Former Dispensary Sues Vallejo over Pot Raid

Times-Herald:  “The owners of a former Vallejo medical marijuana dispensary raided by police last year are suing the city for alleged abuse of power, excessive force and retaliation.  Plaintiffs Daniel and Rhonda Chadwick operated Homegrown Holistic Cooperative, Inc. at 215 Tennessee St., which shut down after being raided by police on Aug. 10, 2012. It was one of at least six dispensaries raided by police last year; however, all of the cases fell apart because, lawyers argued, police didn’t understand California law.

By |2013-10-23T07:10:29-07:00October 19th, 2013|California News, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on Former Dispensary Sues Vallejo over Pot Raid

Murrieta, CA, Bans Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

The Press Enterprise:  “Murrieta officials decided Tuesday, Sept. 17, to keep intact an eight-year ban on medical marijuana dispensaries everywhere in the city, while moving the prohibition to a different section of city law that attorneys say can withstand a legal challenge.

By |2017-10-07T09:56:01-07:00September 18th, 2013|California News, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on Murrieta, CA, Bans Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Vallejo Police Return Pot to California Dispensary Owner 18 Months after Raid

KTVU.com:  “A Vallejo man who once ran a successful marijuana dispensary had pot seized during a 2012 investigation returned to him on Thursday, but the move comes too late to save his business.  Matt Shotwell was the founder of the Greenwell Collective, a profitable Vallejo medical marijuana dispensary with 9,000 clients before the police investigation shut down the business 18 months ago.  The case against him has since collapsed.”

By |2015-04-06T18:57:48-07:00August 31st, 2013|California News, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on Vallejo Police Return Pot to California Dispensary Owner 18 Months after Raid

Feds File Forfeiture Lawsuit Against Owner of Berkley’s Largest Medical Marijuana Dispensary

The following is the contents of a press release issued by Americans for Safe Access on May 8, 2013.  Note to Owners of real estate who lease land to licensed Arizona medical  marijuana dispensaries:  Are you paying attention?

One of California’s oldest medical marijuana dispensaries, Berkeley Patients Group (BPG), was served with a lawsuit Friday in an attempt to seize the property in which it operates and to ultimately shut the facility down. In the forfeiture complaint, which is similar to one filed against Oakland’s Harborside Health Center last July, U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag makes no mention of local or state law violations. Several elected officials have come out in staunch opposition to the Justice Department’s legal action and at least four Berkeley City Council members will be speaking alongside medical marijuana advocates at a press conference scheduled for Wednesday at Noon.

BPG has been operating in Berkeley since 1999 and, according to a resolution that City Council member Darryl Moore filed Monday, “BPG has served as a national model of the not-for-profit, services-based medical cannabis dispensary.” The resolution goes on to state that BPG has “contributed significantly to our local community, providing good jobs and paying millions of dollars in taxes. They have improved the lives and assisted the end-of-life transitions of thousands of patients; been significant donors to dozens of other organizations in our city; [and] shaped local, state and national policies around medical cannabis.” The resolution is scheduled to be heard by full City Council on May 21st.BPG Chief Operations Officer Sean Luse defended his dispensary as a necessary service for the patients of Berkeley. “Berkeley Patients Group intends to vigorously defend the rights of its patients to be able to obtain medical cannabis from a responsible, city-licensed dispensary,” said Luse. In addition to several city officials who will be speaking later today at the press conference, additional elected officials have also made written statements in support of BPG, including Congressmember Barbara Lee, State Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, and Board of Equalization member Betty Yee.

Despite pledges by the Obama Administration to not use Justice Department funds to circumvent state medical marijuana laws, and public proclamations by the President and Attorney General Eric Holder that the Justice Department is only targeting those in violation of state law, this action and other recent legal actions strongly indicate otherwise. After receiving a previous letter from U.S. Attorney Haag in November 2011, BPG reluctantly and at great expense moved its operation in order to stay more than 1,000 feet from a school even though there is no such requirement in local or state law.

“The Obama Administration’s ongoing war against patients is despicable and has to stop,” said Steph Sherer, Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the country’s leading medical marijuana advocacy group. Sherer will also be speaking at today’s press conference. “This lawsuit is not about profiteering or violating state law; it’s a mean, vindictive move aimed at shutting down one of the oldest and well-respected dispensaries in the country.”

The Justice Department lawsuit comes as Congress is deliberating on a number of medical marijuana bills. One bill in particular, H.R. 689, the “States’ Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act,” authored by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and introduced in February, would reclassify marijuana for medical use and allow states to establish production and distribution laws without interference by the federal government. However, even without the passage of H.R. 689, the Obama Administration can still exercise restraint in medical marijuana states, something it has so far refused to do.

Further information:

  • DOJ asset forfeiture complaint against BPG: http://safeaccessnow.org/downloads/BPG_Forfeiture_Complaint.pdf
  • Draft resolution filed by Berkeley Council member Darryl Moore: http://safeaccessnow.org/downloads/Berkeley_Resolution_BPG.pdf
  • Statement from Congressmember Barbara Lee: http://safeaccessnow.org/downloads/Lee_Statement_BPG.pdf
  • Statement from State Assemblymember Tom Ammiano: http://safeaccessnow.org/downloads/Ammiano_Statement_BPG.pdf
  • Statement from Board of Equalization member Betty Yee: http://safeaccessnow.org/downloads/Yee_Statement_BPG.pdf – See more at: http://americansforsafeaccess.org/doj-files-forfeiture-lawsuit-against-one-of-californias-oldest-medical-marijuana-dispensaries#sthash.SvXOWL8r.dpuf
By |2015-04-06T18:56:52-07:00May 10th, 2013|California News, Federal Dispensary Attacks, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on Feds File Forfeiture Lawsuit Against Owner of Berkley’s Largest Medical Marijuana Dispensary

San Bernardino Raids Marijuana Dispensaries, Aims to Shut Down All

The Sun:  “Years of levying but not collecting fines on medical marijuana dispensaries and fielding impatient calls from neighbors upset the shops stay open are rapidly ending now that the California Supreme Court says cities may ban them, San Bernardino officials say.  The message was taken seriously by at least 18 of the 33 dispensaries in the city, who have stopped operating since they were ordered to close Tuesday – the day after the court’s ruling

By |2017-10-07T09:56:01-07:00May 10th, 2013|California News, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on San Bernardino Raids Marijuana Dispensaries, Aims to Shut Down All

California Supreme Court Upholds City’s Rights to Use Zoning to Ban Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Long Beach Post:  “The California Supreme Court ruled Monday morning that local governments have the right to ban medical marijuana dispensary storefronts, a decision that for now upholds the nearly 200 bans in effect statewide . . . . In a unanimous decision on the case City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center, Inc., et al., the state’s high court said that cities and counties have the right to restrict dispensaries, rejecting multiple lower-court rulings that sided with marijuana advocates”

By |2013-05-07T06:30:49-07:00May 7th, 2013|California News, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on California Supreme Court Upholds City’s Rights to Use Zoning to Ban Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Public Opinion Favors Pot Legalization but Federal Raids Continue across California

Kitsap Sun:  “More than 60 percent of those surveyed also said that the federal government should not enforce federal laws against marijuana in states where it’s legal for medicinal or recreational use. Almost 80 percent of respondents said they believe that marijuana has valuable medicinal uses as well. . . . Possession and distribution of medical marijuana is still a federal offense, regardless of whether state laws allow the use or sale of marijuana for recreational or medicinal purposes. Because marijuana is federally classified as a Schedule I drug, dispensaries throughout the country are vulnerable to raids and government action. . . . Raids are also continuing statewide. Last week, Drug Enforcement Agency agents raided One on One Patient Association, a downtown San Diego dispensary.”

By |2015-04-06T18:56:51-07:00May 2nd, 2013|California News, Federal Dispensary Attacks, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on Public Opinion Favors Pot Legalization but Federal Raids Continue across California

Authorities Raid San Bernardino Marijuana Dispensaries

The Sun:  “Accompanied by police, fire and code enforcement, City Attorney’s Office officials raided three medical marijuana dispensaries Wednesday, serving warrants and demanding that they shut down allegedly illegal activities.  No arrests were made, but officials had a message for The Trio Holistic Center and Berdo Medical Center at 1455 W. Highland Ave. and T.H.C. First Time Patients “FTP” 4G 8th’s at 1208 W. Highland Ave.”

By |2017-10-07T09:56:01-07:00April 25th, 2013|California News, Federal Dispensary Attacks, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on Authorities Raid San Bernardino Marijuana Dispensaries

Feds Have Closed Almost All of the 525+ Marijuana Businesses in Central California

The following is the text of an April 18, 2013, press release by the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California:

In the latest of a series of federal enforcement actions against the commercial marijuana industry in California, federal authorities today moved against 63 illegal marijuana stores in the City of Santa Ana.

In federal court this morning, prosecutors filed three asset forfeiture lawsuits against properties in Santa Ana where a total of seven marijuana stores are currently operating. Authorities also executed federal search warrants at two of the stores involved in the asset forfeiture actions. Additionally, prosecutors sent warning letters to people associated with 56 other stores not involved in the forfeiture actions. The federal actions involve all known marijuana stores in the City of Santa Ana.

The federal actions in Santa Ana were done in cooperation with the Santa Ana Police Department and the Santa Ana City Attorney’s Office.

The three civil asset forfeiture complaints filed this morning in United States District Court target three properties in Santa Ana where seven marijuana stores are currently operating. The civil lawsuits state: “Under federal law, the distribution of marijuana (a Schedule I controlled substance under Title 21) is prohibited except under very limited circumstances not applicable here. The government is informed and believes that at all times relevant to this complaint, the operation of the [marijuana stores] on the defendant property was not (and is not) permitted under California law.”

The forfeiture lawsuits allege that the owners of the properties knowingly allowed commercial marijuana stores to operate. The buildings named in the asset forfeiture lawsuits currently house:

GLC (or the Green Love Collective, currently in a suite that formerly housed a store called Old Remedies) and The Dispensary Store, which are operating in a building at 1638 East 17th Street, a property owned by chiropractor Mark Burcaw, and previously have been the subject of administrative citations issued by the city;

SoCal Compassion, Club Meds and Well Greenz, which are located in a building at 1651 East Edinger, another building owned by Burcaw, and are illegal marijuana operations that prompted Santa Ana to file a civil lawsuit last year seeking injunctive relief against Burcaw and the three marijuana stores; and

J Pacific Life (which is located in a suite that formerly housed marijuana stores called Saddleback Meds and The Natural Alternative) and Healing OC, which operate out 1665 East 4th Street and have been the subject of numerous warnings and administrative citations from the City of Santa Ana.

In conjunction with the filing of the asset forfeiture complaints, the United States Attorney’s Office today mailed out letters to the property owners and operators of 56 marijuana stores that are either currently operating or were recently closed in Santa Ana. The warning letters give the operators and landlords 14 days to come into compliance with federal law or risk potential civil or criminal actions.

The Drug Enforcement Administration executed two federal search warrants this morning with the assistance of the Santa Ana Police Department at J Pacific Life and Healing OC.

Today’s enforcement actions in Santa Ana follow similar actions over the past 18 months across the seven-county Central District of California. Starting in October 2011, prosecutors began filing asset forfeiture lawsuits and sending letters to marijuana operations in selected areas in the Central District of California (see, for example, www.justice.gov/usao/cac/Pressroom/2012/129.html).

With the lawsuits filed this morning, the United States Attorney’s Office has filed a total of 30 asset forfeiture complaints against properties housing illegal marijuana operations in the district. Eighteen of those actions have been resolved with the closure of the marijuana stores and consent decrees. In some cases, consent decrees required property owners to disgorge rent payments made by a marijuana store operator, and in all cases the consent decrees required the property owners to agree, among other things, that they would no longer rent to people associated with illegal marijuana operations or the property would be subject to an immediate forfeiture to the government.

Including today’s efforts in Santa Ana, federal enforcement actions – asset forfeiture lawsuits, warning letters and related activity – have now targeted more than 525 illegal marijuana businesses in the Central District of California. The majority of those businesses previously targeted are now closed, are the subject of eviction proceedings by landlords, or have been the subject of additional federal enforcement actions.

In October 2011, the four United States Attorneys in California announced the coordinated enforcement actions targeting illegal marijuana cultivation and trafficking (see: www.justice.gov/usao/cac/Pressroom/2011/144a.html).

The United States Attorney’s Office is working in Santa Ana with the Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS – Criminal Investigation, the Santa Ana Police Department and the Santa Ana City Attorney’s Office.

By |2017-02-12T07:39:59-07:00April 24th, 2013|California News, Federal Dispensary Attacks, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on Feds Have Closed Almost All of the 525+ Marijuana Businesses in Central California

San Diego Area Pot Dispensary, Growing Sites Raided

U-T San Diego:  “One day after the San Diego City Council took up the issue of taxing marijuana, narcotics agents raided one of the last remaining medical pot dispensaries in downtown San Diego Tuesday morning.  The regional Narcotics Task Force also ran a parallel operation to seize pot plants at homes and businesses in North County. About 1,000 plants were seized, according to spokeswoman Amy Roderick of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.  Agents headed out about 10 a.m. and served at least 10 search warrants downtown and in Del Mar, Escondido and Oceanside . . . . the DEA’s goal is to shut down what he called ‘marijuana clubs’ operating in violation of federal law.”

By |2013-04-24T07:18:17-07:00April 24th, 2013|California News, Federal Dispensary Attacks, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on San Diego Area Pot Dispensary, Growing Sites Raided

4 Los Angeles Dispensaries Raided

WeHoNews:  “Four dispensaries were raided, the La Brea Compassionate Caregivers in Los Angeles and Marina Caregivers in Marina del Rey and Zen Healing at 8464 Santa Monica Blvd. and Alternative Herbal Health Services, at 7828 Santa Monica Blvd.”

A press release issued by the Beverly Hills Police Department said:

“[the raid was the] culmination of four-year investigation into an organized criminal organization involving large scale marijuana distribution, not only throughout the Los Angeles area, but throughout the United States.  This criminal enterprise hired known gang members as enforcers. This organization was involved in the operation of multiple retail marijuana dispensaries generating massive profits, repeatedly showing their willingness to use violence and intimidation to expand their operations and dissuade competition.”

For more on this story read “WeHo pot raid, owner’s bust stemmed from feud.”

By |2015-04-06T18:56:51-07:00April 23rd, 2013|California News, Federal Dispensary Attacks, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on 4 Los Angeles Dispensaries Raided

Dispensary Operators’ Trial Date Set

The Union Democrat: “Four people arrested in a May 2011 raid on a medical marijuana dispensary in East Sonora will stand trial May 1, following an evidence hearing in Tuolumne County Superior Court on Wednesday.  Jana Marie Evans, Nancy June Smith, Sara Herrin and Dannyjo Geller Herrin, all of Tuolumne, are accused of illegally selling marijuana through Today’s Health Collective, Inc.”

By |2013-04-22T06:22:09-07:00April 22nd, 2013|California News, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on Dispensary Operators’ Trial Date Set

After the raid: First Oaksterdam, then legal battles for Harborside Health Center

Oakland North:  “He might direct the largest medical marijuana dispensary in the country, but Steve DeAngelo isn’t scared of the government’s attempts to shut it down.  ‘The federal government has thrown everything they had at us and we met them and we pushed back,’ DeAngelo said, referring to Harborside Health Center, where he serves as founder and executive director.It’s a drug war machine that’s bound for extinction’.”

By |2013-04-19T08:17:57-07:00April 19th, 2013|California News, Federal Dispensary Attacks, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on After the raid: First Oaksterdam, then legal battles for Harborside Health Center

Charges Against Vallejo, California, Weed Country Star Dismissed

Times-Herald:  “Year-old criminal charges were dismissed Thursday against Matt Shotwell, a one-time operator of one of Vallejo’s largest medical marijuana dispensaries.  Since February 2012, when the Vallejo Police Department’s series of raids on medical marijuana dispensaries launched with Shotwell’s arrest at Greenwell Cooperative dispensary, no operators have been convicted.

By |2013-03-22T06:45:34-07:00March 22nd, 2013|California News, Marijuana Crimes|Comments Off on Charges Against Vallejo, California, Weed Country Star Dismissed

DEA Using a $37 Pot Sale to Seize a $1.5 Million Anaheim Building

OC Weekly:  “Despite allowing the Kush Expo to operate annually since 2010, the city banned medical-marijuana dispensaries in 2007 and has extended the prohibition every year since. Last year, the city also called in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to help crack down on pot clubs. In August, the DEA sent threatening letters to dozens of landlords and filed three asset-forfeiture lawsuits, including one against the owner of a $1.5 million building on Ball Road.”

By |2019-06-14T08:26:17-07:00March 17th, 2013|California News, Federal Dispensary Attacks, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on DEA Using a $37 Pot Sale to Seize a $1.5 Million Anaheim Building

Company Hopes to Bring 30 Marijuana Dispensing Machines to San Diego

ABC 10 News:  “They dispense snacks and movies, but vending machines in San Diego may soon be kicking out a different product — marijuana.  Those medical marijuana dispensaries shut down during a crackdown in 2011 could soon reappear in San Diego, along with some high-tech help.  ‘It’s armor-coated. Second, it’s 800 pounds,’ said Bruce Bedrick, CEO of Medbox.”

By |2015-04-06T18:56:51-07:00March 11th, 2013|California News, Medbox, Stories & Articles, Video|Comments Off on Company Hopes to Bring 30 Marijuana Dispensing Machines to San Diego

Feds to Target Pot Delivery Services

NBC 7 San Diego:  “FBI agents in San Diego are shifting focus from closing down medical marijuana dispensaries to cracking down on marijuana delivery services. NBC 7’s Tony Shin has this exclusive report.”

By |2013-03-03T07:01:24-07:00March 3rd, 2013|California News, Federal Dispensary Attacks, Stories & Articles, Video|Comments Off on Feds to Target Pot Delivery Services

World’s Largest Pot Shop Will Remain Open Despite Court Loss

International Business Times:  “On Tuesday [February 19, 2013], U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James dismissed a lawsuit filed by the City of Oakland against Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag that sought to halt the federal government’s closure of the shop. Haag had said in July that the store, which was featured on the Discovery Channel television series ‘Weed Wars,’ has become too large, making it a candidate for the Obama administration’s marijuana dispensary crackdown that began 2010.  ‘We are, of course, disappointed in today’s ruling,’ Harborside executive director Steve DeAngelo said in a statement.”

By |2015-04-06T18:56:50-07:00March 1st, 2013|California News, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on World’s Largest Pot Shop Will Remain Open Despite Court Loss

Court Says U.S. can Proceed with Plans to Close Oakland Pot Shop

Los Angeles Times:  “Judge throws out lawsuit by Oakland that challenged as illegal the federal attempts to shutter the medical marijuana dispensary, which is the nation’s largest. . . . In filing the suit last October, Oakland became the first city to take on federal enforcement actions that have led to the closure of hundreds of dispensaries in recent years.  Attorney Cedric Chao, representing Oakland, had argued that the city has broad interests in ensuring Harborside Health Center remains open, as its closure would compel many of the dispensary’s 108,000 patients to turn to the illegal market, triggering a public health and safety crisis.”

By |2013-02-18T07:08:54-07:00February 18th, 2013|California News, Federal Dispensary Attacks, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on Court Says U.S. can Proceed with Plans to Close Oakland Pot Shop

DEA Using Sale of $37 of Pot as Basis to Take $1.5 Million Commercial Building in Anaheim

OC Weekly:  “Last year, the city [Anaheim, CA] also called in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to help crack down on pot clubs. In August, the DEA sent threatening letters to dozens of landlords and filed three asset-forfeiture lawsuits, including one against the owner of a $1.5 million building on Ball Road. . . . the single sale [$37 for 4.2 net grams of pot] —and a sale it was, since most pot goes for $50 or $60 per eighth of an ounce—was enough evidence for the DEA to argue that the otherwise-harmless computer engineer and dentist should lose their retirement-investment property. On Aug. 20, 2012, the agency filed its lawsuit.”

By |2019-06-14T08:26:16-07:00February 9th, 2013|California News, Federal Dispensary Attacks, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on DEA Using Sale of $37 of Pot as Basis to Take $1.5 Million Commercial Building in Anaheim

Feds Raid San Bernadino Medical Marijuana Dispensary Chain

The Daily Chronic:  “Federal agents and  local authorities raided a chain of medical marijuana dispensaries and a private residence Wednesday. The Drug Enforcement Administration served search warrants simultaneously at all three locations of Kush Concepts in San Bernardino,”

By |2013-02-08T06:30:55-07:00February 8th, 2013|California News, Federal Dispensary Attacks, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on Feds Raid San Bernadino Medical Marijuana Dispensary Chain

Shrinking U.S. Labor Unions See Relief in Marijuana Industry

Reuters:  “The medical marijuana shop next to a tattoo parlor on a busy street in Los Angeles looks much like hundreds of other pot dispensaries that dot the city.  Except for one thing: On the glass door – under a green cross signaling that cannabis can be bought there for medical purposes – is a sticker for the United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW), the nation’s largest retail union.  The dispensary, the Venice Beach Care Center, is one of three medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles that are staffed by dues-paying union members. Another 49 in the city plan to enter into labor agreements with the UFCW this year, the union says.”

By |2013-02-06T07:49:27-07:00February 6th, 2013|California News, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on Shrinking U.S. Labor Unions See Relief in Marijuana Industry

Oakland Sheriff Raids Medical Marijuana Dispensary

The Oakland Press:  “A 31-year old Keego Harbor man was jailed after members of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Enforcement Team (NET) raided Holly’s sole medical marijuana dispensary, Well Greens, on Thursday afternoon, seizing marijuana, cash, guns and other drug paraphernalia in two separate raids. The suspect is believed to be the owner of Well Greens.”

By |2019-06-14T08:26:16-07:00January 26th, 2013|California News, Marijuana Crimes, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on Oakland Sheriff Raids Medical Marijuana Dispensary

Harborside Wins 1st Round in Landlords’ Eviction Lawsuit

Huffington Post:  “A federal magistrate on Monday ruled that the Harborside Health Center located in Oakland and San Jose, Calif., can continue to operate, despite a bid by federal prosecutors to shut it down. Harborside is widely considered the world’s largest medical cannabis dispensary. . . . Harborside’s landlords have called on the court to order an immediate halt of cannabis sales at their properties in Oakland and San Jose on the grounds that the activity is illegal under federal law. Meanwhile, the city of Oakland, which last year received more than $1 million in tax revenue from Harborside, has filed suit against the federal prosecutors to challenge the forfeiture action.”

By |2019-06-14T08:26:13-07:00January 16th, 2013|California News, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on Harborside Wins 1st Round in Landlords’ Eviction Lawsuit

Feds Sentence Medical Marijuana Dispensary Owner Aaron Sandusky to 10 Years

The Daily Chronic:  “The operator of three state-compliant California medical marijuana dispensaries was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Monday [January 7, 2013] for running what federal prosecutors claimed was an illegal drug business that only pretended to be legitimate under the state’s medical marijuana law.  Aaron Sandusky, 43, of Rancho Cucamonga, was sentenced for conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.  Sandusky is the former president of G3 Holistics Inc.”

By |2013-01-10T05:28:13-07:00January 10th, 2013|California News, Federal Dispensary Attacks, Marijuana Crimes, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on Feds Sentence Medical Marijuana Dispensary Owner Aaron Sandusky to 10 Years

California Court of Appeals Upholds Medical Marijuana Dispensary Ban Again

The Press-Enterprise:  “Riverside will resume its efforts to shut down the medical marijuana dispensaries still operating within its boundaries now that a state appellate court order has upheld the city’s ban on such storefronts.  About 10 to 12 medical marijuana outlets remain open, City Attorney Greg Priamos said Monday, Dec. 3, as he commented on a Fourth District Court of Appeal order issued Nov. 29. Priamos said 45 dispensaries in the city have closed since a ban was put in place nearly a year ago.  The order from the court’s Division Two, based in Riverside, overturns an August ruling by Superior Court Judge John Vineyard. He said a local government cannot ban medical marijuana stores if they are operating legally under the state laws that authorize them. While Vineyard’s ruling addressed only one store, it affected city’s efforts to complete its ban on all of them.”

httpvh://youtu.be/Ug6WVFg9_30

By |2017-10-07T09:56:00-07:00December 31st, 2012|California News, Stories & Articles, Video|Comments Off on California Court of Appeals Upholds Medical Marijuana Dispensary Ban Again

California Superior Court Judge Says Landlord can’t Evict Harborside Health Center for Selling Medical Marijuana

SF Gate:  “An Oakland medical marijuana dispensary that bills itself as the nation’s largest has won the first round in its fight to stay open amid a federal crackdown.  A California judge ruled last week that Harborside Health Center‘s landlord can’t evict the pot shop even though the U.S. attorney for Northern California is threatening to seize her property. . . . A different California judge last month sided with the owner of the Concourse Business Center in San Jose, which also had sought an eviction order.”

Read also “Harborside Health Center Handed Major Victory In Court (PHOTOS).”

By |2015-04-06T18:56:49-07:00December 5th, 2012|California News, Federal Dispensary Attacks, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on California Superior Court Judge Says Landlord can’t Evict Harborside Health Center for Selling Medical Marijuana

Marijuana Dispensary Closed By Feds Re-Opens – Is the Crackdown Over?

SF Weekly:  “It’s hard to understand the federal government’s plan on marijuana. First, President Barack Obama helped encouraged a boom in cultivation and in dispensing when he said states were in charge and he wasn’t going to get involved. Then his Justice Department shut down hundreds of dispensaries across the state — including nine in San Francisco, a third of the city’s total — in a crackdown that began Oct. 7, 2011.  Over the summer, the feds took aim at the biggest fish, Oakland’s Harborside Health Center (who will meet the feds in court Dec. 13). Then something funny happened: The crackdown stopped. Cannabis dispensaries opened up in San Francisco without issue. One just opened in downtown, steps from Market Street. The feds did nothing. So now, one of the nine shut down by federal pressure has simply unlocked the door, flicked on the lights, and opened for business again. Is the crackdown over, or with small amounts of marijuana legalized for all adults in Colorado and Washington, do the feds simply have better things to do?

By |2015-04-06T18:53:11-07:00November 27th, 2012|California News, Federal Dispensary Attacks, Stories & Articles|Comments Off on Marijuana Dispensary Closed By Feds Re-Opens – Is the Crackdown Over?
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