Sheriff’s Office arrests Hiawassee man for manufacturing marijuana

HIAWASSEE, Ga. – Towns County Sheriff’s Office deputies and investigators discovered illegal drugs at a residence searched Friday, April 26 on Foster Road in Hiawassee.

Investigators arrested Roy Lee Moneypenny, 62, of Hiawassee, on the following charges:

• One Count of Violation of Georgia Controlled Substance Act

(Manufacturing Marijuana)

• One Count of Violation of Georgia Controlled Substance Act

(Possession of Marijuana)

• One Count of Possession of Drug Related Objects

The investigation is currently active and ongoing. Additional charges are possible.  The case will be forwarded to the Enotah Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution. Moneypenny is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

While medical marijuana was legalized in Georgia, cultivation and use of the plant without a physician’s approval remains illicit. Georgia has allowed patients suffering from severe seizures and other illnesses to use cannabis oil since 2015. The state did not allow in-state cultivation, however, and thousands of individuals on the program’s registry risked defying federal law by transporting the drug across state lines. Advocates supported medical marijuana expansion, although the measure involved significant obsticals before cannabis oil could be manufactured and distributed in the state. Six private companies were permitted to grow medical marijuana, but the dispensaries could not operate without a state board license. April 17 marked Governor Brian Kemp’s historic signing of House Bill 324, which allows for legal cultivation and sale of cannabis oil in Georgia.