Dispensaries

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Long Beach Pursues Costly Marijuana Raids; Lawsuits Result

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 17, 2012 Dispensaries, News

A Long Beach cop smashes the video surveillance camera at the THC Downtown Collective

City Is Broke, Yet It Pursues Expensive, Futile Marijuana Dispensary Raids, Resulting In $1 Million Lawsuit

The City of Long Beach, California had an estimated deficit of $14 million in 2011. At an August 2, 2011 news conference covering the “fiscal year 2012 proposed budget,” Mayor Bob Foster is quoted as saying, “We have an extraordinary hole to climb out of and as all of you know, the first rule of holes is when you are in one you stop digging, we need to stop digging.”

On June 19, for a medical marijuana collective raid, the local government utilized roughly 14 of its police officers, numerous patrol cars, the fire department, a hospital ambulance, a city official of the Department of Finance (Erik Sund) and an attorney from the City Attorney’s office (Kendra Carney). All were intermittently onsite for an estimated time of 4-5 man-hours.

Who’s To Blame For The California Marijuana Crackdown?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 13, 2012 Dispensaries, News

The Weed Blog

By Jack Rikess

Northern California Correspondent

To the readers of Toke of the Town:

I had my last article, ‘Disorganized Government Crime: AG Hits Bay Area MMJ Scene,’ removed from the Toke banner after a couple of comments were made disputing the facts of my report.

As a writer, I’m always striving to be a better journalist. While I depend on the facts for a story, I do sometimes in the same motion; offer my opinions on the situations I see evolving surrounding cannabis issues in the Bay Area and beyond.

I’ve realized I need to learn to be clearer on my execution or delivery as to what the facts are and what isn’t fact but commentary. To remain objective and honest with the details and differentiate distinctly when I’m stating opinions or my “take” on how the shit is going down.

Largest Dispensary Attacked; Cannabis Industry Wants Answers

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 11, 2012 Dispensaries, News

Aisha

Activists seek clarification from Attorney General Eric Holder on what state are local laws are allegedly being violated by dispensary operators

U.S. Reps. Nadler and Cohen are seeking clarification from the Attorney General about how DOJ determines whether state laws are violated

State-federal medical cannabis conflict intensifies prior to a fundraising visit to Oakland by President Obama on July 23

The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) is awaiting answers from United States Attorney General Eric Holder related to sworn testimony he provided to the House Judiciary Committee on June 7. On that day, he said that the Department of Justice (DOJ) limits its medical cannabis “enforcement efforts to those individuals [or]organizations that are acting out of conformity with State laws, or, in the case of instances in Colorado, where distribution centers were placed within close proximity to schools.”

World’s Biggest Marijuana Dispensary Targeted By The Feds

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 11, 2012 Dispensaries, News

Eric Wolfe

Steve DeAngelo, executive director of Harborside Health Center, reputedly the world’s largest medical marijuana dispensary, looks over a marijuana display case

The biggest medical marijuana dispensary on earth has been targeted for closure by federal prosecutors in Northern California.

Harborside Health Center, which is reputedly the biggest cannabis collective on the planet, has been threatened with property seizure by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag’s office, according to spokeswoman Gaynell Rogers, reports The Associated Press.

Employees on Monday found the federal complaints taped to doors at Harborside’s two locations, according to Rogers.

Marijuana Dispensary Operators Working As Federal Informants

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 11, 2012 Dispensaries, News

The Charleston Gazette

Could your medical marijuana dispensary be reporting you to the Feds? Some California collective operators are working as confidential federal informants, according to chilling new information revealed as a result of an ongoing investigation into municipal corruption.

Last week, federal authorities arrested three current and former city officials in Cudahy — the mayor, a city councilman, and a former acting city manager — on bribery charges for allegedly taking $17,000 in bribes from someone who wanted to open a dispensary in the town, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Akrotirianakis, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Federal Appeal By Marijuana Dispensary Attracts Support

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 10, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

S.E. Miller/SLO New Times

Though Charles Lynch and his dispensary were supported by local officials and the Chamber of Commerce in Morro Bay, where Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers was located, the DEA raided and shut down CCCC in 2007

Widely supported former dispensary operator appeals conviction to 9th Circuit amidst ongoing federal crackdown

Medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) filed an amicus ‘friend of the court’ brief on Monday in a federal appeal brought by California dispensary operator Charlie C. Lynch. Lynch’s case drew a lot of attention during his 2008 trial and June 2009 sentencing under an Obama Justice Department.

Though Lynch was supported by local officials and the Chamber of Commerce in Morro Bay, where his state-compliant dispensary Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers (CCCC) was located, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raided and shut down CCCC in 2007 anyway, much like the DEA is doing today. A hearing in the Lynch appeal is expected this winter.

Nevada Lawmaker Wants To Legalize Marijuana Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 10, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

The Weed Blog

With the number of Nevada residents authorized to use medical marijuana now at 3,430, Assemblyman Tick Segerblom (D-Las Vegas) wants to change how marijuana is distributed in The Silver State. Last week Segerblom announced he will introduce a bill next year to license medical marijuana dispensaries and farms to provide cannabis to patients.

Under Segerblom’s plan, the state would tax marijuana sales to patients, reports Ed Vogel at the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Nevada’s Health Division reported on Monday that the number of patients with medical marijuana authorizations has climbed by 1,143 in the past year.

Nevada medical marijuana patients currently have to grow their own, even though there is no legal way to even acquire seeds, and of course many of them aren’t good gardeners, or are too sick to cultivate. Authorized patients may possess up to an ounce of marijuana and three mature and four immature cannabis plants.

Credit Cards No Longer Accepted In Cali Marijuana Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 6, 2012 Dispensaries, News, Products

Hail Mary Jane

There’s no longer any need to carry your plastic into medicinal cannabis dispensaries in California, because they don’t want it. Credit cards are no longer being accepted at the collectives, whose accounts with credit card processors have been canceled, thanks to heavy pressure from the federal government.

The intermediaries between retailers and credit card companies — the merchant services providers who process customer payments — have told dispensaries that credit card transactions for cannabis will no longer be processed after July 1, according to Stephen DeAngelo, executive director of Oakland’s Harborside Health Center, reports Chris Roberts at SF Weekly.

So which government agency forced medical marijuana to become a cash-only business? None has stepped forward so far to claim the “credit.”

Exclusive: Assemblyman Ammiano Speaks On Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 5, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

SF Weekly

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano: “The voters spoke clearly in 1996”

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

When California Assembly Bill 2312 was pulled out of committee last week, local cannabis organizations and activists began a heated debate, theorizing why the bill was removed before having a chance to be voted on by the legislature. Toke of the Town was able to interview Assemblyman Tom Ammiano late Thursday afternoon.

We appreciate that Assemblyman Ammiano was able to talk to us during a very busy day. Some of the interview questions have been edited for clarity. All of Mr. Ammiano’s statements are verbatim.

Toke: Is there any truth to the rumor that Americans for Safe Access and other groups were strongly opposed to the clause in AB 2312 allowing Board of Supervisors or town council members of any California town to ban dispensaries in their towns if they felt compelled to instead of allowing the voters to decide? Is there any truth to the rumor that ASA convinced you to remove the bill or was it the other way around?

Ammiano: There has always been a clause in AB 2312 that permits local jurisdictions to opt-out of the state standard proposed in AB 2312, what changed coming out of the Assembly Appropriations committee is the threshold which was lowered from a vote of the people in that local jurisdiction, to an ordinance enacted by the local government. I understand that there are concerns regarding bans by local governments, and wish there would have been more opposition to AB 1300 which passed last year with me as the only “NO” vote on the floor. I support a vote threshold to enact bans, but AB 1300 allows local jurisdiction to enact ordinances without going to the voters, which is why I opposed it.

Montana Medical Marijuana Patients Struggle For Safe Access

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 3, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

THC Finder

The Big Sky State’s Current Medical Marijuana Law Riddled With Barriers For Montana Patients

By Bob Brigham

Special to Toke of the Town

Thousands of medical marijuana patients in Montana are left without medical marijuana providers who can serve them. The state’s new restrictive medical marijuana law, SB 423, has been in effect for less than one year, and during that time, the number of providers has dropped from over 4,438 in June of last year to less than 414 today, a drop of more than 90 percent.

“The vast majority of providers (formerly caregivers) have simply dropped out of the system,” says Chris Lindsey, president of the Montana Cannabis Industry Association. “Most left the program out of fear of federal prosecution, but those who are left are finding it is very risky due to aggressive law enforcement efforts around the state, who often work directly with the DEA.

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