COSTA MESA, CA - Three men were arrested on suspicion of illegally selling drugs after Costa Mesa police raided a marijuana dispensary Thursday. A fourth person was arrested on suspicion of drug possession.
City law prohibits the opening and operating of any medical marijuana dispensary within city limits. California law also bans the sale of marijuana.
Costa Mesa police have been investigating West Coast Wellness in the 1200 block of Logan Avenue and possible illegal marijuana sales by the business, Costa Mesa Lt. Mark Manley said.
Officers with search warrants went to West Coast Wellness on Thursday. David Gordon Howes, 49, of Huntington Beach; Daniel Salazar-Rey, 23, of Costa Mesa; and Samual Salazar-Rey, 28, of Costa Mesa were arrested on suspicion of illegally selling marijuana and drug possession. Ariel Amiee Yarrish, 18, of La Mirada was arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession.
California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996, making it the first medical marijuana state, but the law did not police dispensaries or set up a system to hand out the drugs. With no state oversight, cities have been forced to police it themselves.
How that is done, and the logic behind it, has run the spectrum. In Oakland, lawmakers commanded strict oversight of dispensaries, telling them where and how they can operate. Until last week, the city of Los Angeles took a much more laisser-faire approach. The result - dispensaries popped up in neighborhood strip malls.
Last week, the Los Angeles City Council had second thoughts, limiting the number of dispensaries to 70 and laying down the law on where and how they can operate. Dispensaries in business in 2007 can be grandfathered in, potentially raising the number near 150.
Medical marijuana access has been growing since the Obama administration last year said people complying with state medical marijuana laws would no longer be subjected to federal drug raids and prosecution. Local laws still apply.
The investigation at West Coast Wellness is continuing.
Source: OC Register
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