KNOX — A Knox man has been arrested for possessing and growing marijuana at his home on Knox Cave Road; the plants were discovered during an emergency medical visit.

A call for emergency medical services at 4:32 p.m. on Friday led to Albany County Sheriff’s Deputy Corey Prignon — who was accompanying EMS workers, as it is required for a deputy to visit all EMS calls — saw marijuana plants growing in and around a home at 620 Knox Cave Road in the town of Knox while EMS workers responded to a medical call at the residence, said sheriff’s Senior Investigator Chris Kopec.

A search warrant was obtained on Friday and executed Saturday night after 3 p.m., said Kopec. The medical call was not related to an overdose, meaning that Matthews was not protected by New York State’s “Good Samaritan Law,” Kopec said, who told The Enterprise that the call was for a resident of the home.

Jason Matthews, 36, was arrested at 4:40 p.m. on Saturday when he turned himself in at the Clarksville sheriff’s station, Kopec said. He was charged with one count of criminal possession of marijuana, a felony, and one count of growing marijuana, a misdemeanor.

Matthews was arraigned in Knox Town Court on Saturday before Judge Jean Gagnon, said Kopec. He was sent to Albany County’s jail in lieu of a $10,000 bail, but as of Monday has been released on bail. He was scheduled in Knox Town Court for a preliminary appearance on Wednesday Aug. 23 at 6 p.m.

Items seized during the search of Matthews’s home include 34 marijuana plants and a pound-and-a-half of loose, dried marijuana, said Kopec. The sheriff’s office also seized a scale used for weighing marijuana, plastic bags for selling the drug, and three bags of already packaged marijuana, which Kopec said indicated he was selling it. Two heat lamps for growing plants were also seized along with numerous pipes for smoking.

Kopec said that Matthews was not charged with intent to sell because that does not pertain to marijuana.