martin, 33, of El Sobrante was charged today with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana, a felony. Martin is the owner of Tainted Inc., which started as a boutique business that made chocolate truffles and grew into a large marijuana-candy maker that bought chocolate by the ton, authorities said.
Tainted employee Jessica Sanders was charged with illegally using a phone to distribute marijuana, a felony, while employees Michael Anderson and Diallo McLinn were each charged with a misdemeanor count of marijuana possession.
The four were charged in a document known as an information, which in federal court signals impending guilty pleas.
Authorities said Tainted made candies with names that played off popular legal treats: Buddafinga, Mr. Greenbud, Stoners. The business also made other pot-laced items such as cookies, ice cream, peanut butter, granola bars and barbecue sauce, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
What the story doesn’t tell you is that Tainted was selling its medicated edibles (as we like to call them in Oregon) to medical marijuana dispensaries throughout California and in Seattle; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Amsterdam. Many patients can’t smoke or vaporize because of their respiratory condition, and some patients need the convenience of having medicine available when smoking isn’t possible.
Of course, they don’t mention that because it spoils the scare tactic that marijuana-laced candy will naturally inspire in well-meaning but uninformed parents, as if Tainted candy was going to show up in the neighborhood 7-Eleven. Although I question the wisdom of giving the products candy-bar spoof names like Buddafinger, Stoney Rancher, Rasta Reese’s and Keef Kat – not exactly a swift P.R. move if you’re trying to maintain that it’s medical – why shouldn’t patients be able to have a tasty treat to help the medicine go down?
