CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) – An attorney who had over 100 marijuana plants growing in his home in late August faces multiple Champaign County charges.
Police said neighbors had complained about traffic entering and leaving the Champaign home of 54-year-old Andrew S. Allen, which is located in the 1800 block of Bridgestone Drive. Authorities had also received a Crime Stoppers tip, according to The News-Gazette.
When members of the Champaign County Street Crimes Task Force went to speak with Allen on Aug. 20, he was out of town and someone else came to the door. Police said they smelled a strong cannabis odor, and detectives noticed what they smelled didn’t match with the plants that person showed them.
Authorities came back with a search warrant on the same day and discovered a grow room in Allen’s garage, which featured lights, air conditioning and an additional heater, police said. Authorities said they found another grow area was in a bedroom closet. There were about 146 plants in total, with close to 40 of them appearing to be in a mature state, according to investigators.
Police said about 60 Adderall tables, a prescription drug that treats attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, were found in the search.
Allen’s lawyer, Savoy attorney Jim Dedman, said his client has a prescription for those pills and denied accusations that Allen might be selling marijuana. He said Allen is “an obsessive agriculturalist” who had been thinking about claiming a license for growing cannabis.
Allen, a personal injury lawyer, practices out of a Champaign office. He earned a law degree in 1990 from the University of Illinois and has been licensed since November 1990.
On Tuesday, Allen was arraigned on production of cannabis plants and possession of a controlled substance charges. Two charges of possession of 20 to 50 cannabis plants and possession of 2,000 to 5,000 grams of cannabis were added Thursday.
Judge John Kenney modified Allen’s bond to allow him to travel to New Orleans, where he owns a bar, for business. He is free on his own recognizance Friday and will be back in court Nov. 26.
