Pubdate: July 30, 1997 Source: Ohio Beacon journal Deputies arrest man after finding 5,000 marijuana plants LOS ANGELES (AP) A man who supports legalizing marijuana for medical use was arrested after sheriff's deputies found 5,000 marijuana plants growing inside a BelAir mansion, authorities said. Todd McCormick, 27, was arrested Tuesday night for investigation of cultivation of marijuana and was being held on $1 million bail, authorities said. Detectives also were considering seeking federal charges against McCormick because of the large amount of marijuana seized, Deputy Debra Glafkides said. McCormick, who was arrested in Ohio two years ago on a trafficking charge, says he has been smoking marijuana since he was 12 years old to ease the pain from a childhood cancer and subsequent surgeries. He was an outspoken supporter of Proposition 215, the voterapproved state measure that legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, said Deputy Carrie Stewart. Deputies found seedlings and mature plants inside the fivestory home in the swank neighborhood just below the Stone Canyon Reservoir, about a mile from the Hotel BelAir and the homes of Elizabeth Taylor, Zsa Zsa Gabor and former President Ronald Reagan. It was unknown whether McCormick owned or rented the house. ``This marijuana growth is considered a large commercial growth and anytime that a large commercial growth is found the federal government has stricter penalties than a local or state penalty would have,'' Stewart said. McCormick was arrested at 8 p.m. while he was driving on Stone Canyon Road near the 50room mansion. Three women and two men in the home were detained for questioning. The marijuana plants seized were of high quality, with an estimated street value of $500 an ounce, Glafkides said. Only the top floor of the home was furnished; the rest of the house was dedicated to growing marijuana. On July 18, 1995, McCormick and his girlfriend were arrested on the Ohio Turnpike. The State Highway Patrol said officers found about 30 pounds of marijuana in their van. The couple were headed to Providence, R.I., to open a club that would provide marijuana to people with AIDS, glaucoma and cancer. But a judge ruled that their van was illegally stopped and in November an Ohio state appeals court upheld that decision. copyrighted c 1997 Ohio Beacon Journal Publishing Co.