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Former Cop Pitches Medical Marijuana Products At Oakland Expo

OAKLAND (KCBS)— The International Cannabis & Hemp Expo continues around Oakland City Hall on Sunday.

One vendor might be the last guy you would expect pitching marijuana products, as he has lived and worked on both sides of the medical marijuana issue.

Jeff Studdard spent more than a decade in law enforcement as a Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff and a drug recognition expert.

KCBS' Mark Seelig Reports:

I actually teach law enforcement officers how to tell if people are under the influence of drugs," said Studdard.

Now he's on the Board of Directors of a company that makes marijuana cigarettes and sells them to various dispensaries around the state called Medicone.

Studdard said he made the switch after he broke his back and decided to become a patient, and that it saved his life.

He now spends time going around the state as a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) trying to convince others that there are definite benefits to medical marijuana and the sooner the federal government legalizes pot the better.

"I've never known an officer actually to respond to a domestic violence call involving just cannabis," boasted the experienced Studdard.

His biggest obstacle, these days, is dealing with his father, Dick Studdard, who actually developed the Drug Recognition Expert program that is used in jurisdictions all over the United States and abroad.

Studdard called his father, "a little old school" since he doesn't agree with his lifestyle change which has made for some tense family reunions.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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