LAW ABIDING CITIZEN

Now at the helm of one of San Diego’s only licensed medical cannabis dispensaries, Mankind Cooperative, Ebon Johnson spends his days tending to the needs of medical cannabis patients from all around the county, and all walks of life. But the seas have not always been smooth sailing. After clearing all of the necessary hurdles, and obtaining all of the needed permits, the last thing that he expected was to be arrested and have all of his cannabis products seized by police. However, that is exactly what happened on June 20, 2015 after one of his delivery drivers was pulled over by police and officers ended up at his home, eventually arresting him and setting in motion a long and arduous process that was not only monetarily costly, but physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting. At the time, Johnson was running his licensed delivery service out of his home in San Diego. “There were a bunch of police cars, a bunch of police at my home, it was embarrassing,” said Johnson. Originally charged with a felony, Johnson chose to plead to a misdemeanor, citing the fact that it was only a cannabis charge, and that after all, that is the business he is in. He went on to explain that, “Going through this exhausts you. That’s why I took the plea deal. I didn’t want to go through a trial and spend another $15,000 for a simple marijuana charge. After the plea, a judge ruled that all cash, 11 pounds of cannabis, 5 grams of wax, seven grams of hash, 20 cartridges, six cannabis drinks, and about $200 in edibles must be returned to him. However, when he went to retrieve his property, there were two pounds of cannabis and $400 in cash missing. Johnson was told that the cannabis was ‘destroyed’ because it was found in his employee’s car. The $400 in missing cash, he has been promised will be reimbursed in the form of a check issued by the city treasury. The edible cannabis products were far past their expiration date by the time they were returned, and had to be thrown away. Though there is a possible legal avenue to be reimbursed for those products, Johnson is choosing to take the high road and just write it off as a loss.

Despite all that he has endured, Johnson harbors no ill will towards the police officers and detectives who turned his life upside down, but he does want to see change saying, “Here’s the problem with our laws. Police officers are not educated about medical marijuana laws. They go on gut instinct, and maybe the officers who got the judge to sign the search warrant said that there could be heroin or cocaine in there too, so we’ve got to get in there. Obviously, there was nothing like that.”

When asked if he has received an apology from police or the city, Johnson quietly chuckled and said, “No, and I don’t expect one. I’m just happy I won, I knew I was in the right. There were other court cases that showed I was right. I read the law, and it said I was right. My problem is, after everything, I spent probably $45,000. I had to borrow money. It was a desperate time. I wish the city would talk to the police officers, so they have more understanding, because they really could ruin innocent people’s lives. I’m just happy I got through this whole thing. I got the CUP (Conditional Use Permit) for Mankind Cooperative, I have a business opened, and they didn’t kill me.”