NEWS: Jason Lockhart's Pot Shops Targeted As Part Of Southern California Raids That Involve Meth, Cocaine, Tax Evasion Allegations

Pot shops get raided so often in Southern California you'd think medical marijuana was still illegal.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department cast a wide net Wednesday, arresting 11 people and hitting 16 spots that included five dispensaries, two "processing sites," a growing operations and even a sailboat.

The busts happened in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties. One man, Jason Lockhart, appeared to own at least a few of the dispensaries, but it wasn't clear if he was arrested, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

L.A. Sheriff's Capt. Ralph Ornelas told the paper that the "dispensaries were being run outside the" boundaries of the law and that an alleged failure to pay sales taxes was one of the issues on the table.

State tax and L.A. District Attorney's investigators joined in on the fun, according to the Associated Press.

Authorities told reporters that even more sinister acts were allegedly at-hand, however: The raids involved meth-making and cocaine sales as well as $350,000 worth pot, hash oil and edible marijuana treats (candy bars and popcorn), sheriff's officials said.

One expert told the Press-Enterprise, meanwhile, that pot shops have been heading to the Inland Empire in recent months as a result of tough crackdowns in places like L.A. proper.

"We know that a number of these collectives open out here in Riverside and San Bernardino counties by people who were shut down in LA and Orange counties," Lanny Swerdlow, head of the Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project said.

It looks like the I.E. is medical marijuana's new frontier. But it won't be for long if voters pass full marijuana legalization act (Prop. 19) in November. If that happens the whole state could be wide open again.

Source: LA Weekly

NEWS: Court fight over Long Beach medical marijuana law growing

LONG BEACH - The court battle over the city's medical marijuana law is growing.

Since Aug. 30, four marijuana collectives and two disabled men who use the drug for health conditions have sued the city challenging its medical marijuana law, which restricts the number and locations of collectives.

Last month, SJ Non-Profit Collective, Care Mutual Cooperative, Starlight Center and Long Beach Patients Center each filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court.

That brings to five the number of collectives that have sued the city.

Alternative Herbal Health Collective sued the city Aug. 16. A judge has denied its requests for a temporary stay of the law.

In addition to the collectives, two disabled individuals, Ryan Pack and Anthony Gayle, who have used marijuana for medical purposes, on Aug. 30 jointly sued the city.

SJ Non-Profit Collective is asking a judge to declare the law unconstitutional and bar the city from shutting down the collective, said the organization's attorney Christopher Glew.

"I think that the entire ordinance is unconstitutional," he said. City officials "are trying to regulate an area that is preempted by state law."

Long Beach City Attorney Bob Shannon said Monday that the city is within its rights to regulate medical marijuana.

"The city's stance is that what we're doing is legal," Shannon said.

Glew also is representing Starlight and Care Mutual, which each is demanding that the city return a $14,742 nonrefundable application fee required as part of the city's permit approval process.

Starlight and Care Mutual each paid the fee and submitted an application that city officials reviewed and wrongly declared incomplete, Glew said.

City officials "didn't even put them through the vetting process," and yet the city kept the money, Glew said.

The city says the fees were needed to cover expenses incurred during the permit approval process.

SJ Non-Profit Collective did not apply to take part in the permit approval process, Glew said.

In their lawsuit, Pack and Gayle are asking a court to invalidate the city's ordinance, which they argue conflicts with federal and state law.

An attorney representing Long Beach Patients Center could not immediately be reached for comment.

Long Beach Deputy City Attorney Cristyl Meyers noted that the courts so far have rejected the collectives' requests that they be allowed to continue operating until their cases are resolved.

That trend makes her optimistic that the city will prevail, she added.

Additional hearings are scheduled for Wednesday in two of the lawsuits, while other proceedings are scheduled for early next year.

Source: Contra Costa Times

NEWS: Papers find recession relief in marijuana ads

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- When it hit the streets last week, the new issue of ReLeaf, a supplement to The Colorado Springs Independent devoted to medical marijuana, landed with a satisfying thud.

Forty-eight pages in all, it was stuffed with advertisements for businesses with names like Mile High Mike's, Happy Buddah.

A full-page ad in ReLeaf costs about $1,100, making the publication a cash cow for The Independent, which has used its bounty from marijuana ads this year to hire a new reporter and promote three staff members to full time. The paper has also added a column called CannaBiz; its author is the new marijuana beat writer.

What would happen in communities now allowing medical marijuana had been a subject of much hand-wringing. But few predicted this: that it would be a boon for local newspapers looking to cope with the recession and the flight of advertising.

But in states like Colorado, California and Montana where use of the drug for health purposes is legal, newspapers have rushed to woo marijuana providers. Many of these enterprises are flush with cash and eager to get the word out about their businesses.

The growth of the medical marijuana business has some worried about the ultimate buzz kill: that the bubble is about to burst.

In Montana the Legislature is expected to take up proposals to more strictly regulate medical marijuana.

At The Missoula Independent, where medical marijuana ads now make up about 10 percent of revenue, there is concern that the spigot may soon tighten.

"There's no question that they've been good for our business," said Matt Gibson, The Independent's publisher. "And we're worried about 2011, if the state revises the statute, which it appears is all but certain."

Source: San Jose Mercury News

NEWS: CBS radio reporter, wife arrested on suspicion of growing marijuana

(Tribune Newspapers) -- The Washington Post reports that CBS Radio News correspondent Howard Arenstein and his wife were arrested Saturday on drug charges after police said they searched their Washington home and found marijuana plants growing in the yard.

The Post says that police arrested Arenstein and his wife, Orly Azoulay, and charged them with possession with intent to distribute marijuana. Azoulay is the Washington correspondent for Yedioth Ahronoth, the largest and most widely read newspaper in Israel.

Police executed a search warrant at the home Saturday, according to the Post, after a tip, and found 11 fully mature marijuana plants and six two-ounce bags of marijuana inside the home. Each plant is considered by authorities to equal one pound of marijuana.

Source: Los Angeles Times

NEWS: Update: 20 more arrests in Round Valley marijuana raids

Ongoing marijuana raids in the Round Valley area netted 11,148 plants and at least 20 more arrests Wednesday, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office reported, including seven people from Seattle and eight from the state of New York.

The MCSO announced the arrests Thursday, on the heels of 17 arrests and the seizure of more than 3,000 plants Tuesday in Round Valley, a remote community nestled among forested mountains and checkered with land belonging to members of seven tribes in the area.

Sheriff Tom Allman said in addition to the 20 people arrested and booked on suspicion of cultivating and selling marijuana Wednesday, "many" more were arrested and released with citations to appear in court.

The raids began in the Covelo area Tuesday, when the MCSO helped state and federal agents serve five warrants at sites throughout Round Valley, some on tribal land, according to Capt. Kurt Smallcomb of the MCSO.

The state Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement is leading the raids, which Smallcomb said continued Thursday and could continue today.

"Our focus is not on medical (marijuana), but there's no need for profiteering," he said.
Authorities served seven warrants Tuesday and continued "open-field raids," throughout the valley, seizing six guns, cash totaling $12,485 and processed marijuana estimated as high as 2,000 pounds.

Smallcomb said open-field searches don't require search warrants because they are on land with no curtilage - common living area.

At a home in the 28500 block of Eel River Road, authorities served a search warrant and seized 101 marijuana plants, about a pound of processed marijuana and $9,985 in cash.

The eight people arrested at the site include: Gordon Wittrock, 49, of Covelo, and Seattle residents Michael Daravong, 28, Sage Framanu, 36, Ritha Van, 29, Phy Run Sun, 26, Manassah Seang, 53, and Tok Kim, 29, and transient Sarhovda Lain, 24.

At a home in the 28900 block of Eel River Road, authorities served a search warrant and seized 86 marijuana plants, "hundreds of pounds" of processed marijuana, according to Smallcomb, and five rifles, and arrested Kelseyville resident Ethan Smith, 20, and Ukiah resident Jose Corona Pulido, 24.

At a home in the 29000 block of Eel River Road, authorities served a search warrant and seized 68 marijuana plants between 12 feet and 15 feet tall and more than 106 pounds of processed marijuana.

Authorities arrested 10 people at the site, including David Luff, 30, of Los Angeles; Sebastian Rogers, 31, of Costa Mesa; Joshua Abbate, 36, of Middletown, NY; Reynaldo Rivera, 35, of Deer Park, NY; Carl Weyant, 26, of Deer Park, NY; Hans Haaland, 27, of Stanfordville, NY; Noel Goluering, 26, of Milan, NY; Joseph Cort, 27, of Hudson, NY; Michael Vincent, 24, of Pine Plains, NY; and Bethany Bonneville, 22, of Pine Plains, NY.

Meanwhile, October court dates are set for arraignments, preliminary hearings and plea entries for at least 12 of the 17 people arrested Tuesday in illegal marijuana garden raids throughout Round Valley.

Round Valley Tribal Police Chief Carlos Rabano said at least one member of a Round Valley tribe had hundreds of marijuana plants growing on his property in plain sight.

Illicit gardens in tribal members' backyards is an increasingly common trend he's seen since the warring tribal and Hispanic communities in the valley started cooperating during the last two years.

"Typically, Hispanic workers get the gardens started for them (tribal members), and they'll often want half of the garden, or they'll give the member a car," Rabano said.

His investigation points to the Mexican mafia, which he believes pays or trades with the members of Round Valley's tribes for the use of their yards for growing marijuana.

Rabano told of a recent incident where sheriff's deputies investigating an unrelated report were shot at when they inadvertently "got too close to a member's garden."

His office tries to stay out of the issue, he said, because of conflict between the Round Valley Tribal Council, which passed an ordinance allowing members to grow 33 plants per person, and his own position, shared by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, that marijuana cultivation is illegal on all federal land.

"This is a problem for the local sheriff's office because they run into guards," he said. "The Mexican mafia threatens the workers' families back in Mexico if they don't keep the gardens safe. That's why they're shooting back at deputies."

Rabano said many Round Valley residents are speculating about why authorities are focusing on Covelo, but added that the marijuana harvest season is young for law enforcement, and he's aware of plans to raid gardens in other Mendocino County communities.

"It's not just Covelo; it's everywhere in Mendocino County," Smallcomb said.

Source: The Ukiah Daily Journal

OP-ED: Marijuana legalization offers far more than meets the eye

Legally getting high is not the only reason to support marijuana legalization.

True, this may be the sole incentive for some voters to support Proposition 19, which will be featured on November's ballot. (See theusdvista.com for news coverage of this law).If enacted, the bill will legalize the use and cultivation of cannabis (more commonly known as marijuana) in California. However, if I were a California resident, I would cast my vote for Proposition 19 based on reasons beyond recreation.

Let's be honest with each other. Marijuana is a part of California culture. Even the text of Prop 19 acknowledges that "cannabis consumption is simply a fact of life for a large percentage of Americans." According to surveys cited by Prop 19, more than 15 million Americans have used cannabis in the past month. Some may be concerned that this high number may increase if marijuana is legalized. However, according to a recent study by the National Research Council, in the 11 states where marijuana is decriminalized, one step below full legalization, usage has not increased. In short, the people that want to use marijuana probably already do.

Now, some may throw up their arms and say, "There is a war against drugs in this country! Since marijuana is a harmful drug, it should be illegal!"

If this were the argument that drove our country's drug policy, then alcohol should still be illegal, as it was during the Prohibition. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 23,199 alcohol-induced deaths in 2007. There has never been a marijuana-induced death (both of these figures leave out drug/alcohol related accidents).

Alcoholism is a major problem in this country, and we shouldn't forget about it just because it has been a legalized drug for the past century. Similarly, there will be people who abuse marijuana under this law, but the majority will not. Under Prop 19, marijuana use will be limited to those over 21 and it will be a punishable crime for them to smoke in front of minors or in public.

Also, it is no secret that California is in major trouble financially. The state's budget deficit is more than $24 billion. Taxing marijuana could generate $1.4 billion in tax revenue, according to the Los Angeles Times, more than many of the other proposed budget cuts, including closing state parks and removing medical insurance coverage for impoverished children. This is money our state needs in order to continue providing such wonderful programs to its residents.

The state would also save a tremendous amount of money by ignoring marijuana-related crimes. According to the Los Angeles Times, there were 61,000 arrests in California due to marijuana last year. This would also allow law enforcements to tackle some of our state's more troubling issues, like illegal immigration and gangs. The government would also be taking the power over marijuana away from the gangs, which would be a massive hit against their influence.

According to the text of Prop 19, illegal marijuana transactions generate $15 billion each year. The government will have the opportunity to stop this trend and create a safe access environment.

Prop 19 would also provide increased legal protection for medical marijuana patients adhering to Prop 215 as it would not undercut or override the patients' rights, as some have said. In fact, Prop 19 directly references Prop 215 in multiple areas of the bill and notes that it would not undercut those provisions.

Legalizing marijuana would also allow it to be studied for scientific research, which could amount to medical breakthroughs in the near future. New jobs and (legal) entrepreneurial opportunities may be on the horizon too, depending on how the new regulation system is implemented.

Marijuana is not a big scary monster living under California's bed. It is a substance that has been proven to be less toxic than alcohol, medically beneficial and has the potential to help save governmental programs that have benefited citizens here for years. Even if you don't think you'll choose to use cannabis once it is legal, consider the positive implications for our state. There are many more than may meet the eye.

Source: The Vista

NEWS: Upland medical marijuana co-ops file with state Supreme Court

UPLAND - Medical marijuana cooperatives fighting the city to stay open are looking to the state Supreme Court for help.

An attorney representing three cooperatives in the city has filed a petition for review and an application for a stay with the state Supreme Court in San Francisco.

The city shut down the cooperatives because its zoning ordinance does not allow such facilities to operate.

G3 Holistic, Upland Herbal Patient Cooperative and Old World Solutions were shut down Aug. 13 after a preliminary injunction was awarded to the city by Judge Barry Plotkin at West Valley Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga.

"The Court of Appeal declined summarily so now they're taking another bite at the apple, so to speak, seeking the Supreme Court opinion," Upland City Attorney William Curley said. "We're feeling pretty confident the court would uphold Judge Plotkin and his position, but certainly we'll see. It's certainly their right to seek the high level of review."

A request similar to the one sent to the state Supreme Court has been rejected by the Court of Appeal in Riverside.

"We have no ruling and we're hoping the Supreme Court will get involved," said Roger Jon Diamond, the attorney representing the three cooperatives. "It's difficult to get the attention of the Supreme Court because they're busy with a lot of cases, and they ordinarily don't like to take cases until there's been a few decisions by a Court of Appeal."

Diamond filed a petition for a stay with the Court of Appeal in Riverside, but it was denied, which led to the Supreme Court filing.

"The Court of Appeal, without giving any reason and with no explanation, denied our petition," Diamond said. "That order from the Court of Appeal filed Sept. 9 is what we're challenging in the Supreme Court."

Plotkin granted the injunction to the city after an opinion was made by an appeals court in Santa Ana regarding a similar case in Anaheim.

The case involved an Anaheim-based cooperative - Qualified Patients Association - that had sued the city of Anaheim in 2007. The city had attempted to implement an ordinance banning all dispensaries.

A dispensary is a for-profit entity that provides medical marijuana to qualified patients. A cooperative is a nonprofit that provides medical marijuana in a shop-like setting.

The opinion, published Aug. 18, was expected to address whether cities have the right to ban cooperatives, but the court ordered that part back to trial court for more hearings.

However, the court determined that California's Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which decriminalized medical marijuana, trumps federal law when cities attempt to ban dispensaries based on federal law. Federal law considers growing and using marijuana to be illegal. A footnote in the ruling went against an argument used by Anaheim attorneys.

The city of Upland relied on the same cases to argue for a preliminary injunction on the cooperatives.

"All of those that are representing cities or are on our side of the fence, so to speak, don't see that the Qualified Patients' case did anything to alter the status quo," Curley said. "Those in favor of the marijuana vending read into the footnotes and see a whole bunch of things that they cling to to say they're right."

Officials from the cooperatives announced they may present settlement terms to the city. Curley said he has not seen the terms and could not comment on them.

But, he said, the city does not intend to stop enforcing its ordinance.

Cooperatives "are prohibited. There's no middle ground, Curley said. "So if we have a proposal that says `Let us be open every other day,' there is no middle ground other than `you're not allowed.' I'm not sure what the proposal is, but, if and when we get it, we'll fairly look at it."

Officials from the cooperatives are also gathering signatures for a petition that could bring the issue up for vote in Upland. They will need about 3,500 signatures from registered voters in the city to get a measure on a ballot that would ask whether cooperatives can operate in the city under certain guidelines.

"The city is spending a lot of money fighting," Diamond said. "I don't know what their hang-up is. I mean, it seems to me that it is a crime not to allow someone undergoing chemotherapy whose nauseous, whose doctor recommends marijuana - it's a crime for the city to say you can't do it here in Upland."

Source: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

NEWS: Four San Diego lawyers focus on medical marijuana law

The specialty keeps them busy as legal issues arise over what's allowed

Jeffrey Lake is a veteran lawyer whose law practice focused on real estate, mortgage lending and construction defect cases.

Lance Rogers worked on a variety of criminal cases before finding a niche in one area. Michael Cindrich used to work for the District Attorney’s Office before quitting to start his own practice. And after graduating from law school in 2008, Kimberly Simms set up her new law practice determined to focus on one emerging area of law.

What do these lawyers have in common?

They have become part of an informal medical marijuana bar in San Diego — lawyers who work almost exclusively on civil and criminal cases dealing with the often contentious and complex issues surrounding the legal use of cannabis as medicine.

They do it in a county that has a reputation for taking one of the hardest lines against medical marijuana use in the state. District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has aggressively pursued cases against members of cooperative or collectives, contending they were illegally engaged in drug sales and not in compliance with the state law that voters approved in 1996 to allow the use of pot with a doctor’s prescription.

The city of San Diego’s code enforcement officers also have been methodically going to medical marijuana outlets and citing them for zoning violations, at the same time that city leaders are fashioning new regulations for the pot dispensaries, Lake said.

He represents more than 70 collectives and cooperatives in the county, assisting them with the civil side of the law: how to legally set up such entities, deal with zoning and leasing issues, and help clients who are trying to navigate different rules from city to city.

Some cities have a moratorium on opening medical marijuana outlets. Other governments, including the county, restrict them to certain areas, Lake said.

He also is active in the policy issues surrounding medical marijuana.

“It’s legally challenging, because this is a new area of the law,” he said. “There is not very much case law on a lot of these issues yet, and it’s an emerging field.”

That sentiment of working in largely uncharted legal territory was echoed by the other attorneys. Kimberly Simms graduated from law school in San Diego in 2008 and now works exclusively on medical marijuana cases. She said she was drawn to the field because she sees medical marijuana use as a civil-rights issue and was intrigued by the combination of law and politics.

“The political push and pull over medical marijuana, and how that interacts with our laws, is fascinating,” Simms said.

While use of medical marijuana is allowed under California law, it is prohibited under federal law. That conflict is just one of several areas of uncertainty and confusion among patients, caregivers and cooperatives that the lawyers have to grapple with.

Cindrich said the first thing he tells clients in his practice is that marijuana is illegal under federal law. But then he warns them that dealing with cities and the county won’t be easy either.

“My other advice is that the city of San Diego is not currently receptive to new dispensaries opening up, so this most likely will be a headache for you,” he said. “But if you feel strongly about this, and you are in it for the rights reasons — to help patients, and not just to make money — this could be for you.”

Cindrich worked for the District Attorney’s Office in San Diego for a year or so when he graduated from law school in 2006. He did not work on any medical marijuana cases, but when he decided to start his own practice he became intrigued by the issue.

Now he represents patients, caregivers and members of cooperatives who are being targeted by his former employer, who he says is making it unnecessarily difficult for patients.

“The DA’s Office here is taking an extremely narrow view of the medical marijuana law,” he said. “Attorneys in other parts of the state are aware of that and realize how difficult the legal environment is in San Diego for medical marijuana.”

The District Attorney’s Office does not have a special unit or designated prosecutor devoted to medical marijuana cases, said Deputy District Attorney Steve Walter, the assistant chief of the narcotics section. Cases are assigned to a variety of prosecutors.

As for taking a narrow view of the law, Walter said the office pursues cases only when they have determined a law has been broken. “It’s fair to say,” he added, ”our office’s belief is, if you are selling marijuana, that is illegal.”

The medical marijuana law allows possession and cultivation under certain circumstances for qualified patients. State guidelines say collectives or cooperatives should be nonprofit and can’t sell to nonmembers.

Last week, a medical marijuana prosecution began that is being closely watched in San Diego Superior Court. Jovan Jackson, who won an acquittal from a jury last year on charges he was illegally selling the drug from the Answerdam cooperative in Kearny Mesa, is again on trial on charges stemming from a second raid on the cooperative.

Rogers represented Jackson in his first case and is doing so again. His task may be made more difficult because Judge Howard Shore ruled that Jackson could not raise the medical marijuana defense.

Three months ago, Rogers decided to leave the law firm he was working at and open a practice devoted only to medical marijuana cases like Jackson’s. With debate over marijuana use heating up, he said it was important that people who use pot for medicine have lawyers who know the nuances and intricacies of the law.

Source: San Diego Union-Tribune