Source: Orange County Register Contact: Sat, January 17, 1998 Author: Jeff Kramer-The Orange County Register; Contributing writer-Sturet Pfeifer EDITORS NOTE; THE RESULTS OF THE COUNTY LINE POLL FOR 1-16-98 WITH 982 RESPONSES. THE QUESTION? DO YOU AGREE WITH THE DECISION TO CHARGE MARVIN CHAVEZ WITH SELLING MARIJUANA? YES-1% NO-99% THE ORGANIZATION'S FOUNDER, CHARGED WITH SELLING MARIJUANA, IS RELEASED ON HIS OWN RECOGNIZANCE. The future of a fragile network that distributes medical marijuana in Orange County has been thrown into disarray after the arrest of it's founder this week on pot-related charges. Marvin Chavez,founder of the Orange County Cannabis Co-op, was released on his own recognizance Friday after his arrest two days earlier at his Santa Ana home. He faces eight felony counts of conspiracy and marijuana sales. Chevez, widely seen as the driving force behind the organization, vowed in court not to personally purchase or distribute marijuana while awaiting trial. However, he said he will continue to be active in the co-op. In an interview afterward, his attorney, Bob Kennedy of Long Beach, said, "The club will continue to meet its obligation for those unfortunate individuals who are in need of medicinal marijuana." But how it will do that is unclear. "I don't know what I'm going to do," said Del Dalton, a Laguna Niguel anesthesiologist who occasionally refers patients to the co-op. "It won't do anyone any good to get a recommendation to use marijuana if they can't obtain it." Bill Britt, 38, of Long Beach, a patient advocate for the co-op, said Chavez's arrest means the club will be forced into a less-direct role in providing pot to patients. "It will be a combination of referring other clubs, like L.A. and San Diego, and other black market sources," he said. Meanwhile, Deputy District Attorney Carl Armbrust, who is prosecuting Chavez, said his office will respond if it hears allegations of other co-op members breaking the law. "We know Chavez has some volunteers," Armbrust said. "We're trying to figure out where they are and if they're going to continue this co-op." The co-op has operated as an informal association of care-givers, growers and patients, with Chavez's home serving as a makeshift headquarters. Chavez, 43, started the association in November 1996 after voters passed an initiative legalizing marijuana use for seriously ill people with a doctor's note. The law legalized possession and cultivation of marijuana in such cases, but selling or distribution of the substance is still banned. To get around that problem, Chavez, who could not be reached for comment Friday, has argued that his group accepts "donations" from patients, a semantic distinction that fell flat with prosecutors. Both sides expect the case to go to trial. "I appreciate the fact that the district attorney has given us the opportunity to let 12 jurors make the decision if it is appropriate to distribute marijuana in this manner," Kennedy said. The co-op has suffered from the unwillingness of any Orange County community to pass an ordinance sanctioning a cannabis club or otherwise providing for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana for medical purposes, an option permitted by the initiative. Robert Harris, a medical marijuana activist from Humboldt County, said he contacted Laguna Beach City Manager Kenneth Frank about the possibility of that city adopting such a law. Frank, however, was dubious in an interview with The Register. "While Laguna Beach probably is the most liberal city in Orange County, I don't think Laguna Beach is on the same level as Berkeley, San Francisco or Arcata," he said. "I just don't see any interest."