This Day in Cannabis History:
Owned and operated by outspoken medical marijuana activist Mickey Martin, Tainted Inc. was an underground, non-profit edibles company based in Oakland, California that supplied medicated edibles to patients and dispensaries around the Bay Area and Los Angeles (as well as Seattle, Vancouver, and Amsterdam) long before edibles were legal. Operating under the auspices of Prop 215, these bold, pre-industry pioneers were best known for their delicious knockoffs of many popular candies with logos and labels that mimicked the name brands, including Mr. Greenbud, Buddafinger, Indo Joy, NugRageous, Baby Jane, and many others.
Unfortunately, though, the Federal government didn't recognize California's state cannabis law (technically, they still don't), so on this day in 2007 (after two years of investigation) the DEA raided Tainted's factory and marijuana grow, as well as the homes of Martin and several other employees‚—resulting in the seizure of hundreds of infused products and approximately 460 marijuana plants, as well as money and other personal property.
When the case made it to court around a year later, Martin faced a possible 20 years behind bars and up to $1,000,000 in fines...but thanks to excellent legal defense, a groundswell of community support, and an open-minded judge, he and his co-defendants managed to avoid prison—instead, they were sentenced to mere probation, community service, and home arrest.
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