Former Medical Marijuana Officials Charged For Illegally Shipping Oil
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) — Two former officials with one of the states licensed medical marijuana manufacturers are now charged with felonies.
Laura Bultman and Ronald Owens worked for Minnesota Medical Solutions. They're accused of illegally transferring cannabis oil to another facility in New York. Crossing state lines violates federal law. The two are accused of collaborating to remedy a product shortfall.
Minnesota Medical Solutions based in Otsego is one of two medical marijuana distributors in the state.
Its prescribed pills, liquids and vapors help people with medical conditions.
Prosecutors say Bultman, former Chief Medical Officer, and Owners, former chief security officer, conspired to transfer concentrated oils valued at $500,000.
According to the complaint Bultman and Owens "formed this plan in order to meet a production deadline for 'red' medical marijuana product in New York and thus avoid significant financial loss for Vireo Health.
The two are accused of driving Minnesota Med's armored vehicle from the grow facility in Otsego to New York in December 2015.
The complaint reveals emails between Bultman and another employee yet to be charged.
One from Bultman says:
"and of all the jars we transported, only ONE of them is acutally red
if i wasn't so tired and sick i would kill someone"
A representative for Vireo Health said:
"When we became aware of the possibility that one or more individuals may have acted in ways contrary to the laws of the state and to our own policies and procedures, we acted immediately to investigate the allegations, communicate with our regulators and take appropriate action. We take seriously our legal obligations, our regulatory responsibilities and our own standards and procedures in this area. We will cooperate with the agencies investigating this situation even as we maintain our laser focus on providing patients, who suffer from life-threatening and debilitating diseases like cancer and ALS, with best-in-class medical cannabis products and compassionate care."
Bultman and Owens will be in Wright County court later this month. A third person, the former chief operating officer, is listed as a defendant but has not yet been charged.
The Minnesota Department of Health said they cannot comment as the case plays out, but did say the investigation does not relate to the safety of any medication.
