Police: Activist had pot worth $750,000

Eric Leake

Friday, June 17, 2005 | 10:59 a.m.

Metro Police reported Thursday that they seized marijuana that would have a street value of $750,000 in connection with the arrest of a medical marijuana activist Wednesday evening.

Pierre Werner, 33, who runs Primary Caregivers and Consultants, says he uses marijuana to treat symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar illness and also sells marijuana to others for medicinal purposes.

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.

But Metro Police say the amount found at Werner's two homes substantially exceeded the legal limit -- narcotics detectives seized 121 marijuana plants and 10 pounds of marijuana that was stored in glass jars.

Werner was still being held this morning in the Clark County Detention Center on three counts of possession of marijuana with intent to sell and maintaining a place to sell a narcotic. His bail was set at $33,000.

The arrest followed a Supreme Court ruling earlier this week that state medical marijuana laws do not protect users from the federal ban on the drug.

This wasn't Werner's first arrest. He was taken into custody Jan. 17 on charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell 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 in 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 that charge on July 18.