Articles - Law Offices of Eric D. Shevin

INTERNET POT BUST LEADS TO INDICTMENT OF CALIFORNIA MAN
February 13, 2000

A California man and his company that advertised marijuana for medicinal purposes on the Internet were indicted Friday for selling the drug to undercover agents in the New Orleans area at least seven times last year.

Arizona Company Medical, based in Anaheim, distributed more than 6 ounces of marijuana between April and August 1999, the indictment says. A federal grand jury also indicted the company and its president, Michael Aronov, also of Anaheim, for a separate charge of promoting the sale of an illegal drug over the Internet.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. attorney's office announced the indictments late Friday. Aronov's attorney acknowledged his client sent marijuana to two undercover agents but said he had good intentions because the agents claimed to have severe health problems.

"My sense is that Michael responded to a sense of moral righteousness rather than legal judgment," lawyer Eric Shevin said. "He at no time possessed any criminal intent. His desire has and is to help people who are in need."

California allows distribution of marijuana for medical purposes if patients are advised by a doctor the drug might help them for specific medical conditions, such as glaucoma, seizures or loss of appetite from cancer treatments or AIDS. Distribution of marijuana is illegal in Louisiana, though there has been a medical marijuana law on the books for years. It never kicked in because the board that was to oversee such prescriptions never functioned and was abolished in 1989.
U.S. Attorney Eddie Jordan called the case significant because of the Internet connection.

"This is another example of our expanding effort to pursue individuals who use computers to conduct illegal activities," Jordan said.

Aronov started advertising marijuana for sale on an Internet Web site in 1996, the year California's law took effect, according to court papers. Documents filed by federal drug agents said undercover agents posed as people who needed marijuana because of illnesses and sent Aronov fictitious medical histories. Aronov closed his business three days after one of the agents in Louisiana received the last shipments, the papers say.

"I'm hoping that the court will give him some attention addressing the mitigating circumstances behind his true intent," Shevin said. "All the evidence will show he was only involved in trying to assist people who had what appeared to be legitimate medical need for serious illnesses."

If convicted, Aronov faces up to five years in prison on each of seven counts of distributing the drug. He is scheduled to be arraigned in U.S. District Court on Feb. 22.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Source: The Times-Picayune
By Pamela Coyle, Staff Writer

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