TRAVERSE CITY — Authorities raided a Traverse City collective after they said its owner admitted to a medical marijuana "pyramid scheme."
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency intercepted a mailed package of marijuana last week headed for a Novi residence and notified the Huron Undercover Narcotics Team. HUNT members traced the package to a northern Michigan man who investigators said owns Bay Medical Collective stores in Traverse City and Gaylord.
Detectives searched the owner's home, seizing processed marijuana, cash and documents. More than 100 marijuana plants also were seized at another location.
Det. Lt. Del Putnam, of HUNT, said the man admitted to a "pyramid scheme," where he recruited people to become caregivers and assigned them patients.
"He was at the top, filtering out marijuana to all below," Putnam said. "The caregivers on the card didn't necessarily know the patients."
Putnam said detectives learned the man was operating two collectives, despite a recent Michigan Court of Appeals ruling that bars the sale of medical marijuana from patient to patient.
Officers from the Straits Area Narcotics Enforcement Team and the Traverse Narcotics Team searched the collective offices in Traverse City and Gaylord. They found several ounces of processed marijuana at the Traverse City store, located on Garfield Avenue.
TNT officers discovered the owner was facilitating meetings between prospective patients and a Rochester Hills-based physician via the Web-based Skype system. The prospective patients, police said, would learn if they were approved for a medical marijuana card after a five- to 10-minute interview over the Internet.
"It doesn't sound like much of a doctor interview, does it?" Putnam said. "There are regulatory laws against that."
Police also located hundreds of "patient affidavits" at the Traverse City store.
No arrests were made, and police continue to investigate. Putnam said once the investigation is complete, they will refer the case to the DEA. If federal charges aren't pursued, Putnam said local authorities may seek charges against the collective as an "ongoing criminal enterprise," a potential 20-year felony.
"The acts and transactions are outlawed," Putnam said. "You can't make them, and if you're doing them and profiting and making money, that's a criminal enterprise."
