Local News

Okanogan Woman Facing Felony Charges for Selling Marijuana to Minors

Sep 21, 2015

An Okanogan woman is facing felony drug charges for selling Marijuana to a minor.

In June, officers from the Washington Liquor Control Board conducted compliance checks on Marijuana retail stores across Washington. Three stores here in Okanogan county were checked for compliance. Two of those stores, Fresh Greens and the Sage Shop both passed their compliance checks and refused to sell to the Underage Operative working for LCB.

The third store, 4us Retail, also known as Caribou Corner Cannabis in Okanogan, did not pass, and store owner and Licensee, Teresa Tindoll, sold Marijuana to the minor after checking her ID not once, but twice according to the case file.

In their press release, the Liquor Control Board stated that, “The individuals who sold the marijuana will be referred to their respective prosecuting attorney’s office for potential criminal prosecution.” Selling marijuana to a minor is a felony in Washington.

In the case of Caribou Corner, initially, LCB chose not to forward that information to the prosecutor. Lt. Starkey of the Enforcement Division said that the Licensee was administratively charged with 1) allowing a minor to frequent a restricted area and 2) sale or service to a minor. Ms. Tindoll paid a monetary penalty of $3500.00 (sale $2500.00 and Frequenting $1000.00) in lieu of a 10 day suspension. Ms. Tindoll was not criminally charged. Starkey said, “The procedure of the LCB (for both liquor and marijuana locations) is not to cite the seller when it is the Licensee as they are handled with an administrative violation notice. If the seller had not been a Licensee a referral would have been made to the Okanogan county prosecutor.”

Okanogan County Prosecutor Karl Sloan said that decision is not LCB’s to make. Sloan said, “the policy… is troubling.” He said, “Their procedure is apparently not to refer a licensee who commits a delivery, but to refer an employee of a licensee who commits exact same act.”

Okanogan Country Radio reviewed their policies, and that is exactly what they say. We contacted the Liquor Control Board to ask how is being a licensee who sells marijuana to an 18-year-old any different than any other person working in a retail outlet selling that same marijuana?

In a phone interview, Russ Hauge the recently appointed member of the Liquor Control Board said, “the short answer to your question is ‘were wrong.’” Hauge, who served as prosecuting attorney in Kitsap county for over 20 years, said, “We are not empowered to make that decision.” He said the decision to file or not file criminal charges “belongs solely to the local prosecutor.”

Hauge went on to say that liquor violations are not the same as marijuana violations. He said, “We need to be more mindful with public safety when it comes to Marijuana.”

Tindoll is charged with one count of delivery of marijuana , and is scheduled to appear in Okanogan County Superior Court on October 15, 2015.