Larry Morris Fabisch, 54, of Nice was arrested early Saturday morning and booked into the Lake County Jail on charges of possessing more than 28.5 grams of marijuana, planting and cultivation, possession for sale and carrying loaded firearms in public.
Fabisch has worked for the county for nearly 20 years, and has spent the last five years as a code enforcement officer. He's also a past president of the Lake County Employees Association, the union representing county employees.
Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said a deputy spotted Fabisch's gray Chevrolet SUV parked near Lakeview Market alongside Highway 20 in Lucerne at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
Fabisch, who was accompanied by his son and two of his son's friends, told Lake County News he had stopped briefly there to point out the county's Visitor Center, the second floor of which is supposed to be a new home for Code Enforcement officers.
The deputy pulled up behind Fabisch's vehicle, which then moved off and began driving through Lucerne in an “erratic” fashion, before being stopped at at Robin Hood Way and Foothill Drive, said Bauman.
Fabisch said he was on his way home from the Sierras where he had grown the marijuana for himself and his 20-year-old son, Thomas – who also has a medical marijuana recommendation – on family-owned land.
He and his son were on their way to drop off his son's two friends, Justin Stephanson, 19, of Scotia, and Aaron Stephanson, 20, of Lucerne, at a Lucerne residence when they were stopped.
Inside the SUV the deputy allegedly found 89 pounds of recently harvested marijuana plants, said Bauman, who didn't have an actual tally of the number of plants involved.
“It's considered significant,” he said of the amount of marijuana alleged to be in Fabisch's possession.
A small amount of processed marijuana also was found, along with a small revolver and a small caliber rifle, said Bauman. Fabisch said the firearms are used for shooting in the hills with his son.
Bauman said Fabisch got out of his vehicle and went back to the deputy's car; at that point he refused to return to his vehicle and so he was detained, said Bauman.
Fabisch said he was trying to show the deputy – who was joined by a second deputy and a sergeant – his two medical marijuana cards, which he placed on the patrol car's hood.
He accused the deputies of being unnecessarily rough with him. Fabisch said he was pointing to his cards when one of the deputies grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back to handcuff him. Fabisch said he wasn't attempting to resist arrest.
Fabisch said the deputies disregarded his medical marijuana cards. “They were not wiling to listen to anything.”
Bauman said Fabisch was arrested due to the large amount of marijuana in his possession. “He had way more than anyone with a card is allowed to have,” said Bauman.
According to Fabisch, his medical marijuana recommendation allows him to have 25 plants or five pounds of processed marijuana.
During the stop, Thomas Fabisch fled the scene, said Bauman. Larry Fabisch said he understood his son's fear about whether or not his medical marijuana card was going to be accepted. “Who's going to stick around to find out when they're handcuffing dad?”
Aaron Stephanson told the deputy that he had assisted Fabisch with harvesting the marijuana; Justin Stephanson said Fabisch had picked him up in San Andreas late on Friday.
Bauman said Fabisch was transported to the Lake County Jail after his arrest and booked. He posted his $10,000 bail at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday and was released.
Code Enforcement Division Manager Voris Brumfield did not return a call seeking comment on the situation, and Community Development Director Rick Coel – whose department includes Code Enforcement – said he did not have any information on Fabisch's case.
Fabisch took Tuesday and Wednesday off and planned to return to work Thursday. He said he was anxious about what to expect when he returns to the office.
County Personnel Director Kathy Ferguson said the county has no personnel policies regarding arrests. She forwarded Lake County News copies of the county's alcohol and drug policies, which allow testing if an employee is believed to be impaired. An employee's use of medical marijuana under Proposition 215 isn't covered by those policies.
Fabisch said he has been open about his use of medical marijuana, and has had a card for about seven years. He said he has a long list of medical issues, including heart bypass surgery two years ago and severe “cluster” headaches which, when they occur, require him to go to the emergency room for treatment.
He said he never uses medical marijuana while on duty. “I don't abuse it at work. I respect it.”
Fabisch challenged his arrest, saying that Proposition 215 – the California Compassionate Use Act of 1996 – does not impose limits on the amount of medical marijuana a patient may have. Attempts to impose such limits, such as SB 420, have been ruled unconstitutional by California courts.
While SB 420 sets a baseline of six mature plants or half a pound of processed marijuana per patient, it also states that patients can be exempted from those limits if their doctor says they need more, according to California NORML, a group dedicated to reforming the state's marijuana laws.
He's enlisted the services of Stephen Tulanian, a formidable defense attorney who previously helped win marijuana activist Eddy Lepp acquittal in the county's first medical marijuana trial.
Fabisch said he is due in court on Dec. 1. In the mean time, he said he doesn't expect authorities will return to him the medical marijuana that was seized.
Officials are planning to seek the same drug charges as those filed against Fabisch against his son – who also will be charged with resisting a law enforcement officer – and the Stephansons, whose stories aren't adding up in the opinion of investigators, said Bauman.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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written by gabby, October 16, 2008
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written by lenny, October 16, 2008
you cannot do both...be a Code Enforcement Officer and "harvest your marijuana crop"!
And who the hell smokes 89 pounds...give me a break!!
next, as a Code Enforcement Officer you should be aware of how a firearm, without permit, is carried.
ya blew it big time!!
How do you now return to your job with any amount of credibility?
again, this is just my opinion and how I see it.
Time to retire and continue the life you have chosen...maybe it will help those horrible headaches!!!!!
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written by Donna Christopher, October 16, 2008
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written by Donna Christopher, October 16, 2008
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written by Donna Christopher, October 16, 2008
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written by lenny, October 16, 2008
no policy on a county level is completely nuts! I do believe Lake County leads the State in production
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written by Donna Christopher, October 16, 2008
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written by ms chev us 1, October 16, 2008
And, please allow citizens the right of "innocence until proven guilty." How come society is so quick to convict without all the evidence?
As to a County policy, seems like a good idea. Will they also be testing for use of other prescription drugs, i.e. painkillers, allergy medicines that may cause drowsiness?????
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written by Missy, October 16, 2008
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written by Magnum, October 16, 2008
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written by dallen20, October 16, 2008
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written by blackmarket, October 16, 2008
To arrive at the approximate actual weight is simple. The average dried plant weighs 20-30% of what it does wet and consists of 20-30% flower weight. To make things easy, ~ 1/16 * 89 or ~ 5.5 lbs split between two people = 2.75 lbs per person (presumably per year).
Seems a little less like a major conspiracy when the sensationalism has to face reality.
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written by inov8tiv, October 16, 2008
the_Lakeport_corporate_paper reporter Elizabeth Wilson misreported, and distorted state data that plainly stated that Lake County led in marijuana detection and subsequent destruction. Wilson apparently either unprofessionally assumed or chose to sensationalize that to mean Lake County produced the most marijuana in the state. To legitimize her claim she alleged that was the conclusion of the state's Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP)team leader who was involved in the reported detection/destruction event.
Recognizing the sensitivity and potential ill effect that accusation might have on Lake County, the the_Lakeport_corporate_paper ran the article,above the fold to get the most attention, apparently without the obvious professional requirement to check the facts. If they had simply called that CAMP team leader as I had, they would have learned that he only told Wilson that we led in marijuana destruction, not in marijuana production. There was no way to know in which county the most hidden illegal plantings might be, there were many possibilities but Humboldt has a history. (Humboldt County is part of Northern California's famed marijuana growing "Emerald Triangle." Lake County is not) The the_Lakeport_corporate_paper's sensationalizing turned a good thing, with the potential for good publicity into an untruth, one with published terrible publicity. Very unprofessional indeed!
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written by kd006, October 16, 2008
LC needs to put this turkey on adminstrative leave until they sort this out. :twisted:
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written by Will Edgewood, October 16, 2008
I know that when I "shoot my guns in the hills" I make sure I keep them loaded when I put them back in my vehicle. :roll:
If we look back at the 9/16/08 booking logs we can see that the son was arrested for "Felony 12021(G)(1)PC Bail: 10000." Doesn't look like the son is supposed to be around firearms. Is Larry admitting to aiding his son with possessing a firearm again? Maybe the DA should look at another felony charge for the son. :shock:
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written by kd006, October 16, 2008
:twisted:
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written by cale_page, October 16, 2008
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written by Missy, October 17, 2008
I applaude Donna Christopher for her comments and setting the record straight that the medicinal benefit or recreational high from Tetrahydocannibanol is gone within hours.
Many of us indulge is some sort of recreational high after a long hard day at whatever we do for a living. Whether it is raiding the liquor cabinet, the perscription bottle or a medicinal/recreational puff after work or before bedtime.
He has a doctors recommendation and is within his limits.
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written by gabby, October 17, 2008
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written by JackHerer, October 17, 2008
The Rastafarians lived up in the hills and were the poorest people in Jamaica. Everyone expected them to have the shortest lives but instead they had the longest lives. They smoked pot morning, noon and night. This study cost $6,000,000.00 and was an extremely comprehensive study. If the same study was done today it would cost approximately $125,000,000.00.
In 1979 and 1980, the National Institute of Science did studies on Rastafarians in Costa Rica that proved the same results. There were only 100 copies of this study released to researchers who were working for the government. The only reason we have the results of this study is because someone managed to leak a copy to NORML in 1981.
Between 1968 and 1975, there were about 10,000 marijuana studies done all over the world, but mostly in American universities and colleges. Approximately 4,000 of the studies were universal health studies. Almost all of them proved marijuana to be beneficial in every way. The few that were unfavorable were never proven by a second study.
In 1974 and 1975, Dr. Donald Tashkin did research to prove marijuana was harmful to the lungs.
He was the head of pulmonary research on marijuana at UCLA Hospital. He predicted that more people would develop lung cancer from smoking marijuana than from smoking tobacco. Dr. Tashkin was 100 percent positive that all of the studies about marijuana would come out negative in his lung research. He had the only study in the whole country from 1975 to 1999. After 1975 there was no more funding for positive marijuana studies of any type by the U.S. Government for any reason whatsoever. Only a negative study could get funding from the U.S. Government and Dr. Tashkin had almost all of it. I came out against Dr. Tashkin in 1979.
In 1981, I was approached by Dr. Tashkin to take part in his study. I was protesting the marijuana laws on the front lawn of the Federal Building, 500 yards away from the UCLA Hospital and University on Wilshire Boulevard. I signed up (along with about 50 other pot protesters) for Dr. Tashkin’s study because all of the UCLA students refused to participate in his study after Ronald Reagan took office in January 1981. Dr. Tashkin saw us pot protesters every day at the Federal Building for 102 days. We weren’t college students and we smoked pot morning, noon and night.
Once or twice a year I would have interviews with Dr. Tashkin. I told him about the positive effects of marijuana. We disagreed 100 percent and he was sure I was wrong. This was a long term study. I was paid $80.00 to $90.00 for each test from 1981 to the mid 1990s. Once or twice a year I would go smoke marijuana to get the pulmonary lung studies done and I would interview Dr. Tashkin as part of my research for my book, “The Emperor Wears No Clothes". I told Dr. Tashkin from 1981 to 1997 that no one gets lung cancer or any other type of cancer from marijuana because Dr. Vera Ruben and Dr. Todd Mikuriya had already each separately proven it. I had been doing research for my book since the early 1970s.
Now Dr. Tashkin has come out and is saying the same things I said to him 25 years ago. There is no link between marijuana and lung cancer or any other type of cancer. In fact, Dr. Tashkin has found that marijuana, by killing off old cells that could become cancerous, can actually prevent cancer.
If you want to live longer, smoke more pot.
Please read my book "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" online free at www.jackherer.com. Just click the "Emperor" link at the top. It's all about the history and many uses of cannabis/hemp. This information has been suppressed by the government for far too long.
You should also check out the video "Run from the Cure" at www.phoenixtearsmovie.com. Rick Simpson cured his cancer with cannabis/hemp oil by condensing a pound of dried cannabis buds down to two ounces of oil. Over a period of five years he cured over a thousand other people of many serious disease including late stage "terminal" cancer with this oil.
I wish Larry the best of luck.
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written by gabby, October 17, 2008
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written by JackHerer, October 17, 2008
Recent research into impairment and traffic accident reports from several countries shows that marijuana taken alone in moderate amounts does not significantly increase a driver's risk of causing an accident -- unlike alcohol, says Smiley, an adjunct professor in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering. While smoking marijuana does impair driving ability, it does not share alcohol's effect on judgment. Drivers on marijuana remain aware of their impairment, prompting them to slow down and drive more cautiously to compensate, she says.
"Both substances impair performance," Smiley says. "However, the more cautious behaviour of subjects who received marijuana decreases the drug's impact on performance. Their behaviour is more appropriate to their impairment, whereas subjects who received alcohol tend to drive in a more risky manner."
Smiley, who has studied transportation safety for over 25 years, drew her results from a "metanalysis" of existing research into the effects of marijuana on driving ability, combined with traffic accident statistics in the United States and Australia. Previous studies showing stronger effects often combined "fairly hefty doses" by researchers with driving immediately after consumption, likely exaggerating the drug's effects, she believes.
While Smiley does not advocate legalizing the drug, she says her results should be considered by those debating mandatory drug tests for users of transportation equipment such as truck or train drivers, or the decriminalization of marijuana for medical use. "There's an assumption that because marijuana is illegal, it must increase the risk of an accident. We should try to just stick to the facts."
Smiley presented her findings at a symposium of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences in Florida in February. Her paper was also published in Health Effects of Cannabis, a publication of Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, in March.
CONTACT: Bruce Rolston U of T Public Affairs (416) 978-6974 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/03/990325110700.htm
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written by Chris Thompson, October 17, 2008
Sure the quantity seems like a lot, but having observed Cannabis users for years it seems apparent that they find relief only by continual, and constant use of the herb. Cannabis, the herb, has been proven to NOT have any harmful side effects, and there is no evidence anywhere of a single person ever dying from an overdose of cannabis.
In fact, there is OVERWHELMING evidence pointing to cannabis being an amazing drug (medicinal) that can cure, or prevent most cancers and other health problems. The list of benefits from using cannabis as medicine is long, and verified by many scientific and medical authorities. Many thousands of lives have been helped by using cannabis, lives perhaps saved by not using harsh chemicals promoted by the pharmaceutical industry.
The real crime is for our government to impose draconian laws inconsistently, resulting in shattered lives, people in jails, and families broken up.
Be strong Larry, and don't let the bastards get you down!!!
~Chris Thompson
Founding Editor, International Cannagraphic Magazine
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written by kd006, October 17, 2008
:twisted:
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written by Country Boy, October 17, 2008
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written by gabby, October 17, 2008
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written by elarson, October 18, 2008
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