NEWS: Medical marijuana delivery man reports he was robbed by ninjas in West Covina

WEST COVINA - Police are looking into a bizarre report of a medical marijuana robbery involving two attackers dressed as ninjas, officials said.

Police received the strange report shortly before 10 p.m. Friday from a medical marijuana delivery man who said he had been robbed in the 800 block of South Sunset Avenue, near Cameron Avenue, after making a delivery to a patient West Covina police Lt. Alan Henley said.

The delivery man, who was in his 40s, told police that, "As he was going back to his vehicle, he was approached by two subjects in ninja costumes who chased him with batons," the lieutenant said.

"The victim said he was scared and he dropped a bag with some marijuana and money. The suspects took it," Henley added.

It was not clear how much cash or pot was taken, police added.

The incident remained under investigation. Police were not aware of any other recent crimes involving suspects dressed as ninjas.

Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune

NEWS: LA marijuana dispensary workers join labor union

LA marijuana dispensary workers join labor union

LOS ANGELES -- Marijuana dispensary workers in Los Angeles have joined a labor union to fight for their jobs in an industry that the federal government considers illegal.

Workers at 14 pot shops have formed the "medical cannabis and hemp division" of the United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 770. The 35,000-member union also represents grocery clerks, pharmacists and health care workers.
"This is the next step in professionalizing and stabilizing this new sector of the health care industry," Local 770 President Rick Icaza said at a news conference Thursday. "This is a positive step towards successfully integrating compassionate care into our system of health care."

Los Angeles currently caps the number of medical marijuana dispensaries, but the City Council is considering a full ban in light of a court decision that limits its ability to regulate them.

Icaza said the union would use its considerable political weight to pressure officials to find an alternative to a total ban.

That help will be welcome, said Yamileth Bolanos, president of the Greater Los Angeles Collectives Alliance, which represents dispensaries.

"It's time to bring in some big guns," she told the Los Angeles Times ( http://lat.ms/GQqPfS). "Not only are they threatening access for patients, they're also trying to take jobs away from our employees."

Pot clinics flourished in California after voters in 1996 voted to permit people to cultivate and possess marijuana for what became nearly any medical reason. As hundreds of dispensaries opened, cities and counties struggled to interpret the state law, which was light on specifics.

Some communities sought to outlaw the pot clinics under existing zoning and other ordinances, while others tried to regulate them.

Court rulings have further muddied the waters. Last month, a state appellate court ruled that cities cannot use nuisance ordinances to ban medical marijuana dispensaries.

A Los Angeles-based appellate court last year struck down Long Beach's attempt to license marijuana stores, ruling the local ordinance conflicted with federal law. And another appellate court upheld Riverside's right to close and prohibit dispensaries despite the state's medical marijuana law.

Early on in the Obama administration, the U.S. Justice Department said prosecutors wouldn't focus on pot dispensaries that were following state medical marijuana laws even though the entire industry was considered illegal under federal statutes.

But that attitude has changed, with federal prosecutors arguing that many ostensibly nonprofit clinics are raking in money by supplying marijuana to people without a medical need.

Since last year, federal prosecutors have warned California clinics that they are illegal, filed criminal and civil charges against some owners, and threatened to seize properties that are leased to pot growers. About 140 dispensaries in more than 20 Southern California cities have been told to shut down since October when federal authorities began their statewide effort.

The crackdown hasn't dissuaded some communities from welcoming pot shops. Earlier this month, Oakland officials granted approval for four new medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, bringing the total to eight. Officials said the four dispensaries would generate $1.7 million in annual tax revenue for the city.

Source: The Sacramento Bee

VIDEO: Willie Nelson Endorses Oregon Cannabis Tax Act 2012

NEWS: Vallejo medical marijuana dispensary certification on hold, city manager says

Vallejo medical marijuana dispensaries anticipating a business license in the mail may have to wait a while.

City Manager Dan Keen said that he has suspended the city's plan to begin issuing business certificates to those dispensaries that have paid a $500 city business fee. The fee was authorized under a ballot measure voters overwhelmingly approved in the November election. The measure's passage has also led to the city approving a 10 percent tax on medical marijuana sales.

City Finance Director Deborah Lauchner said in a recent interview that several dispensaries have paid the fee, although she could not confirm how many. Calls to Lauchner this week were not returned.

Keen's business fee decision follows a maelstrom of questions and confusion about the legality of the city's estimated 20 or more dispensaries. Police began an enforcement effort on Feb. 21, and have raided several dispensaries just before the city began taxing them.

On Tuesday morning, Keen released a five-page memo to the Vallejo City Council. In it, he addressed concerns about the mixed message the city was sending in taxing dispensaries, while at the same time raiding them. Keen's memo acknowledged confusion and suggested that the council may wish to seek legal advice about not enforcing the tax collection "until the situation regarding the regulation of medical marijuana establishments becomes clearer."

The memo, given to council members on Friday, highlights several references in past city staff reports to plans for "vigorous prosecution of illegal medical marijuana operations."
Councilman Robert McConnell, among those who last week called for answers relating to the police crackdown's timing, said Tuesday that he had only glanced at Keen's memo so far.

"I think there's an awful lot more questions ... that need to be addressed," McConnell said. "I think we all have concerns, because it's an evolving saga. I think we have enough problems to worry about on our own in the police department area without getting into MMDs (medical marijuana dispensaries) and whether they comply with federal law.

"The area is about as clear as mud right now."

McConnell said he was unsure if he would continue to call for a public meeting about the issue, because it may require closed-door confidential talks with the city attorney.

Councilwoman Erin Hannigan said she was not surprised by Keen's memo. She added, however, that she understood the public's confusion over the timing of the raids. She also expressed concern over some allegations that police used unnecessary force during the raids against dispensary employees and clients.

Hannigan added that despite any confusion, dispensaries should not consider that a city business license tax makes medical marijuana sales legal in Vallejo.

"It wasn't a mystery to me," Hannigan said of the police raids. "We very clearly had a briefing by staff a couple of months ago as to what our plan was going to be."

Hannigan also shared frustration that the council's direction to its staff to draft regulatory measures to locally legalize dispensary operations had been put on hold because of ongoing legal action elsewhere. She said other cities have continued to move forward in regulating dispensaries while Vallejo has not.

Source: Vallejo Times-Herald

NEWS: Owner reopens G3 Holistic Marijuana Clinic

The medical-marijuana cooperative has survived two Drug Enforcement Administration raids - including one last week - and continues to provide medication to its 2,900 members.

"I've been first in line, and I've been in early every day, so I would continue to be the first in line to solve this issue," said Aaron Sandusky, the president of G3.

Federal law prohibits marijuana, but California voters approved the use of the drug for medical purposes in 1996.

The cooperative has a case pending in the state Supreme Court against the city, which has been fighting to close down G3 Holistic since it opened in 2009.
Councilman Ken Willis, who has been vocal against medical marijuana, said the situation is now between G3 and the federal government.

"But I would caution them," Willis said. "I don't think it's a good idea to flaunt yourself in front of the federal authorities. They have jurisdiction."
The co-op was recuperating from its first raid in November when it was raided again March 12.

Federal agents last week confiscated at least 25 pounds of marijuana and 89 pounds of edible products that contained marijuana.

But, G3 members got together and restocked the co-op so they could reopen.

"We're under duress from the previous raid," Sandusky said. "I'm trying to recover as much as I can. I'm asking everyone to work for medications right now and volunteer as much time as they can. Everybody's obviously very willing to help out."

Brian Muehlen of Ontario, who has been a member of G3 since it opened, was in the cooperative during the first raid.

"It's ridiculous that they're wasting all this federal tax money to come steal everything that's legal in our state," said Muehlen, who has been volunteering at the co-op.

"There's nothing I like more than listening to a patient tell me they've cut five or six pills out of their life that makes them loopy and hurts their liver.
"They cut them out of their life because of this medicine, and we should be able to provide that medicine for those people."

The November raid left G3 Holistic without any medical marijuana, $22,000 in unfunded payroll liability and a $44,000 bill with Southern California Edison. Sandusky's 50 employees lost their health insurance and were forced to apply for unemployment.

G3 Holistic cooperatives in Colton and Moreno Valley, a warehouse in Ontario, Sandusky's home in Rancho Cucamonga and the Rialto home of his partner John Nuckolls were also all raided in November.

As a result of the raid, the co-ops closed.

Sandusky re-opened the Upland location, at 1710 W. Foothill Blvd., on Dec. 30.

Sandusky is suing the landlord of the Ontario warehouse, alleging that the landlord stole some assets not taken during the raid, and is involved in litigation with Colton and Moreno Valley.

The city of Upland was granted an injunction in August 2010 by a West Valley Superior Court judge in Rancho Cucamonga. The city's zoning laws prohibit marijuana dispensaries.

The case has since been heard in the 4th District Appellate Court in Riverside, which ruled in favor of the city, but attorneys for G3 have taken the fight to the state's top court.

Upland has reached out to the federal government regarding their fight against cooperatives in the city. The city has spent more than $400,000 fighting medical marijuana.

However, Willis said he first learned of the raid a couple hours later while at the dentist.

"The feds don't go around telling people they plan to raid some place," he said. "The DEA or the FBI don't have a list of friends that they call before they raid."

Source: Contra Costa Times

NEWS: Political Activist Filmmaker Kevin Booth Retained by Cannabis Science to Film Specialty Documentary

Doc Herbalist with Kevin Booth (right)

Cannabis Science, Inc. a pioneering U.S. biotech company developing pharmaceutical cannabis (marijuana) products, is thrilled to announce that the company has retained filmmaker Kevin Booth to collaborate on a documentary researching cannabis as a medicine and the truth behind the science of marijuana.

Many people know Kevin Booth’s work with the late comedian, Bill Hicks. Kevin produced most of Bill’s CDs and videos that led to the comedian’s own HBO specials and multiple appearances on David Letterman. The story of Kevin’s seventeen-year friendship and working partnership with Bill Hicks was recently explored in a feature length BBC documentary that just ended a year long run of festivals and theatrical screenings. After Bill’s death from pancreatic cancer in 1994, Kevin’s filmmaking took on a political turn and he produced documentaries with talk show host Alex Jones about the incident in Waco, Texas, the American two-party political system, and 9/11. In 2005, Kevin traveled to the UK in order to promote his book titled “Agent of Evolution” about his friendship with Bill Hicks - published by Harper Collins.

Several of Kevin’s family members died as a result of alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceutical use. In 2003 Kevin began investigating the drug war in the United States and produced the documentary “American Drug War: The Last White Hope.” In his investigations, he discovered the United States government considers marijuana more dangerous than crack cocaine or crystal meth. Kevin sought to separate fact from fiction by traveling across the United States, documenting the “fallout” from the War on Drugs and seeking possible solutions and alternatives that have worked elsewhere. Kevin has toured the country, showing his film and lecturing at universities in hope of sparking a meaningful debate. “American Drug War” won best feature documentary at several film festivals from coast to coast and aired continuously on the Showtime network between 2008-2010. During this same time the film was also broadcasted on major networks in Canada, Australia, Poland, Lebanon and South Africa. Kevin recently returned from filming in Juarez Mexico for the follow up to “American Drug War" and is aiming for the sequel’s release later this year.

Kevin Booth’s body of work also include “How Weed Won the West" (a light hearted and humorous look into the California Cannabis culture) “Bill Hicks - Sane Man”, multiple music videos, feature length comedy concerts of Bill Hicks, Fear Factor’s Joe Rogan and groundbreaking comic Doug Stanhope. Kevin’s production of the Hick’s CD “Rant in E Minor” was recently awarded the 11th best comedy album of all time by Spin magazine competing against Bill Cosby, Chris Rock, Lenny Bruce, Rodney Dangerfield, Eddie Murphy, Sam Kinison, Woody Allen, George Carlin and Richard Pryor just to mention a few. Kevin’s audio productions “Rant in E Minor”, “Arizona Bay” and “Marble Head Johnson” all contain music written and performed by Kevin Booth and Bill Hick who first started playing music together in a high school punk-rock band named STRESS.

Today Kevin runs Sacred Cow Productions dba SCP Enterprises and self distributes through his own sites including SacredCow.com, AmericanDrugWar.com and Amazon. Several of his titles can be found distributed through Warner Brothers and Gravitas VOD that has now broken Booth’s work into the Latin market on both Netflix and ITUNES.

As previously announced, Cannabis Science has begun pre-production of its documentary, in which prohibition of marijuana, medicinal benefits of the plant, and international medical marijuana programs will be explored. Booth’s interests and demonstrated experience will be a true asset to Cannabis Science’s endeavors. The documentary will expose audience members to the subject of medical marijuana so that they may gain a better understanding of the research, science, and planning that goes into running Cannabis Science, one of the top marijuana research companies. The documentary will teach viewers about the medicinal benefits for a wide variety of conditions and show them that prohibition is unnecessary. This is clearly a topic for which Kevin Booth will provide great assistance, and Cannabis Science is excited to begin this project.

Source: MarketWatch.com

NEWS: Long Beach Police searching for suspects in shooting of medical marijuana patient

LONG BEACH -- Homicide detectives will be canvassing the Hellman neighborhood on Saturday in the search for three suspects wanted in connection with a brazen midday shooting that left a 32-year-old Long Beach man paralyzed.

The Oct. 4 shooting might have been the result of a botched robbery after the victim left a local medical marijuana dispensary, said Nancy Pratt, a Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman.

Though the victim is not a gang member, the shooter and the other suspects are believed to be in a gang or affiliated with a gang, police said.

The shooting occurred on Rose Avenue, just north of Seventh Street, at about 1:45 p.m. when the gunman got out of a small red car and opened fire on the victim, who was sitting in a blue car, police said.

A passenger in the victim's car was able to avoid being hit by gunfire when he bailed out of the victim's vehicle.

The victim, however, was struck in the upper body. Though he survived the shooting he was left paralyzed, Pratt said.

Long Beach Gang detectives have been investigating the shooting since last October and have exhausted all leads, prompting police to turn to the community for help, Pratt explained.

"They've run with everything they could, but they're kind of at a dead end now," Pratt said.

To help in the investigation, Homicide detectives and Police Explorers will canvass the neighborhood Friday afternoon, searching for possible witnesses and passing out fliers with descriptions of the suspects and their vehicle and a stock photo of a car similar to the car used in the crime.
The shooter is described as a male black, 25 to 29 years old. The driver of the suspects' vehicle was a female black, 19 to 21 years old. A third suspect who got into the suspects' vehicle as the victim walked out of the marijuana dispensary was described as a male black in his 20s, Pratt said.

"The descriptions are a little vague, but we're hoping that someone who was in the area at the time might have information that could aid in the investigation," Pratt said. "They might not know that they saw something significant or this could jog their memory and they might recall seeing the car or the suspects."
Anyone with information is urged to call the Gang Enforcement Detail at 562-570-7370.

Anonymous tips can be sent via text or e-mail at www.tipsoft.com.

Source: Long Beach Press-Telegram

NEWS: Medical Marijuana Laboratory BudGenius Announces Free Online Medication Menu for Dispensaries

BudGenius' new "MenuGenius" application educates patients and reduces operational costs for medical marijuana caregivers

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB)

BudGenius.com, an online medical marijuana laboratory system developed by BG Medical Technologies, Inc. (OTC:RIGH), announces "MenuGenius", a new online tool available to all cannabis caregivers. This application is offered to all cannabis professionals that signup for a free account on the BudGenius.com system. The online medicine menu displays statistics for both tested and untested variants of marijuana medicine, and is deployable to nearly any website at no additional charge. Medical marijuana directory websites can also take advantage of the tool, as it has been developed to integrate as an add-on module into several popular content management systems, offering native search capabilities for listed strains. Directory websites can also increase their revenue through an affiliate business model for medical cannabis testing, which comes integrated with the MenuGenius software.

BudGenius expects MenuGenius to largely replace its previously developed "badges" program, a system of deployable strain graphics for tested cannabis strains responsible for 20% of overall BudGenius.com site traffic. By introducing MenuGenius to all dispensaries nationwide this is expected to increase overall web traffic by 250% within six months, furthering brand awareness, and forming new relationships for future product releases. Ongoing increases in web traffic are planned to set a substantial foundation for BudGenius' advertising network, slated for release later this year.

Dispensaries will find the tool an appealing module to attract new patients, service current patients, and lower website development costs. Delivery services will also find the tool useful by connecting patients with their immediately available inventory. Caregivers are encouraged to deploy the menu nearly anywhere online including websites, forums, directories, and even email newsletters, all of which can be updated simultaneously in real-time.

"We are thrilled to be introducing the first easy-to-read online menu that displays important statistics while also showcasing the beauty of each cannabis strain," explains CEO, Angel Stanz. "We expect MenuGenius will encourage additional testing by medically conscious caregivers, while also supporting the cannabis industry through open information sharing."

A demonstration of MenuGenius is available at:
www.BudGenius.com/menu-genius.html

BudGenius launched an exclusive version of the menu earlier this year with strategic partner GreenbookPages.com , and celebrated with a widely distributed Los Angeles area billboard campaign. Caregivers immediately seeking a directory service that has integrated MenuGenius are invited to contact Greenbook Pages for their services.

MenuGenius will be made available on April 2nd for cannabis caregivers nationwide. Caregivers interested in participating immediately are encouraged to signup at www.BudGenius.com/signup.html for a beta trial account.

Source: SF Gate