In January 2004, Richard Marino opened a medical marijuana dispensary in a town near Sacramento, California. “Capitol Compassionate Care,” which was located in a storefront in historic Roseville, provided an alternative for local medical marijuana patients who didn’t want to travel to San Francisco Bay Area dispensaries. Federal agents were aware of “Capitol Compassionate Care” almost immediately, due in part to Marino’s press release advertising the dispensary’s opening. In September 2004, the Drug Enforcement Administration raided the dispensary and a 250-plant grow at Marino’s home. A 19-count federal indictment followed in January 2006, but a plea deal eventually whittled the charges down to just two: conspiracy to distribute marijuana and money laundering. In spite of substantial cooperation with the U.S. Attorney, Marino was sentenced to 51 months in prison on July 22nd, 2008. In addition, forfeiture proceedings claimed Marino’s five-acre home and approximately $100,000 in cash seized during the raid. He was also left with a bill from the government for the $2.7 million that the dispensary allegedly generated during its eight months of operation. Marino served out his sentence at a federal prison facility in Oregon, then returned to California to enter a halfway house in 2011.

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