Medical marijuana store owner faces possible prison term

A former Culver City medical marijuana dispensary operator who was arrested last year after a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation pleaded no contest to marijuana sales and money laundering last week.

Jeffrey Keith Joseph, 42, who operated the Organica medical marijuana dispensary in Culver City faces a minimum of 180 days in county jail and five years’ probation, and a maximum of four years in state prison, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

In August of 2009, authorities raided Organica and seized 80 kilograms of marijuana, 450 plants, 12 kilograms of hashish oil and 125 kilograms of edible marijuana products, officials said.

Prosecutors said Joseph was involved in illegal over-the-counter marijuana sales. The DEA began the investigation after fliers for Organica were distributed at a local high school, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 27 in Dept. 113, Criminal Courts Building, 210 W. Temple St., Los Angeles.