Tars
10-17-2010, 08:28 AM
From FireDogLake (https://firedoglake.com/):
The War is Over, You Guys. You Lost. (https://tbogg.firedoglake.com/2010/10/16/daves-not-here/)
By: TBogg (https://tbogg.firedoglake.com/author/19/) Sunday October 17
Excerpts:
"I guess local law enforcement is moonlighting (https://lastblogonearth.com/2010/10/14/law-enforcement-reportedly-posed-as-marijuana-collective-operators-in-hillcrest/) trying to pick up a few extra bucks:
A medical marijuana patient and a CityBeat advertising account executive both say that law-enforcement officers in plainclothes were posing as the “new management” of a Hillcrest pot collective today.
The collective member, who asked not to be identified, said he visited the Helping Hands Wellness Collective in Hillcrest at about 11 a.m. this morning and found the collective closed. It was supposed to open at 10 a.m., so he called the collective’s number on his cell; a voice answered and he was let in. Once inside, he said several men wearing the collectives’ T-shirts introduced themselves as the “new management.” He was allowed into the dispensing area and was given hash as a free gift, a common gimmick to attract and retain collective members.
When he mentioned that he also grew marijuana, he said the men identified themselves as law-enforcement and detained him in a back room."
[...]
“They kept asking how much medicine do I buy, how am I affording it, where am I getting it from, what cooperatives I’m a member of ,where my garden is,” the person tells CityBeat. “They just basically, in a easy sentence, they raped me for everything I had and never told me I had a right to remain silent. They made me think if I didn’t talk they would arrest me on the spot.”
The officers photocopied his medical marijuana card and physician’s recommendation and took his photograph, he says. He was allowed to leave after an hour and a half of questioning.
“They told me today’s my lucky day and I get to go home and to say ‘no’ to drugs,” he says.
At about 2 p.m., CityBeat rep Jason Noble visited the collective as part of a routine call to see whether the organization was interested in advertising. He says the door was initially locked, but he could hear someone fumbling with the locks before letting him in. There were about five men inside, including one with long goatee and wearing a T-shirt.
“He said they were under new management and had just opened the doors today,” Noble says. “Then I introduced myself and that’s when he pulled out his badge.”
A couple of things about this.
https://static1.firedoglake.com/29/files/2010/10/just-say-now.jpg (https://justsaynow.firedoglake.com/)Local medicinal marijuana “collectives” are popping up in town like, well, weeds. There are two of them within walking distance from my office and one not even two blocks away from my home and I’m pretty sure there are at least three more less than a mile away. As with alcohol, I don’t partake (I’m high on life, Jesus and Shakira’s ass) and even if marijuana is legalized (which looks entirely possible (https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2010/sep/30/prop_19_hits_52_poll_california)) I still most likely won’t. But this is going happen, if not now, very soon. So it is at best unseemly, and at worst, stupid to be wasting limited law enforcement resources (https://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/oct/06/deep-cuts-police-department-forecast-without-new-i/) harassing perfectly legal marijuana dispensaries.
The war is over, you guys. You lost. And raiding medical marijuana dispensaries now is like kicking a field goal with two minutes left and you’re down by 30. It’s sad. It’s pathetic. And it’s a waste of time.
The War is Over, You Guys. You Lost. (https://tbogg.firedoglake.com/2010/10/16/daves-not-here/)
By: TBogg (https://tbogg.firedoglake.com/author/19/) Sunday October 17
Excerpts:
"I guess local law enforcement is moonlighting (https://lastblogonearth.com/2010/10/14/law-enforcement-reportedly-posed-as-marijuana-collective-operators-in-hillcrest/) trying to pick up a few extra bucks:
A medical marijuana patient and a CityBeat advertising account executive both say that law-enforcement officers in plainclothes were posing as the “new management” of a Hillcrest pot collective today.
The collective member, who asked not to be identified, said he visited the Helping Hands Wellness Collective in Hillcrest at about 11 a.m. this morning and found the collective closed. It was supposed to open at 10 a.m., so he called the collective’s number on his cell; a voice answered and he was let in. Once inside, he said several men wearing the collectives’ T-shirts introduced themselves as the “new management.” He was allowed into the dispensing area and was given hash as a free gift, a common gimmick to attract and retain collective members.
When he mentioned that he also grew marijuana, he said the men identified themselves as law-enforcement and detained him in a back room."
[...]
“They kept asking how much medicine do I buy, how am I affording it, where am I getting it from, what cooperatives I’m a member of ,where my garden is,” the person tells CityBeat. “They just basically, in a easy sentence, they raped me for everything I had and never told me I had a right to remain silent. They made me think if I didn’t talk they would arrest me on the spot.”
The officers photocopied his medical marijuana card and physician’s recommendation and took his photograph, he says. He was allowed to leave after an hour and a half of questioning.
“They told me today’s my lucky day and I get to go home and to say ‘no’ to drugs,” he says.
At about 2 p.m., CityBeat rep Jason Noble visited the collective as part of a routine call to see whether the organization was interested in advertising. He says the door was initially locked, but he could hear someone fumbling with the locks before letting him in. There were about five men inside, including one with long goatee and wearing a T-shirt.
“He said they were under new management and had just opened the doors today,” Noble says. “Then I introduced myself and that’s when he pulled out his badge.”
A couple of things about this.
https://static1.firedoglake.com/29/files/2010/10/just-say-now.jpg (https://justsaynow.firedoglake.com/)Local medicinal marijuana “collectives” are popping up in town like, well, weeds. There are two of them within walking distance from my office and one not even two blocks away from my home and I’m pretty sure there are at least three more less than a mile away. As with alcohol, I don’t partake (I’m high on life, Jesus and Shakira’s ass) and even if marijuana is legalized (which looks entirely possible (https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2010/sep/30/prop_19_hits_52_poll_california)) I still most likely won’t. But this is going happen, if not now, very soon. So it is at best unseemly, and at worst, stupid to be wasting limited law enforcement resources (https://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/oct/06/deep-cuts-police-department-forecast-without-new-i/) harassing perfectly legal marijuana dispensaries.
The war is over, you guys. You lost. And raiding medical marijuana dispensaries now is like kicking a field goal with two minutes left and you’re down by 30. It’s sad. It’s pathetic. And it’s a waste of time.