Co-Op Party Suspects Plead Not Guilty

A UC Berkeley student and recent graduate arrested early Thursday morning in an incident involving marijuana cookies pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor drug charges in Alameda County Superior Court on Friday.

Sophomore Carmen Anderson, 21, and recent graduate Christopher Portka, 23, each face 12 counts of furnishing marijuana, one count of possession of more than 28.5 grams of marijuana and one count of possession of dangerous drugs, according to the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.

The charges of possession of dangerous drugs likely refer to possession of psilocybin, also known as hallucinogenic mushrooms, said UCPD Assistant Chief Mitch Celaya.

Anderson and Portka were arrested following an incident in which 12 students were hospitalized after eating what police believe were cookies containing marijuana at a Cloyne Court co-op party Wednesday night.

Portka and Anderson are not drug dealers and the incident is not deserving of media attention, said Portka's attorney William Linehan.

"It's sharing marijuana cookies at Cal," he said. "It was a party and it was (Portka and Anderson's) job to make the marijuana cookies."

Paramedics treated approximately 16 partygoers at the Northside co-op after UCPD and the Berkeley Fire Department responded to a 911 call of a female complaining of anxiety, shortness of breath, numbness in her hands and feet and hallucinations.

Twelve students were taken to local hospitals for evaluation and observation.

All the hospitalized students were released by Thursday, said Jennifer Heller, communications coordinator for the University Students' Cooperative Association.

Cookie samples are being tested for other controlled substances, but lab results will not be available for one to two weeks, Celaya said.

Anderson's attorney Stephen Naratil said that the partygoers who ate the cookies were fully aware there was marijuana in them, and that the cookies did not contain any other controlled substances

"This co-op has a history of (having) marijuana cookies and marijuana cookie parties," he said.

UC Berkeley senior Michael Tobias, 24, was also arrested Thursday morning on suspicion of one count of furnishing and one count of possessing marijuana. Tobias was released Friday after the district attorney's office did not file charges, citing a lack of cause or evidence.

Anderson, a resident of Cloyne Court, and Portka were released Saturday on their own recognizance and are due back in court on Nov. 2.

Linehan said Portka and Anderson face charges of "sharing marijuana cookies" and that the hospitalized partygoers were not sick.

"It was typical symptomology of marijuana use. They were high," he said.

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