Former Heart Surgeon Arrested For Growing Pot

A former Gulf Coast heart surgeon is arrested in California on drug charges after a month on the run.

The Jackson County Narcotics Task Force says Dr. David Allen, a former heart surgeon at Singing River Hospital in Pascagoula, was growing marijuana on his 37 acre property in Helena. They found the pot while serving a search warrant February 19.

Deputies discovered a custom built room designed to grow and cultivate marijuana, along with $1,000 worth of hashish, a drug derived from marijuana, $800 worth of hydroponic marijuana, marijuana seeds, fertilizers, ultraviolet lights, Carbon Dioxide production systems, air filtration/humidification system, seven guns and $450 in cash.

They arrested Allen’s 48-year-old sister Gail Lee and her husband Rodney and charged them with one count each of cultivation of marijuana and possession of hashish.

At the time of the raid, Allen was in Oakland attempting to get a license in California to prescribe and distribute marijuana for medicinal purposes. He was arrested after calling police to say his nephew stole his vehicle and wallet.

Allen is charged with cultivation of marijuana and the sale of a controlled substance. Each charge carries a fine of up to a million dollars and thirty years in prison.

News 5 first reported this story as BREAKING NEWS on wkrg.com.
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