The proprietors of Cannabis Outreach Services in Lacey have each been charged with 25 counts related to allegations of selling marijuana at the medicinal cannabis collective they operate in the 5700 block of Lacey Boulevard.
Dennis Coughlin, 68, and Jami Bisi, 50, were each charged in Thurston County Superior Court with 11 counts of unlawful delivery of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop; 12 counts of unlawful use of a building for drug purposes; and two counts of unlawful possession of marijuana with intent to deliver within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop, according to their charging documents.
Coughlin and Bisi are scheduled to be arraigned at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Thurston County Superior Court. Their attorney, Douglas Hiatt, could not be reached for comment.
Coughlin and Bisi are the seventh and eighth individuals to face criminal charges in the aftermath of Nov. 15 raids on five Thurston County medical marijuana collectives by detectives with the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force.
The proprietors of three other collectives raided that day also have been charged in Thurston County Superior Court with crimes related to the alleged sale of marijuana.
The proprietor of one Thurston County medical marijuana collective that was raided has yet to be charged with a crime. That establishment is The Healing Center, located on Capitol Way in downtown Olympia.
On Tuesday, Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney Jon Tunheim said he has no reason to believe that the proprietor of The Healing Center won’t also be charged with crimes related to the alleged illegal sale of marijuana.
Tunheim said one of his deputy prosecuting attorneys is systematically reviewing all of the criminal cases that were compiled after the raids.
According to court records, three detectives with the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force obtained medicinal marijuana authorizations in their undercover names between August and November 2011, and then purchased marijuana at Cannabis Outreach Services on 11 occasions, court papers state.
Defense attorneys for the proprietors of several other medical cannabis collectives that were raided Nov. 15 in Thurston County have taken exception to the detectives’ first obtaining valid medical marijuana authorizations. They have said the conduct amounts to impersonating a valid medical marijuana patient and committing “apparent fraud.”
Chief Thurston County Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Toynbee has said in response that it is a common, legal practice for undercover detectives to use “ruses” during undercover operations.
During the raid at Cannabis Outreach Services, narcotics detectives seized more than 22 pounds of marijuana, in addition to six marijuana plants, court papers state.
Cannabis Outreach Services delivered marijuana to “in excess of 1,000 customers,” court papers state. An individual answered the phone Tuesday at Cannabis Outreach Services, but Coughlin and Bisi were unavailable for comment.
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