McCurtain County Sheriff Defies Medical Marijuana Law, Seizes Commercial Operation

  In the far southeastern county of Oklahoma. A county sheriff, Kevin Clardy; conspired with a local judge & district attorney(Mark Matloff) to shut down a licensed grower's crops, some kitchen appliances(cannabis butter maker), personal medical devices, and even her cellphones.

Sharla Smith - Licensed Farmer

   Sharla Smith is currently a patient being treated with cannabis medicines. She opted to grow her own cannabis and also decided to become one of 17 licensed growers in the county.  The 'Little Dixie' region of Oklahoma is greatly under-served in all areas of healthcare, and especially for those whose conditions are effectively treated with cannabis. That problem became greater when the sheriff seized thousands of dollars worth of medicines and the equipment which this farmer needed for her own healthcare treatment, & to bring her crops to market.
​  Attorney Ron Durbin posted this report on March 15th

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ALERT!!!! McCurtain County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant on a Patient and OMMA licensed grower and seized their cannabis on the grounds that marijuana is illegal under state law. Officers stated a patient may not possess a magic butter machine, among other things. Be vigilant everyone, and rest assured, I am livid and will be dealing with this situation. I will keep you all posted. If you have a police interaction, remember, we answer no questions, and you want your attorney present, even if that lawyer isn’t me.

Nowhere in the text of SQ788 or the emergency rules of the health dept is there any stated ban on possessing the equipment that Smith uses in potentially making her own cannabis butter. It's an essential conversion which allows patients to ingest medicines instead of smoking the raw dried flower of the plant.

​Sharla Minyard Smith then posted the warrant she eventually attained, & told part of her story;

No this is what the warrant was for. They was shown my patient and commercial grower licence. Told me that wasn't me.. lol I proved it. They looked like idiots so this is how they are justify going threw my house for 3 hours. Demand I open safes or they would blowtorch them open... took 3 of my fones for what? A pvc pipe and 1/2 oz of ground weed in it. Two bottles of butane in another room. NEVER BLASTED a thing on this property ever. Was told if I use my magic butter machine. I will be charged also. For 3 hours they grilled and dogged me for growing DRUGS that there is NOT ONE SINGLE study shows DRUGS cure one single thing. Oklahoma people jus wanna do drugs and are a joke! I said charge me or leave 10 times!

The McCurtain County Sheriff's office then posted this response, on March 16th.

As some have seen on social media the McCurtain County Sheriff's Office served a search warrant recently at a OMMA grower. The individual at this location does possess a license to grow as well a holder of a medical marijuana card. What the search warrant was for, This individual was blasting marijuana with butane to make hash oil. While being in violation of having both commercial and personal plants in the same building no plants were seized. The only items seized during the search warrant was a marijuana blast chamber, two bottles of butane, three cell phones, and marijuana that already had been prepared for blasting. The affidavit for the search warrant was reviewed by the District Attorneys Office and the warrant was signed by a District Judge. Blasting marijuana with butane to make hash oil is against the law in the State of Oklahoma.

That led Atty Ron Durbin to publish this post on March 17th;

Apparently my post caught some attention. This is the excuse used by the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office for the search I referenced. I would invite the Sheriff and/or the MCCurtain County DA to cite me any statute which prohibits any of the activity they identify as the grounds for the search. There is nothing in 63 OS 420A et seq that prohibits a patient from processing their home grow, and there is nothing that prohibits a commercial grow from being located in a residence. While I would advise against someone doing that, for many reasons, the fact remains it’s not prohibited conduct. I stand ready to be corrected. If someone is better at tagging on Facebook than me, I invite you to tag them so they have an opportunity to respond.

  Political figures like Sheriff Clardy may feel emboldened to harass farmers like Smiths. Throughout 'Little Dixie' the voters largely rejected SQ788 (the medical marijuana initiative). Even if the state high court throws out the suit and sharply rebukes the D.A., judge, & sheriff; They will all likely secure new terms in office for posturing against this medical reform.
  There will be more abuses of power and harm done to farmers & merchants who dare to provide healthcare in 'Little Dixie', unless & until there is a criminal & political price to pay when people in power try to harm an easy target like Sharla Smith.
  Smith has a past history, according to the OSCN records. It seems she has been involved in cultivating marijuana in 2012.  Others say that the hills of McCurtain County have always been full of wild & cultivated cannabis.