Two men who worked in the medical marijuana business were recently sentenced for drug charges, one in federal court and the other in Flathead County District Court.

Ryan Blindheim, 34, of Whitefish, is the fourth man connected with the Black Pearl medical marijuana growing and dispensary business on U.S. 93 in Olney to be sentenced in federal court.

U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy sentenced Blindheim on Dec. 20 to 18 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and money laundering.

According to court documents, Blindheim purchased an old warehouse in Olney and, with help from Evan Corum, 35, of Whitefish, transformed it into a grow operation. Agents found 488 marijuana plants and 70 pounds of bulk marijuana at the site when it was raided on March 14.

The Black Pearl was one of 26 medical marijuana businesses raided in March as federal agents cracked down on the growing industry.

Prior to the raid, agents from U.S. Department of Homeland Security tracked deposits Blindheim and Corum made in a Whitefish Credit Union savings account totaling $86,850. Blindheim said he invested $300,000 purchasing the 18,000-square-foot building and equipping it with grow equipment.

Corum and two other men involved in the Olney operation, Michael Kassner, 24, and Tyler Roe, 29, both of Kalispell, were sentenced earlier in federal court in Missoula.

Meanwhile in district court, Judge David Ortley sentenced Lief Erickson, 48, of Kalispell, to a four-year suspended sentence as part of a plea agreement to a charge of possession of drugs with intent to sell.

According to court records, Erickson and Robin Ruiz, 52, were arrested Feb. 3 on U.S. 2 near Lake Five Road after law enforcement officials found more than three pounds of marijuana in their vehicle. A search of the vehicle also turned up 300 capsules containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and five vials of suspected THC honey.

The case quickly grew in complexity as the two claimed medical marijuana caregivers like themselves were allowed to exchange their products like any other business.

Flathead County District Court Judge Stewart Stadler and Missoula County District Court Judge John Larson, however, ruled that caregiver-to-caregiver transactions are not legal under the Medical Marijuana Act. Larson's ruling has been appealed to the Montana Supreme Court by Chris Lindsey, the attorney representing Erickson.

Ruiz's attorney, Timothy Baldwin, said he had received assurances from an employee at the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services that the transactions were legal. Baldwin argued his case before the Montana Supreme Court in June.

Ruiz submitted a no-contest plea agreement on a charge of criminal possession with intent to distribute on July 11. No date has been set for his sentencing hearing.