Larry Kristich was the president of the Compassionate Caregivers chain of medical marijuana dispensaries that operated an extensive number of locations across California. During its peak, the chain had outlets in West Hollywood, San Diego, Ukiah, Bakersfield, Oakland, San Francisco, and Alameda County.

 The West Hollywood location, called the “Yellow House,” was raided by the Los Angeles Police Department in 2005, leading to the seizure of the chain’s bank account and the closure of its facilities. Federal charges for Kristich and a handful of associates followed two years later, on July 17, 2007.  Federal investigators stated that Compassionate Caregivers employed two hundred people, grossed a total of $95 million, and distributed over 15,000 pounds of marijuana during its three years of operation.

Kristich was in Costa Rica when he was indicted in July 2007, but he returned shortly afterward to surrender to federal authorities. In early 2008, he accepted a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to a count of maintaining a drug-involved premises and a count of promotional money laundering. In early February 2009, Kristich was sentenced to 5 years in prison and given a $500,000 fine.

Codefendant James Carberry was sentenced to five years of probation on April30, 2008. Associate James Ealy, originally charged with money laundering, pled guilty to misdemeanor possession and was sentenced to 1,000 hours community service on April 28, 2008.

Last updated January 31, 2013 by Lex Libreman for WEED WARS: United States v. Marijuana.  Originally published April 15, 2012 by Vanessa Nelson for medicalmarijuanaofamerica.com (now defunct).