Thursday, June 16, 2005 | 10:59 a.m.
A prominent local medical marijuana activist was arrested on a federal warrant Wednesday night after authorities raided his Green Valley home.
Pierre Werner, 34, runs Primary Caregivers and Consultants and uses marijuana to treat his bipolarity and schizophrenia. He was still being held in custody this morning, his attorney Ryan Mortier said, which worried the lawyer.
"My first reaction was I was concerned because he is a medical marijuana patient and if he doesn't have his medication the symptoms of his bipolar disorder and schizophrenia come out," Mortier said, adding that he planned to see if Werner would be allowed to puff his 10 daily joints while in jail.
"The last time he was taken into custody he was hospitalized," Mortier said.
This time, Werner was arrested by Metro Police on a warrant issued by the U.S. Marshals Service on charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, authorities said.
The arrest came after the Supreme Court ruled earlier this week that state medical marijuana laws don't protect users from a federal ban on the drug.
The Supreme Court ruled Monday in a 6-3 decision that Congress could change the law to allow medical use of marijuana, concluding that state medical marijuana laws don't protect users from a federal ban on the drug.
Authorities showed up at Werner's home in the 2100 block of Mountain Echo Avenue about 5 p.m. and began carrying boxes out of the house and garage and loading them into a van, a neighbor told the Sun.
At 10 p.m. undercover officers were still at the house, its off-white drapes drawn across front windows and the garage door wide open. The officers refused to speak to a Sun reporter.
Werner had been arrested Jan. 17 on charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute after his neighbors called 911, saying that he was standing outside his house holding a marijuana plant.
Police found evidence that he had been growing 34 mature and 11 smaller marijuana plants at his home. They also found 2 ounces of the drug in baggies inside his garage.
District Judge John McGroarty is expected to determine if Werner was acting within his rights as a licensed medical marijuana user when he grew and sold the drug to about 50 other licensed users.
McGroarty is scheduled to hear arguments on this charge on July 18.
Under Nevada law, in order to escape criminal liability, a person licensed to use marijuana medically is allowed only to possess, deliver or produce 1 ounce of useable marijuana, three mature marijuana plants and four immature marijuana plants.
Werner himself was licensed to use the drug to treat his illnesses, which prosecutors are quick to point out doesn't fall under the state's guidelines as an illness for which an individual may use marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Werner operates Primary Caregivers and Consultants, a company that he says helps ill people fill out paperwork, find a doctor and grow the marijuana they need.
In some cases, he has grown the drug for patients and sold it to them for about $100 an ounce, he has said.
Werner has also unsuccessfully attempted to obtain a business license to be a pot consultant and is currently attempting to have a "coffee house" where medically licensed users could smoke marijuana.
Mortier said at a May 23 hearing before McGroarty that his client was given authorization to grow and possess more marijuana than the statute allows because of a decision made by Werner's doctor to allow him to grow between 50 to 99 plants at a time.
Dr. James Tinnell said Werner's illnesses cause him to need more marijuana. The doctor said he signed for expanding Werner's marijuana plants without knowing of his arrest.
Prosecutors said that under state law no one has the authority to exceed the law as stated on the books.
Under Nevada Revised Statutes 453A, only those suffering from a "chronic or debilitating medical condition" can use marijuana for what ails them and be exempt from prosecution for certain acts involving marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
According to the statute, AIDS, cancer and glaucoma meet the burden required for those seeking to be medically licensed users of the drug.
Tinnell said he recommended Werner for the license because he suffers from "severe nausea" which he contends is a symptom from his bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Almost 600 Nevadans with a doctor's order have permission from the state to use medical marijuana to gain weight, curb anxiety, lower pain or ease a variety of other maladies.
Advocates for medical marijuana feared the Supreme Court might rule against the 11 states, including Nevada, that allow medical marijuana use.
Werner said at the time that he would have "a big frustration" if the high court overturned medical marijuana laws.
Other states that allow medical marijuana use are Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.
While the states have written laws allowing use of the drug, federal law continues to classify marijuana as an illegal substance, meaning people can get in trouble for growing and possessing it.
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