Two plead guilty following medical marijuana raids

Two men have pleaded guilty to felony possession of marijuana following raids in April of several marijuana dispensaries in the Spokane area. Charles W. Wright, 41, of Rathdrum, and Jon R. Vivian, 31, of Spokane, pleaded guilty this week to the charges in U.S. District Court. They were charged following raids of more than 40 businesses that were selling marijuana to medical patients. Wright and Vivian were business partners in a dispensary called THC Pharmacy, located at 1108 S. Perry St. A search conducted on April 28 netted 36 plants, $12,706 in cash and bottles full of marijuana buds. Sentencing for both men has been set in February. “Our goal was to seek voluntary compliance with the federal law,” U.S. Attorney Mike Ormsby said in a news release. “Absent that, we were left with no other alternative than to enforce the law with quick and direct action.”