School Teacher Bobbi Jo Grunert Accused of Selling Marijuana
Arizona Republic: “Police say a Glendale elementary school teacher and her husband are behind bars for participating in a conspiracy to sell marijuana.”
Cops in Graham County Search Medical Marijuan Patient’s Home & Find too Many Plants
Eastern Arizona Courier: “Officers got more than they bargained for Friday morning when they discovered an illegal medical marijuana grow during a domestic call in a remote area of Graham County. . . . Based on the deputies’ observations, a search warrant was granted for the residence. Inside, officers discovered a sophisticated grow operation with more than 60 plants in various stages of development – from seedlings to about 20 mature plants about five feet tall in two rooms. Another 11 plants that were recently harvested were located in a tool box on a trailer in the driveway.”
Two Prescott Businesses Raided & Four People Arrested for Alleged Marijuana Sales
The Daily Courier: “Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, Partners Against Narcotics Trafficking (PANT), in conjunction with numerous local and Phoenix-area law enforcement agencies, conducted a lengthy investigation that resulted in the service of search warrants on 10 locations in Yavapai and Maricopa counties on Sept. 12 and 13. . . . agents have served search warrants on two Prescott businesses, Green Cross . . . and Hippie Village Emporium . . . . Christopher Martin and Andrea Lyn Martin, 33, both of Prescott, and Todd James, 40, and Christopher Goodrich, 39, both of Phoenix, have been charged in the alleged operation”
Tucson’s Shop 420 Raided & 10 are Arrested
KVOA: “Wednesday’s bust of five medical marijuana businesses in Southern Arizona that resulted in the seizure of about 14 pounds of marijuana, 25 pounds of marijuana candy, and the arrests of 10 people. In August, the Counter Narcotics Alliance, a multi-jurisdictional drug task force, received information about marijuana sales from a business called ‘Shop 420’,”
Montana Marijuana Activist Sentenced in Dispensary Bust
The Missoulian: Tom Daubert was sentenced for his role in a medical marijuana dispensary called Montana Cannibis located in Helena. He was started the dispensary with two friends. At the time of the raid, however, he had cut ties with the business.
Police Raid Oregon Medical Marijuana Dispensary
KTVB.com: “Police shut down and raided the 45th Parallel medical marijuana dispensary in Ontario Tuesday, alleging illegal activity on behalf of its members.”
ADHS Poised to Pull Medical-marijuana Cards of Violators
Arizona Republic: “The Arizona Department of Health Services could revoke more than a dozen medical-marijuana cards, saying patients and caregivers have either violated the state’s new medical-marijuana law since receiving a card or lied about their histories when applying for one.”
Medical-marijuana Fees to Aid Arizona Program
Arizona Republic: “Arizona health officials will dip into a pot of money generated by medical-marijuana fees with the goal to improve the state’s controversial new program. The Arizona Department of Health Services will soon spend more than $1.2 million to weed out physicians who improperly recommend marijuana to patients, help train marijuana-dispensary staff, hire private accountants or auditors to examine dispensary financial statements, and hire private attorneys to assist the department with legal issues arising from the program.”
Medical Pot Returning to Underground
Los Angeles Times: “Under increased legal pressure, ‘Ricky’ closed his dispensaries and resumed selling marijuana — but only to those with a doctor’s recommendation. Ricky rants about a federal and local crackdown on medical marijuana that closed various dispensaries that he ran and forced him back to the streets, where he began as a teenager in the 1970s. (Except then, he was a dealer. Now he is a ‘mobile dispensary.’)”
Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan Says States Should be Able to Legalize Medical Marijuana
Arizona Republic: “Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan told a Colorado television station that he thinks the federal government shouldn’t interfere with states that have legalized medical marijuana. . . . he said that states should have the right to choose whether to legalize the drug for medical purposes.”
Eugene, Oregon, Pot Center Raided
The Register-Guard: “The owner of a medical cannabis ‘resource center’ in Eugene faces felony charges after police raided his business and two residential properties he owns while investigating allegations of illegal pot dealing and money laundering. Detectives with Lane County’s Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team served a search warrant on Thursday night at Kannabosm, a business at 401 W. 11th Ave. that provides marijuana to people who are allowed to use the drug under the state’s voter-approved medical marijuana law. Kannabosm opened in June 2011.”
Police Arrest Two Women During Marijuana Dispensary Raid
Woodland Hills Patch: “Two women were arrested Tuesday afternoon during a raid on medical marijuana dispensary in Woodland Hills” California.
Problems for Marijuana Patients Cropping Up
azfamily.com: “When Arizona voters legalized medical marijuana in 2010 the intent was to help patients, but now some medical marijuana patients say parts of the law are doing more harm than good. First, there’s the portion of the law that requires the Arizona Department of Health to keep a database of everyone who has a medical marijuana card.”
Attorney Ryan Hurley’s Article about Fear as a Political Weapon
Medical marijuana advocate Ryan Hurley wrote an article about the recent actions taken by Arizona’s Attorney General and Maricopa County Attorney. The article says:
“I can sum it up in one word: FEAR. When Mr. Montgomery held his press conference he said he would vigorously work towards the arrest and prosecution of anybody helping patients acquire their medicine. He even went so far as to say patients are NOT protected from arrest and prosecution! These words were intimidating, and completely without compassion for suffering patients, but most importantly there were not entirely true.”
Nevada Supreme Court to Rule on Medical Marijuana Law
Las Vegas Sun: “A ruling that Nevada’s medical marijuana law is unconstitutional has put the issue before the state Supreme Court and has lawmakers again pushing to clarify how patients can legally obtain the drug. After several medical marijuana dispensaries set up shop around Las Vegas in recent years, a task force from the Metro Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office began working with federal authorities on a series of high-profile raids. . . . Most of the medical marijuana dispensaries in Las Vegas have been shut down, he said. They were acting as for-profit entities and required a donation to belong”
The two Nevada cases involve the Jolly Green Meds dispensary and the Sin City Co-op dispensary.
Henderson Brothers Plead Guilty to Federal Marijuana Charges
Las Vegas Sun: “Two Henderson brothers accused of running a medical marijuana dispensary in Las Vegas and growing marijuana in a Henderson office complex pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiring to distribute more than 100 marijuana plants, federal authorities announced.”
Arizona Court of Appeals Case may Consider if Federal Law Preempts Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Act
The Yuma Sun has a story about Valerie Okun, a California medical marijuana patient who was stopped for possessing marijuana in Arizona and cited for violating Arizona’s drug law. Valerie’s case was dismissed, but Yuma County Sheriff Ralph Ogden refused to return her marijuana. Valerie sued the Sheriff to get the pot and an Arizona court commissioner ordered the Sheriff to return the weed. According to Howard Fischer, the reporter who wrote the story, the case has been appealed to the Arizona Court of Appeals. If so the case could be the first Arizona appellate court case to rule on whether federal law preempts Arizona’s medical marijuana laws.
Study Finds Cannabis Smoking ‘Permanently Lowers IQ’
The Telegraph: “Teenagers who regularly smoke cannabis are putting themselves at risk of permanently damaging their intelligence, according to a landmark study. Researchers found persistent users of the drug, who started smoking it at school, had lower IQ scores as adults. They were also significantly more likely to have attention and memory problems in later life, than their peers who abstained. Furthermore, those who started as teenagers and used it heavily, but quit as adults, did not regain their full mental powers, found academics at King’s College London and Duke University”
Medical Pot Tests Boss-worker Relations
Arizona Republic: “Across Arizona, employers and workers are settling into an uneasy relationship with medical marijuana. While a 2010 voter-approved law forbids employers from discriminating against medical-marijuana patients, the law provides no protection for employees who are impaired at work. And a 2011 law gave some businesses additional authority to penalize workers if they are believed to be impaired at work. Still, employers across Arizona are grappling with how to handle workers who are now legally permitted to use marijuana.”
California Supreme Court Throws Out Medical Marijuana Dispensary Ban Case As Moot
American for Safe Access: “The California Supreme Court dismissed review yesterday [August 23, 2012] of an important appellate court ruling affecting medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state. Specifically, the High Court threw out the controversial decision in Pack v. City of Long Beach, which previously held that federal law preempted some forms of dispensary regulations. The Pack decision has been used by several municipalities, including Los Angeles and Long Beach, to suspend or ban outright the distribution of medical marijuana. However, yesterday’s dismissal of the Pack decision throws into question the viability of such bans.
For more about this case read “Attorney For Patients In Pack Vs. Long Beach Speaks Out” and “After High Court punts, pot regs back on table: Supreme Court decision vacates controversial ruling.”
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery cited Pack vs. Superior Court (aka Pack vs. City of Long Beach) in his Motion for Summary Judgement in White Mountain Health Center, Inc., vs County of Maricopa. He cited the case to support his claim that Arizona’s medical marijuana law is preempted by federal law, but the case no longer stands for that legal conclusion.
23 Seattle Marijuana Dispensaries Get DEA Notification Letters
Toke of the Town: “The Obama Administration’s medical marijuana crackdown came to Seattle in a big way today. On Thursday, the Drug Enforcement Administration sent notification letters to the operators and property owners of 23 ‘marijuana store fronts,’ as they called them, ‘located in school zones.’ The letters informed the owner/operators that such enterprises ‘operating as ‘dispensaries’ ‘ within 1,000 feet of a school, playground or ‘other prohibited area, could result in the seizure and forfeiture of assets, as well as criminal prosecution.’ The seizure could include the property where the dispensary operates, any money received from the business, and potential criminal prosecution”
Denver Bans Medical Marijuana Advertising Outdoors
Denver Post: “The Denver City Council on Monday gave final approval to a ban of all outdoor medical-marijuana advertising in the city. No billboards. No posters or bus benches or windshield leaflets. No sign-twirlers. In a vote that lasted less than a minute, the council approved the citywide ban unanimously.”
Prosecutors Challenge Med Pot Law
AZ Daily Sun: “The state’s top prosecutor asked a judge Thursday to void a key provision in Arizona’s 2-year-old medical marijuana law. In legal papers filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, Attorney General Tom Horne argued that voters are legally powerless to authorize anyone to sell marijuana as long as it remains illegal under federal law. The real goal is to get a ruling declaring the state and federal laws in conflict. Horne said that will then allow him to direct the state Department of Health Services to halt the current process of licensing up to 126 dispensaries to sell the drugs even before the first one has opened its doors.”
Long Beach PD Working with DEA Bust Medical Marijuana Dispensary Arrest Owner
LBreport.com: “Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell announced the August 22 arrest of Jon Storms, an ELB resident who police allege operated Long Beach Quality Caregivers, a medical marijuana dispensary at 1150 San Antonio Rd., on LBPD arresting charges of sale of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sale. . . . ‘we estimate the gross sales from this dispensary to be between one and two million dollars a year’.”
Arizona Attorney General & Maricopa County Attorney Sue to Stop Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Industry
The following is the text of a press release issued by Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne on August 23, 2012:
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne are each filing separate motions for summary judgment in Superior Court today seeking to resolve conflicting issues raised by the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA). Today’s filings are the latest response to a lawsuit filed by White Mountain Health Center against Maricopa County and the Arizona Department of Health Services (DHS) and ask the Court to determine whether the AMMA is preempted by federal law prohibiting the possession, distribution and cultivation of marijuana.
“It is the County’s position that the AMMA is in direct violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act and therefore cannot be implemented without exposing County employees to the risk of federal prosecution,” Montgomery said. “The AMMA also runs afoul of the Supremacy Clause enshrined in the U.S. Constitution by our Founding Fathers, which preempts state law that conflicts with federal law,” he added.
Attorney General Tom Horne stated: “I was recently asked by 13 out of the 15 County Attorneys in Arizona to issue an Opinion on whether the AMMA is pre-empted by federal law. The two most recent cases, from California and Oregon, clearly hold that states may not authorize what federal law prohibits. These rulings stem from Article Six of the U.S. Constitution, which, in case of conflict gives supremacy to federal law. Therefore, state authorization for growing or selling marijuana is prohibited under federal law and we are therefore asking the court to dismiss the Plaintiff’s complaint.”
On June 20, 2012 White Mountain Health Center sued Maricopa County and DHS after the County, on the advice of the County Attorney, declined to issue the necessary zoning permits that would allow the Center to operate a non-profit medical marijuana dispensary and cultivation site in Sun City. The case is being heard by Judge Michael D. Gordon.
Related stories: “AG files court papers to ultimately halt licensing of Arizona medical marijuana dispensaries” and “Tom Horne and Bill Montgomery Make Their Move to Nix Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Law.”
Allan Sobol: Arizona’s Medical-Pot Martyr?
The Phoenix New Times wrote an in depth story on August 12, 2012, about Arizona’s most prominent medical marijuana advocate, Allan Sobol. Very interesting!
DOJ Sues More Landlords in California to Take Their Property
L.A. Now: “Federal officials filed suit Tuesday to seize Anaheim properties that house six marijuana dispensaries as part of an ongoing crackdown on the commercial pot business. Among the targets of the suits, according to the U.S. attorney’s office, is a building at 503 North Anaheim Blvd. housing two marijuana shops — AAA Wellness Center and Anaheim Patients Assn. . . . The suits also target other pot shops that previously received cease-and-desist letters from the city -– Premium Organic Treatments PCA, Mid-County Patients Assn., and DKG Group Corp. . . . and Releaf Health & Wellness at 2601 W. Ball Road. . . . Federal authorities also sent warning letters in connection with more than 60 other pot operations in Anaheim and La Habra. federal authorities said they have filed 16 asset forfeiture suits since October in California’s seven-county Central District.”
Attention Arizona Landlords Who Have Prospective Medical Marijuana Dispensaries as Tenants
Despite statements from legal scholars such as Arizona Republic columnist EJ Montini, certain Arizona attorneys and proponents of Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Act that everything is groovy for prospective Arizona medical marijuana dispensaries, the land forfeiture lawsuits filed by the Department of Justice would seem to be a clear warning to every landlord and land owner that if your land is used grow, store or sell medical marijuana the U.S. government
MAY TAKE YOUR LAND!!!
Indictment: Denver Marijuana Dispensary Part of Illegal Pot Ring
Denver Post: “The Colorado Attorney General’s office has obtained a 59-count indictment against 11 people on allegations of running a multi-state marijuana-distribution ring that included black-market sales from a medical-marijuana dispensary. In the indictment, released Monday, the Attorney General’s office accuses the 11 of violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act. The indictment accuses the group of moving hundreds of pounds of marijuana through the U.S. mail and on the ground to states from Arizona to Florida to Massachusetts.”
Arizona Attorney General’s Radio Interview on Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Act
Bill Buckmaster interviewed Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne on August 21, 2012, about his legal opinion that the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act is partially preempted by federal law. The AG said his office will intervene in a Maricopa County Superior Court case and seek a court ruling that confirms his nonbinding legal opinion.
Debate: Should Owners of Arizona Medical Marijuana Dispensaries be Prosecuted?
ABC15.com: “Each Sunday, ABC15.com debuts an Arizona issue – along with two opposing sides on the topic. . . . This week we’re tackling the debate on whether or not winners of the Arizona Department of Health Services Medical Marijuana Lottery should be prosecuted. Sunny Singh, Chief Operations Officer & Owner of weGrow Phoenix, says winners should not be prosecuted because it would continue to delay a potentially lucrative program that’s already been stalled. Bill Montgomery, Maricopa County Attorney, says while his office has never advocated prosecuting winners, dispensary operators could face prosecution for several reasons.”