NEWS: Ocean Beach Woman Re-United With Her Son After Going Through Government Wringer

Last year, when a fire consumed the Ocean Beach apartment building where Larissa Danielli and her son, Silas resided, another fire of injustice and persecution started up that very day.

There were terrible consequences suffered by single mom Larissa and her sweet little boy who were doubly victimized by the tragedy that ensued.

I consider myself fortunate to be a friend of brave mom Larissa and I want to make sure her story gets heard and that she also has a chance to clear her name. It was sullied by smears, insults, and bare-faced lies that seem to have surrounded her as she has battled back to reunite herself with Silas and fight the bogus charges heaped on her by CPS, the San Diego Police Dept., and to a certain extent, our local San Diego media.

Pictures of Larissa being arrested the day the fire struck her residence were splashed all over the newspapers and local TV stations. I can say with absolute certainty that Larissa is an excellent person, wonderful mom, loyal friend and a pleasure to know. She and Silas did not deserve the treatment they were accorded.

I spoke with Larissa recently and I am happy to report she is now back with Silas. But it has not been an easy path and it was strewn with landmines all the way along. This is what she told me:

I’d like to expose how the government is wasting money; how my court appointed juvenile attorney ‘volunteered’ me for rehab; 5 days/week, 3-5 hours/day. After 1 month, the rehab said they would then ‘assess’ me (no assessment given before or even a drug test). This is the standard and all paid for by the taxpayers.

For 3 months, I was only LEGALLY allowed to see my son for 3 hours per day, and that continued up until the very day I was told the case against me was being completely dismissed. My own caseworker sat there and told me she thought I was a great mother and my home was safe.

It took them 3 months to give me one drug test (even though the whole time I was telling them to drug test me) and then everything was completely thrown out because it was negative. The dismissal paper states exactly that.

I was put thru the wringer, threatened, scared, bullied and abused all for nothing. They put a restraining order on me for a whole week where I wasn’t even allowed to SPEAK to my baby. I did 5 days in jail for Felony Child Endangerment with Intent to Kill for being a legitimate, card-carrying medical marijuana patient.

As you can see, Larissa has suffered greatly and her family was shattered by the lies and the bogus claims that she was put through. The system let this lady down big time and caused undue grief and suffering that still continues to this day.

Larissa confided in me that she is still trying to recover.

“Physically, mentally, emotionally and financially,” she told me that “some days are better than others.” However the trauma and stress make her feel unsafe.

“I feel at any time, I will be attacked in my home again. My son used to have no fear and was so secure and active. Now he’s quiet and just wants to stay home. He gets very upset when I have to leave and he clings to me when he sleeps.”

Larissa is having financial issues from all the expenses she has incurred fighting to clear her name and reclaim her son.

“I was getting by and even had a couple months paid ahead on rent and on my car. Due to this incident, I’m so far behind now, I can barely make rent and my car is 2 months behind and being threatened to be repossessed.”

Larissa is a fighter and said she has “no option but to keep fighting and try to pull myself out of the hole I am in.” Let’s all say a prayer on behalf of our Ocean Beach sister and know that things are tending to looking up for Ms. Danielli and Silas. But also know that there but for the Grace of God go you. Fight the scourge of corrupt government swooping in and trying to ruin a good person for no good reason. God Bless Larissa and Silas Danielli.

Source: OB Rag

NEWS: Two more arrested in former Chico man's killing in Long Beach

LONG BEACH — Two more suspects have been arrested in the killing of a former Chico man in 2011 in what's believed to be a medical marijuana robbery.

Phillip Victor Williamson, 29, of Los Angeles, died March 25 of that year, after being found in an alley the previous night, suffering from a gunshot wound.

Investigators discovered Williamson was involved in the distribution of marijuana from Chico to medical marijuana collectives in Los Angeles.

Williamson was thought to be carrying about $500,000 in cash and seven pounds of processed marijuana when he was killed. None of the money or pot was recovered.

Marcel Maurice Mackabee, 29, was taken into custody by Long Beach police in Chico last July 31 followed a lengthy investigation.

Mackabee's wife, Rosemary Sayegh, 32, was charged as an accessory on July 29 in the slaying of Williamson, but the case against her was later dismissed without prejudice.

Prosecutors said it could be refiled at a later date.

On Thursday detectives on the Long Beach Police Department's Career Criminal Apprehension Team arrested two more suspects. Kenneth Ray Johnson, 36, and Charles Anthony Mackbee, 42, both of Long Beach, were arrested at approximately 10 a.m. at their homes without incident. Charles

Anthony Mackabee and Marcel Mackabee are cousins.

Today the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office charged both new suspects with one count of murder.

Anyone who may have information on this case is asked to contact homicide detectives Scott Lasch and Donald Goodman at 1-562-570-7244. Anonymous tips may also be submitted via text or web by visiting www.tipsoft.com.

Source: Chico Enterprise-Record

Cookin' WIth Cake: Medicated Gummies Demo Video.

I’ve been asked to please demonstrate on video how to make some of my tasty recipes. So, since I’ve got no video or editing skillz, bear with me while I pick some up. Meantime, here’s a demo of the gummies to show how super simple they are to whip up! ~YellowJuanaCake



See also Cake’s Gummy Blog with pictures.

NEWS: FRENCH VALLEY - Commercial park was hub for marijuana

According to growers, 18 separate pot growing operations were crammed into 3 small, nondescript buildings. Arrests were made though no charges have been filed

Over the past year, an out-of-the-way commercial park on the outskirts of Murrieta became a hub of do-it-yourself medical marijuana growers.

According to the growers, 18 separate operations were crammed into suites in three small, nondescript buildings in French Valley. They grew plants under bright lights and sold the marijuana elsewhere to small numbers of patients. They worked quietly for at least a year, until federal drug agents and sheriff’s deputies shutting down a well-known dispensary stumbled onto their secret gardens.

Three growers were arrested but no charges have been filed. Riverside County district attorney’s spokesman John Hall said his office is not reviewing the case for possible charges. The U.S. attorney’s office said no federal arrests are expected.

The growers said they thought their operations were legal. California law allows members of collectives to buy and sell medical marijuana from each other as long as they are not-for-profit. The growers said they ran such nonprofit collectives.

The incident shows how difficult it still can be to navigate the conflicting state and federal laws governing medical marijuana more than 15 years after California voters made it legal. Marijuana is still considered an illegal narcotic under federal law.

Craig Cawley, 53, of Winchester, was among three people arrested during the raids. He has not been charged with a crime.

Cawley said he talked to officials from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and district attorney’s office, whose names he did not know, who told him his setup was OK. He kept his harvest small — many growers believe they won’t be busted for fewer than 100 plants — and felt everything was legal.

“I believed that to the moment I was handcuffed,” Cawley said.

FOR RENT

The tenants said the property was empty until their Orange County-based landlord hit on a new strategy: market it to marijuana growers.

An ad for the property on Craigslist didn’t mention marijuana but encouraged prospective tenants to “GROW GROW GROW”, according to marijuana growers who responded to it.

The ad no longer appears on the website.

Jonathan Cringan, 26, who also was arrested, said the landlord, David Cox, faced two options.

“Either lose the property or … rent it to weed growers,” Cringan said. “‘Cause that’s the only business in California where anybody’s making any money.”

Cox, reached by phone, declined to comment. It is unknown if he will face criminal charges.

For at least a year, the growers said, tenants paid twice the going rate, in cash, for the opportunity to harvest marijuana in the secluded park.

Cawley said he paid $3,000 a month for two adjoining suites. Offices in neighboring buildings rented for about $.60 per square foot, while space in Cox’s buildings cost $1.20, Cawley said.

The deal was worth it because landlords willing to accept small-scale marijuana farms in their buildings were rare, the growers said. And after the U.S. Attorney’s Office last year announced it was going after building owners who rented to dispensaries, even fewer were willing to allow any kind of marijuana activity, they said.

Cox had no shortage of prospective tenants, Cawley said.

“There was a line of people right behind me.”

WELL-KNOWN GROWERS

The property is on Innovation Court, just north of Murrieta off Winchester Road, among a sea of similar-looking rectangular structures. In nearby buildings, tenants include construction and air conditioning contractors, party rental and cleaning businesses.

Craig King, owner of Kitchen Places, said it was well known the buildings next door housed a collection of small marijuana farms.

“When the wind was blowing in the right direction, you could smell it,” he said.

The marijuana operations were housed in three adjacent buildings but run independently, Cringan said. He said the growers mainly kept to themselves, and while he felt he was operating legally, he worried the other operators would one day bring legal problems to his doorstep.

“Nobody’s involved in this industry without knowing that possibility exists,” he said.

DISPENSARIES TARGETED

In October, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento announced a statewide crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries. Storefronts that sold marijuana had to shut down, the office said, or their operators and their landlords would face penalties.

Most of the operations at the French Valley commercial park were run by small-scale growers who kept a few dozen plants and sold the marijuana off-site to members of small collectives. But the property did house two storefront dispensaries, which sold to thousands of patients on-site.

One of the dispensaries closed soon after the warning, the growers said. The other, Disabled American Veterans Collective, did not.

So in January, Drug Enforcement Authority agents and Riverside County sheriff’s deputies served a search warrant and shut down Disabled American Veterans Collective, which has no relation to the nonprofit veterans services organization.

The dispensary’s owners, Kevin O. Freeman, 38, and Shelly Lee Walker, 28, of Murrieta, were arrested. They have not been charged with any crimes.

While searching the dispensary, officers heard the telltale sounds of large industrial fans and drug-sniffing dogs detected marijuana in adjoining suites, according to a federal search warrant. The discoveries led them to the enclave of growers.

Cringan and Cawley said they would have left the park if authorities had warned them, as they had the dispensary owners.

“I’m not trying to stick a middle finger up to the Justice Department,” Cringan said. “I’ve got respect.”

Cringan, Cawley and Scott Aaron Fielder were arrested on suspicion of cultivation and possession, sale and transportation of marijuana. They were each held for 72 hours and then released without charges being filed.

DEA agents took part in the raids but Department of Justice spokesman Thom Mrozek said no federal arrests were coming.

While some growers talk about improving access to sick people and standing up for patients’ rights, Cringan just wanted a job, he said. At the end of the day, that’s why people shell out thousands for rent and utility bills and risk prison, he said.

“The reality is, nobody would do this if we weren’t making money,” Cringan said. “Nobody’s going to risk going to federal prison unless there was some money in it.”

After graduating from Chaparral High School in Temecula and San Diego State University, Cringan said he was kicked out of George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., after an argument with a professor over a failing grade on a paper about medical marijuana laws.

Cawley said he was trying to raise money to start a charity that would send kids to summer camp.

Both men spent three days in jail, spent thousands of dollars on rent, electricity and the supplies that went into confiscated plants, and could wait up to three years before learning if they will be charged with any crimes.

“I’m at a crossroads in my life,” said Cringan, who is now living at home with his father in Menifee. “There aren’t many good choices available.”

Source: The Press-Enterprise

NEWS: Medical Marijuana Lawsuit Dismissed By Federal Judge In Sacramento

SAN FRANCISCO -- Medical marijuana advocates faced another setback Tuesday, when a federal judge in Sacramento dismissed a lawsuit claiming that the Obama administration broke its promise to leave the pot industry alone when it began an aggressive crackdown against California dispensaries last fall.

Proponents of the suit cited President Obama's 2009 Ogden Memo, which told federal prosecutors to concentrate their efforts on large drug trafficking networks and "not focus federal resources" on medical marijuana operations in states that have legalized cannabis for medicinal purposes.

But in a sharp reversal of the memo, federal authorities announced a renewed effort to target pot dispensaries throughout California last October, claiming the industry had ballooned to unprecedented proportions.

In the four months since the reinstated crackdown, a number of medical cannabis clubs across the state have been forced to shut down, including five in San Francisco and the legendary Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Marin County, California's oldest. The District Attorney's office has begun investigating 12 more stores in San Francisco this year.

The U.S. attorneys going after such dispensaries have justified their actions mainly by claiming the shops operate too close to parks and schools.

Pot activists have fought back, arguing the federal government should focus its energy elsewhere and not interfere with states abiding by their own laws.

"It's a total waste of resources," Stephanie Tucker, spokeswoman for the San Francisco Medical Cannabis Task Force, told The Huffington Post. "They're attacking a peaceful, regulated community and it's wasting money. Shame on them."

The Sacramento lawsuit was one of a handful filed in November by cannabis suppliers and patients, who cited the Ogden Memo as the basis for their action. U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell, who reviewed the case in the capitol, justified his dismissal by claiming the memo was not a "binding commitment," simply a statement of priorities.

Burrell's ruling will allow for prosecutors to continue to take action against dispensaries operating throughout the state.

Matthew Kumin, a lawyer representing one of the dispensaries in the Sacramento case, told SF Weekly that the dismissal of the cases without allowing a fair trial is bogus. "The government's blocking of us is irrational at this point," Kumin said to SF Weekly. "It's clear there's medical use; circumstances have changed."

Kumin pointed to federally-backed clinical trials of cannabis-based drugs such as Sativex as proof that scientists believe marijuana has a medical benefit. Despite that, he said he expects similar lawsuits in Oakland and Los Angeles to be dismissed this week.

"The judges know we're in the right," he said. "They just don't want to admit it."

Source: The Huffington Post

NEWS: Is Prohibition Over? California Medical Marijuana Laws vs. Federal Prohibition Come to a Head

The California Supreme Court announced today that it will hear two important cases from two separate appellate districts in California regarding city’s abilities to regulate and ban medical marijuana dispensaries.

The court granted the City of Long Beach’s petition for review in the Pack case, which has caused cities statewide to question their ability to regulate medical marijuana collectives. The Second Appellate District, Div. 3, ruled several months ago that parts of the Long Beach 5.87 ordinance, regulating medical marijuana collectives within the city, were federally prohibited.

Pack’s attorney, Matthew Pappas also filed an emergency application for a temporary order prohibiting the City of Long Beach from banning collectives while the case is pending with the California Supreme Court. The court denied this request, which leaves the city of Long Beach in flux as the Pack case is being determined. According to Joe Elford, Chief Counsel for Americans for Safe Access, the Pack ruling contradicts three other Appellate Court decisions that have rejected Federal Preemption. The California Supreme Court’s determination can take months and sometimes up to a year before a decision is rendered.

According to Bob Selan, Esq., CEO of Kush Magazine, the California Supreme Court has recognized that these states’ rights issues are at the forefront of the safe access provisions that were inherent in Proposition 215 voted into law by Californians in 1996. The laws which were further codified in SB420 in 2003 by the California Legislature, have been the subject of several controversial lawsuits pitting California medical marijuana laws against Federal Prohibition.

The ACLU has also filed an amicus curie brief requesting that the opinion of the Second Appellate District be depublished.

Last night the Long Beach City Council postponed voting on a ban until its February 14^th meeting (see video). Long Beach City Attorney Robert Shannon is urging the City Council to enact a ban while the case is pending since the city currently has no law to regulate the collectives in the city.

The California Supreme Court also agreed to hear the Riverside case involving G3 Holistic in Upland, California. This case involved shutting down G3 due to the City of Upland’s outright ban on medical marijuana dispensaries through their zoning code. G3 was shut down, sued the city and the Superior Court upheld the city’s zoning code. On Appeal, the Appellate court granted G3 an injunction to remain open. When the city prevailed on appeal in November, 2011, G3 was again shut down. In December, G3 appealed to the California Supreme Court which was granted a review today.

This comes at a time when cities and counties are scrambling to push forward bans of any medical cannabis related businesses in their jurisdictions.

The medical marijuana community applauded the Supreme Court’s decision to hear both cases, and hopefully, this will finally give cities in California the right to regulate medical marijuana in their communities, since many cities have chosen to ban or refuse to regulate medical marijuana because it’s federally illegal.

Source: KUSH Magazine

NEWS: Long Beach judge recuses himself from medical marijuana case before sentencing

LONG BEACH -- A local judge recused himself from a medical marijuana case at the 11th hour Wednesday, admitting he made a serious error when he sent a complimentary letter to the prosecutor prior to sentencing.

Long Beach Superior Court Judge Charles Sheldon voluntarily removed himself from the case of Joe Grumbine and Joe Byron, the owners and operators of a trio of medical marijuana collectives who were convicted of illegal drug sales last month.

In a stunning revelation that drew exclamations from many in the courtroom, Sheldon admitted he sent a "complimentary letter" to Deputy District Attorney Jodi Castano before the matter was finished.


"I don't know what I was thinking," Sheldon said, adding that he meant what he said in the missive, which was dated Jan. 5, but it was inappropriate to send while the case was still active.

His recusal drew raucous applause, cheers and shouts from a courtroom brimming with about 50 medical marijuana advocates who have rallied inside and outside the Long Beach courthouse throughout Grumbine and Byron's trial.

Defense Attorney Christopher Glew said outside court that the letter congratulated the prosecutor on a job well done and showed the judge's clear bias in case.

"I've never seen anything like it," Glew said. "But it was obvious from the start that Judge Sheldon was biased ... he said from the very beginning there are no legal sales of marijuana of any kind."

Grumbine and Byron were convicted Dec. 21 -- on 13 felony counts including illegal sales of narcotics, grand theft, and filing false tax returns -- following a roughly three week trial.

Supporters of the defendants insist the charges are nothing more than an attack by zealous police and prosecutors in violation of the state's medical marijuana law and have accused authorities of fabricating evidence.

Castano insisted in her opening statements to the jury the case was about two men using the sick and infirm as a shield for illegal drug deals.

"This case is not about whether people have the right to medical marijuana," Castano told the jury at the start of the trial last month. "This case is about two wolves in sheeps' clothing. It's about two men who were out to line their pockets ... with millions of dollars."

Grumbine and Byron were arrested in December of 2009 after police raided the three locations, two in Long Beach and one in Garden Grove.

The legal wrangling began long before the trial, with numerous motions heard as both sides sought to block some witnesses and evidence.

The district attorney and defendants' attorneys disagreed from the start over whether a medical marijuana defense could be presented. Initially, Sheldon ruled no such a defense would be allowed, said supporter Cheri Sicard.

Glew and co-defense Attorney Allison Margolin challenged Sheldon's ruling in a higher court and was awarded a judgement that required the lower court to allow the medical marijuana defense, Sicard said.

Nonetheless, police and prosecutors insisted the defendants used the collectives as profit-driven drug dealing operations run like stores with frequent flier cards, specials and discounts offered inside the businesses.

The defendants, Castano said, tried to hide the businesses by using fictitious business names. She also said the accused stole electricity from neighboring businesses to hide the large amount of power needed to grow the plants.

Bills were paid by money order to eliminate paper trials, the prosecutor noted. The defendants, she said, under-reported their sales tax for two years, pocketing more than $2 million.

Though Sheldon has recused himself from the case, the convictions still stand. However Glew and Margolin said they are preparing motions for a new trial, which will be heard in a new court, by Judge Joan Comparet-Cassani, on April 3.

The motions will include arguments that Sheldon's bias denied their clients a chance at a fair trial and will also cite juror misconduct, Glew said, referring to one jurors revelation post conviction that the group used the Internet to look up the definition of marijuana collectives even though they were instructed by the court that they could not use any outside source of information while deliberating the case.

Even the appointment of the new judge looked as though it was going to be a tough fight Wednesday morning, as Glew and Margolin told Long Beach Superior Court Supervising Judge James Otto they opposed the case being transferred to Comparet-Cassani.

Moments later, however, they withdrew their challenge of the venue.

Outside the courtroom, Glew explained that though he is concerned about Comparet-Cassani's strict ruling record the only other options left at the Long Beach Court would prove even more unfavorable to the defense's case.

"We don't have a lot of options for a fair trial in Long Beach," Glew said.

Source: Press-Telegram

VIDEO: Long Beach City Council Postpones Medical Marijuana Dispensary Ban