Police: Man Charged With Trafficking Marijuana Said He Was Doing "God's Work"

A tip from another state led police in Sandy Springs, Ga., to seize dozens of marijuana plants from the home of a man who allegedly proclaimed he was head of the First Church of Cannabis.

Police arrested Wesley Alan Johnson, 38, of Sandy Springs and charged him with trafficking marijuana, distribution of marijuana and possession of a firearm during the commission of certain felonies.

Sandy Springs police received a tip from a law enforcement agency in the Midwest about Johnson, which stated he was involved in trafficking marijuana.

Members of the Sandy Springs Police Department’s Special Investigative Unit conducted background research, and discovered Johnson was allegedly involved in many “pro-marijuana groups and was a voice for their causes,” Sandy Springs police said.

According to an incident report from the agency, officers used social media to find Johnson’s Facebook page, which allegedly contained ”numerous references to marijuana and received information that he was the head of the First Church of Cannabis.”

The First Church of Cannabis, which USA Today reports has been dubbed a nonprofit by the Internal Revenue Service, says its mission is “to celebrate, love, understanding, equality and compassion for all,” according to its Facebook page.

On June 2, Sandy Springs investigators, along with K-9 officers and members of the Street Crimes Unit, conducted a follow-up investigation at Johnson’s home on Johnson Ferry Road and obtained a search warrant for the premises.

Officers noted a “strong, pungent odor of fresh marijuana” came from the house, a smell that intensified as Johnson came outside to speak with officers.

\When asked about the odor, Johnson allegedly told officers he’d just “smoked a bowl,” had two children inside the house and had a “quarter bag” left inside the home, the incident report states.

Upon executing the search warrant, officers found packaged marijuana throughout the house and an indoor growing operation in the basement, the agency stated.

Sandy Springs police seized a total of 72 marijuana plants from the basement. Officers also recovered 6-and-a-half pounds of ready-to-sale marijuana throughout the home, $25,225 in cash stowed away in a safe and a handgun, police said.

Johnson allegedly told officers the marijuana he was growing was “sour diesel,” and “that he believed he was doing ’God’s work’ by selling the marijuana,” according to the report.

“Mr. Johnson stated some of the marijuana was ’bad’ weed that he did not grow on his own and that the batch he was growing was going to be his best,” the report states.

Records show Johnson bonded out of Fulton County Jail on Friday, June 5.

Sandy Springs police are also looking at possibly charging Johnson with distribution of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school, as the home is in close proximity to Sandy Springs Public Library, Mt. Vernon Presbyterian Church and Mt. Vernon Presbyterian School.

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Photo credits: Sandy Springs Police