CULLMAN, Alabama - Christopher Butts, executive director of the Alabama Medical Marijuana Coalition, remains in a Cullman County jail after being arrested Saturday and charged with trafficking marijuana.

Ronda Crawford of the Cullman County sheriff's department said today that Butts, 42, and three other people were arrested at rural home on County Road 821 southwest of Cullman.

A child who was at the home with the four adults at the time of the arrests was turned over to the department of human resources, Cullman County Sheriff Mike Rainey said. Arrangements were made for the child to stay with family members, Rainey said.

About 35 marijuana plants as well as some buds were seized when the arrests were made, Rainey said.

"It sounds to me that may be more than personal use or medical (use)," Rainey said of the amount of marijuana seized.

Also arrested and charged with trafficking marijuana were Stephen Franks, 22, Sonja Franks, 46, and Amber Nixon, 22. Nixon was also charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, Crawford said.

Butts and Sonja Franks remain in jail on a $1 million bond while Nixon is being held on a $1.5 million bond. Stephen Franks bonded out on Sunday.

"Our dispatch received a call on Saturday around 11 a.m. for an officer to go and check on the welfare of a child," Rainey said. "When they responded, they smelled the strong odor of marijuana coming from the residence. They were denied consent to search. They obtained a search warrant and found the marijuana."

Rainey described the scene inside the home as "a pretty elaborate system, an indoor-grow operation with lights and dehumidifiers - the whole nine yards."

Asked if the bonds were set high, Rainey said they were within the bond schedule for trafficking in Alabama. According to the Alabama Rules for Criminal Procedure, bonds for felony drug manufacturing and trafficking has a range of $5,000 to $1.5 million.

"Here in Cullman, it's to kind of send the message that we don't want you trafficking in drugs in Cullman County and we don't want you manufacturing meth," Rainey said. "The magistrate set those bonds and they are within the bond schedule. It may sound high to some folks but as far as I know, trafficking in marijuana is still illegal in the state of Alabama.

"Before these people go out here and get arrested, they might want to check on that. That is the bond for trafficking in Cullman."

According to the Alabama Medical Marijuana Coalition website, the coalition's "primary focus is organizing individuals and groups in the common goal of changing the laws concerning medical marijuana for patients in Alabama."

According to the Facebook page of the Alabama Medical Marijuana Coalition, Butts remains the president and executive director of the organization despite his arrest.