NEWS: Following Culver City Case, Court Of Appeal Clarifies Laws Over Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Jeffery K. Joseph was convicted of illegally operating Organica on the Culver City/Los Angeles border.

Following the case regarding Jeffrey K. Joseph, the Court of Appeal recently issued an opinion that clarifies the operational parameters of medical marijuana collectives, cooperatives and dispensaries.

The move came following Jeffrey K. Joseph’s conviction, after he established Organica in 2007 - a storefront business that straddled the Culver City/Los Angeles border.

Between 2009 and 2011, undercover law enforcement officers purchased marijuana from Organica in 13 separate transactions and also saw Joseph selling to other customers. He also openly listed the varieties of marijuana for sale and their prices.

After obtaining warrants to search the premises, officers undertook three separate searches. Among them was one by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, assisted by the Culver City Police Department, which uncovered 48 kilograms of marijuana, hashish, hash oil, numerous beverages and edible products that contained marijuana, and $16,379 in cash.

Customer records recovered by the DEA document 1,772 Organica “patients,” but only 601 of those patients gave addresses that were in the vicinity of Organica, according to a release by KMTG Legal.

Both Los Angeles and Culver City filed an action against Joseph for violations of the Narcotics Abatement Law, the Public Nuisance Law, and the Unfair Competition Law. The trial court found that Joseph and Organica had no defense under either the Compassion Use Act (“CUA”) or the Medical Marijuana Program Act (“MMPA) and the court granted a permanent injunction and entered judgment against Joseph for civil penalties, attorney fees, investigative costs, and court fees.

According to KMTG, the Fourth District Court of Appeal recently determined that in order for a medical marijuana dispensary to be lawful under the MMPA, the operators must cultivate the marijuana on-site.

The court also clarified that any “reasonable compensation” under Health and Safety Code section 11362.765 to be paid for services by a qualified patient or other person authorized to use marijuana “may only be given to a ‘primary caregiver.’” Joseph, however, did not meet the statutory definition of a primary caregiver because there is no evidence the patrons of Organica designated him as their primary caregiver or that he assumed responsibility for the patrons’ “housing, health, or safety.” Also, Organica was not a licensed health care or residential care facility, clinic or hospice.

Source: Culver City Patch

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NEWS: 11 charged in raid on huge Oakland marijuana grow

Oakland, Calif. (AP) - Alameda County prosecutors have filed charges against 11 people in connection with what police said was one of the largest marijuana grows in Oakland's history.

The Oakland Tribune reports ( http://bit.ly/KlOKTX) that each suspect was charged on Friday with felony possession of marijuana for sale and cultivating marijuana.

The operation's owner, 35-year-old Adrian Orion Papajohn, is also being charged with six counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and other charges.

Oakland police raided a warehouse on Wednesday night and found about 2,500 pot plants, $40,000 in cash and guns, ammunition and body armor.

The warehouse was also outfitted with a video surveillance system and its doors bolstered with reinforced steel.

Police said the warehouse was not permitted as a medical marijuana operation.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

VIDEO: John Grace public comment regarding medical marijuana in Long Beach

John Grace public comment regarding medical marijuana in Long Beach. From Long Beach City Council Meeting April 17, 2012.

NEWS: San Francisco Democratic Party Calls On Obama To End Medical Marijuana Attacks

San Francisco, CA--(ENEWSPF)--April 27, 2012. The San Francisco Democratic Party adopted a resolution yesterday demanding that President Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, and U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag "cease all Federal actions in San Francisco immediately, respect State and local laws, and stop the closure of City-permitted medical cannabis facilities." The resolution was co-sponsored by 21 members of the party's Central Committee (DCCC) including: its author Gabriel Haaland, Assembly member Tom Ammiano, State Senator Leland Yee, Supervisor David Campos, Supervisor David Chiu, former State Senator Carole Migden, and former Supervisor Aaron Peskin.

At least 5 permitted San Francisco dispensaries have been forced to close in the last few months as a result of the Obama administration's heightened attack in California. The operators and landlords of these and several more dispensaries were threatened with federal criminal prosecution and asset forfeiture in an effort to shut down access points for the city's tens of thousands of qualified patients. San Francisco has been especially hard hit since October, when California's four U.S. Attorneys escalated an already vigorous federal campaign against medical marijuana.

The DCCC argues that, "the U. S. Attorneys in California are not targeting individuals and organizations that are operating outside of the law, but instead are aggressively persecuting a peaceful and regulated community, wasting Federal resources in using a series of threatening tactics to shut down regulated access to medical cannabis across the state of California." The DCCC also accuses the federal government of "depriving...the State of California [of] much needed tax revenue."

The DCCC resolution comes as President Obama deflects concern and anger over his aggressive enforcement practices in today's issue of Rolling Stone. Backpedaling, President Obama is claiming that "there haven't been any prosecutions" of medical marijuana patients, but he has ignored the broader negative effects of his campaign and the need to treat medical marijuana as a public health issue. "With a highly contentious bid for the White House, Obama should think twice about being out of step with his party and the 80 percent of Americans who support safe and legal access to medical marijuana," said Steph Sherer, Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access, which is part of the SF United campaign.

The passage of yesterday's resolution also comes on the heels of a rally held earlier this month, attended by hundreds of medical marijuana patients and supporters. Since then, the coalition San Francisco United for Safe Access has lobbied legislators to stand up to federal intimidation and coercion. In response to this effort, the DCCC is coming to the aid of city dispensaries by seeking to "establish an emergency plan to expedite the re-permitting of any [shuttered] medical cannabis dispensaries."

The DCCC also endorsed Assembly Bill 2312, a statewide regulatory framework for the medical marijuana industry in California, and called on their fellow Democrats to do the same. Last week, the Assembly Public Safety Committee passed AB 2312, which is now set to be heard by Assembly Appropriations within the next two weeks. "It's irresponsible for the federal government to dismantle established and responsible regulations in California," said the resolution's author and DCCC member Gabriel Haaland. "Hundreds of thousands of patients will be forced into the illicit market, creating unnecessary public safety issues that will affect us all."

Source: http://www.safeaccessnow.org

NEWS: Robbers attack man, flee with marijuana worth $500

Whittier, California

WHITTIER, CA - A man who tried to sell marijuana valued at $500 to a medical marijuana dispensary was later assaulted and robbed of his wares by two men Friday night.

Whittier police Lt. Steve Dean said the 10:02 p.m. attack in the 13300 block of Slauson Avenue left the 26-year-old Los Angeles man with a cut above the eye and a broken finger.

Dean said the man earlier went to a Santa Fe Springs dispensary to sell marijuana he grew but was turned down.

Later, he was on Slauson Avenue in Whittier when two men accosted him and demanded the marijuana which was in a backpack.

"It sounds like they fought over the bag," Dean said.

One of the robbers pulled a knife, he added.

"They took the marijuana, cut him over (the eye), broke his finger in several places," Dean said.

The injured man was taken to a local hospital.

Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune

VIDEO: Cheri Sicard's public comments on marijuana raids in Long Beach

Cheri Sicard's public comments on medical marijuana dispensary raids at the Long Beach City Council Meeting on April 17, 2012.

NEWS: Court of Appeal Upholds Shutdown of Local Marijuana Clinic

Justices Say Facility Operator Implicated in Multiple Incidents of Illegal Activity Not a ‘Primary Caregiver’

The Court of Appeal for this district has upheld an order shutting down a medical marijuana dispensary that straddles the Los Angeles/Culver City boundary.

Div. Two yesterday ordered publication of a March 26 opinion by Justice Victoria Chavez. The panel said Jeffrey K. Joseph, who represented himself, presented no evidence that would have entitled him to a trial in the nuisance abatement action brought by the city attorneys of both cities, so summary judgment and a permanent injunction were properly granted.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson, who issued the injunction, that Joseph had no defense under Proposition 215 or the Medical Marijuana Program Act. The injunctions prohibits Joseph and Organica from unlawfully selling, serving, storing, keeping, manufacturing, or giving away controlled substances, including marijuana, anywhere in Culver City or the City of Los Angeles, and from using Organica, Inc.’s business license and tax registration certificate to engage in such activities anywhere in Culver City or the City of Los Angeles.

Johnson also granted judgment for $325,829.75, consisting of $130,000 in civil penalties, $88,165 in attorney fees, $106,549.75 in investigative costs, and $1,115 in court fees.

Multiple Incidents

Chavez, writing for the Court of Appeal, noted that Joseph and the clinic, called Organica, had a history of involvement with illegal drugs. She cited 13 incidents that occurred between 2008 and 2010, including purchases of marijuana by undercover officers; the discovery of marijuana, along with other illegal drugs, in searches by the Drug Enforcement Administration; several police stops of vehicles near the clinic, resulting in seizure of illegal drugs, which the occupants said they obtained at Organica; and a traffic stop in Riverside in which Joseph was found in possession of psilocybin, hashish, and brownies believed to contain marijuana, and a passenger was found in possession of cocaine.

The MMPA, Chavez wrote, protects the cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes. “It does not cover dispensing or selling marijuana,” nor does it permit a clinic to operate for purposes of profit.

‘Primary Caregiver’

A “primary caregiver,” the jurist acknowledged, may collect reasonable expenses incurred in providing marijuana to qualified medical marijuana patients. But Joseph failed to qualify, she said, because he presented no evidence that any patron had designated him their caregiver, that he had assumed responsibility for the wellbeing of any of them, or that Organica had a license to operate as any kind of health or care facility.

The vast majority of patients, the justice further noted, came from outside the area in which it operated.

It was also clear from the evidence, Chavez wrote, that Organica was being used by Joseph to conduct illegal activities.

The jurist explained:
“On multiple occasions, undercover law enforcement officers purchased marijuana at Organica’s premises. Menus listing the varieties and prices of marijuana available for sale were prominently displayed at the premises. An officer observed Joseph assisting an Organica customer with a purchase. In three separate warranted searches of Organica’s premises, law enforcement officers recovered 155.1 kilograms of marijuana, 698 marijuana plants, 488.9 gross grams of marijuana seeds, 43.9 gross grams of marijuana cigarettes, 22.8 kilograms of various edible products containing marijuana, and large amounts of cash.”

Attorneys for the plaintiffs on appeal included Los Angeles Assistant City Attorney Asha Greenberg, Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney Anh Truong, Culver City City Attorney Carol A. Schwab, and Culver City Deputy City Attorney Lisa A. Vidra.
The case is People ex rel. Trutanich v. Joseph, B232248.

Source: Metropolitan News