The chairman of the Alabama’s Cherokee County Republican Party resigned this week in the wake of his arrest last Friday for growing multiple marijuana plants on his property.

The Gadsden Times reported that 52-year-old John Loyd Ellis was arrested after a routine marijuana eradication operation spotted the plants from the air.

State party chairman Bill Armistead said that the Alabama GOP has no comment about the arrest except to say, “We will allow legal and judicial system to follow its course.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Ellis has been charged with first-degree unlawful possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

Sheriff Joe Shaver told the Times that Cherokee County routinely conducts marijuana eradication efforts in conjunction with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation.

“We’ve always participated, as long as I can remember,” said Shaver, adding that county officials found and destroyed some 600 plants in recent weeks, although only one person aside from Ellis has been arrested.

More arrests, he said, will likely follow.

[image of marijuana bud via Shutterstock.com]