cannabisnews.com: Cannabis Club Raided





Cannabis Club Raided
Posted by CN Staff on March 23, 2005 at 11:54:57 PT
By Rosanna Mah, The Independent Staff Writer
Source: Los Angeles Independent
Calif. -- Medical marijuana activists have denounced a raid on a Los Angeles cannabis clinic where police arrested two workers and seized 200 pounds of packaged marijuana as well as $180,000 in cash.Police said that they entered the United Medical Caregivers Clinic on Tuesday, March 15, at around 3 p.m. after receiving a resident’s complaint about people smoking marijuana joints along Wilshire Boulevard and Muirfield Avenue, not far from the location of the clinic.
According to investigators, police obtained a search warrant and confiscated large amounts of packaged marijuana and currency after discovering that the cannabis club had no legal permit or license to sell the drug.Two clinic staff members were arrested on felony charges of possession of marijuana for sale and released on a $20,000 bail per person the next day.“At this given time of our investigation, the clinic was operating an illegal business, engaging in the illegal sale of marijuana,” said Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Eric Davis of the Wilshire Division, who is handling the case.“If we see a crime being committed, we can’t turn around and walk away from it.”Citing the case as an ongoing investigation, Davis declined to comment on whether others, such as clinic owner Scott Fiel might face similar felony drug charges.But supporters of medical marijuana laws have defended the integrity of the clinic and its operators and denounced the raid as a form of police harassment.“There is nothing that condones this behavior,” said Kris Hermes, legal director of Americans for Safe Access, an Oakland-based group that advocates medical marijuana use. “It is not acceptable for state or local law enforcement to go in and raid dispensaries, let alone arrest its operators and seize their property.”“According to Fiel, the cannabis clinic, located on 4520 Wilshire Blvd., serves around 15,000 people living with cancer, HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses.In a Monday phone interview, Councilman Martin Ludlow said he did not know a police raid had taken place and needed to learn more details of the incident.“This is the first I am hearing of this,” said Ludlow, who oversees the 10th District. “I haven’t made up my mind as to what I am going to do now, but I would like to get a briefing from Wilshire law enforcement and look at the issues they have raised.”Fiel, who was in Northern California at the time of the raid, flew down to Los Angeles the following day and bailed out his two employees.Since its closure, the clinic has been operating at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Rossmore Avenue for three months after its relocation from West Hollywood to Los Angeles in early January.State law allows the distribution and sale of marijuana for medical use since the passage of Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, where California voters overwhelming approved the use of the drug for medical use.However, clinic employees said their attempts at explaining to police about their right to sell medical marijuana fell on deaf ears.Two days after the police raid, visitors were surprised to see an empty waiting room which is usually filled to capacity.“I cannot understand it at all. Who in California wouldn’t know about Prop. 215?” said Michael, a patient who declined to provide his last name for fear of police harassment.He said he was distressed by the temporary closure of the clinic which has provided him with marijuana as a painkiller ever since he was involved in car accident several years ago.“It is our medicine,” he said.Some patients picked up copies of fliers on information about the state’s medical marijuana laws, with one flier asking patients to contact city officials such as Mayor James Hahn and City Councilmen Antonio Villaraigosa and Martin Ludlow about the raid.Fiel and other medical marijuana activists say they are hopeful that drug charges against the two staffers will be dropped.Activists added that cities, such as West Hollywood, that are drafting regulations for cannabis clubs, are taking steps in the right direction to protect them from future drug enforcement raids.“We have nothing to hide,” said Fiel, who also runs a cannabis club in Ukiah, Calif. “Regulations are good.”Hilary McQuie, spokesperson for Americans for Safe Access, said the recent LAPD raid was an example of how “the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.”“The police said they were getting them on marijuana sales for not having the right license or permit, but county and cities need to first set up regulations because there are no obvious categories for these dispensaries to operate,” McQuie said. “There is no reason to arrest them for not having a type of permit that doesn’t exist.”Source: Los Angeles Independent (CA)Author: Rosanna Mah, The Independent Staff WriterPublished: March 23, 2005Copyright: 2005 Los Angeles Independent Newspaper GroupContact: editor laindependent.comWebsite: http://www.laindependent.com/American's For Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccessnow.org/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #30 posted by FoM on March 29, 2005 at 11:58:51 PT
danimalman
You're very welcome. What happens in California will be important to all of us no matter where we live in the U.S. As medicinal cannabis becomes more acceptable in the eyes of the general public what happens will be a guide to us all. When it's good we can follow. When it doesn't work out so well we might try another way. Some state has to be the one out front and California is it as far as medical marijuana issues goes in my opinion. Good Luck to you and to all of us.
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Comment #29 posted by danimalman on March 29, 2005 at 11:52:49 PT:
Thank you too
FoM, for all of the many articles you have posted here regarding the dispensaries issue.
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Comment #28 posted by FoM on March 29, 2005 at 10:53:51 PT
danimalman 
Thank you! I appreciate your comment on the article.
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Comment #27 posted by danimalman on March 29, 2005 at 10:43:09 PT:
Late post - back to the article
Folks, there is nothing in Prop 215 or SB 420 that addresses the issues of distribution or selling. They only deal with qualified patients and caregivers possessing or growing.So when Davis the cop says, “At this given time of our investigation, the clinic was operating an illegal business, engaging in the illegal sale of marijuana,” he is closer to the legal reality than the article's writer when she writes, "State law allows the distribution and sale of marijuana for medical use since the passage of Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, where California voters overwhelming approved the use of the drug for medical use."The writer's statement about "distribution and sale" is completely wrong legally yet, fortunately for us, illustrates where many Californians are in the political battle.I agree the raid was about the money and would be surprised to see charges filed. I fear this may become the tactic of those local law enforcement agencies that are hostile to Prop 215. Dispensaries would only be able to open where local governments are sympathetic.
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Comment #26 posted by Hope on March 23, 2005 at 23:04:54 PT
Taylor...comment 24
I was seething with anger after he attacked her, too. I don't have a clue what he meant by his hateful remarks. But they were extremely uncalled for, as far as I could see.Our guys were so good though...that I was stomping the floor with both feet with joy at how well they were making their points.
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Comment #25 posted by Hope on March 23, 2005 at 23:01:13 PT
Taylor...comment 22
That's the guy that sounded so exceptionally mean spirited. It's thick in his voice.Gosh...our guys sound so good. They need to go on the road and rid this nation of prohibition. They are just great...and such an antidote to the prohibiitionist's poison.They're saying more testimony Friday week. Let's don't forget to listen in.
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Comment #24 posted by Taylor121 on March 23, 2005 at 22:34:41 PT
Last bit of it
The last 40 min or so were very positive for our side. Numerous conerned Alaskans called in and they had their facts ready. Good quotations to go on the record, that's for sure, along with debunking the ONDCP. I hated how they insulted the one lawyer that was for the public defenders association or something. She had an amazing testimony, and the Senator waits until she is away from the mic to talk trash to her. Jeez, I wanted to hit that guy really hard. Sorry FOM, it's this type of trash that has us in the spot we are in. Prohibitionist lies and deciet is what fuels my passion for reform.I got a bad feeling about some of those Senators though. That one especially was very outspoken like he was proud to support increasing penalties so drastically.If you are from Alaska, I strongly recommend you make as many people aware of this issue as possible and email/phone the Senate committee along with your elected officials that represent you.
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Comment #23 posted by afterburner on March 23, 2005 at 22:18:11 PT
It's Called Amending the Constitution, Frankie Boy
RE Comment #8 posted by Taylor121 "Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski and others are hoping that the state legislature will find a way to overrule the courts." Try it and see how long you stay in power.“The police said they were getting them on marijuana sales for not having the right license or permit, but county and cities need to first set up regulations because there are no obvious categories for these dispensaries to operate,” McQuie said. “There is no reason to arrest them for not having a type of permit that doesn’t exist.”This is the same malarky that the California Medical Board pulled on Dr. Tod Mikuriya, applying a standard of medical cannabis practice, when none had been decided, on the very doctor who had requested that such standards be established.
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Comment #22 posted by Taylor121 on March 23, 2005 at 22:18:08 PT
I did the political calculus
"...and I'm going to go home and tell my constituents that I will support this bill" something like that. Some of these politicians are making me extremely po'ed. I sincerely hope that sense is with these people. This hearing is like a witch hunt.
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Comment #21 posted by Taylor121 on March 23, 2005 at 21:43:23 PT
1 hour 2 min into the audio a Senator complains
The Senator complains about how many phone calls they are getting and how pissed he is that his staff is "being abused". He questions the group that is organizing the call ins.I believe that the MPP is organizing the calls. Apparently they are not happy with it. However, I doubt the Senator would be happy either way, with or without the calls about the opposition to the issue.Face up to it Senators, there is a growing population that opposes cannabis prohibition. 
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Comment #20 posted by Taylor121 on March 23, 2005 at 21:23:54 PT
Hope Thanks
Listening now
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Comment #19 posted by Hope on March 23, 2005 at 20:52:53 PT
Sorry, Guys
Meant to post that last comment on another thread.
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on March 23, 2005 at 20:49:22 PT
breeze 
You're welcome. The right to die with dignity should be the right of everyone. If Cannabis use helps a person then why is it a problem at all? People in America don't talk about death and dying much. It's a very important part of our lives. It should be looked at without emotion and that seems to be a problem with many people. 
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Comment #17 posted by Hope on March 23, 2005 at 20:48:16 PT
 Alaska
No mention, even hidden in paper in other government stories, but...I did find video and audio of today's hearings. http://www.ktoo.org/gavel/schedule.cfmGo to: Senate Health, Education and Social Services Committee So far it's more testimony from the anti side...that didn't get to testify yesterday. (bunch of insinuations and wild eyed theories intended to provoke hysteria about the young people)
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Comment #16 posted by breeze on March 23, 2005 at 20:40:15 PT
FOM
Thank you for sharing your article as well.
Anyone who has a disease in which one is dying, sometimes called "living death," deserves the oppurtunity to die with dignity and honor. Current cannabis laws prohibit this in ALL of the USA to one degree or another.
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on March 23, 2005 at 18:53:02 PT
Patients Often Suffer Under Twisted Medical Ethics
Here's an excerpt from an article on Fox. I don't see the comparison because the state has ruled in Schiavo's case and they want to override the state. With Peter McWilliams the state said ok to medical marijuana but they fought him. ***Perhaps no case illustrates the absurdities of letting morality trump medicine than that of Peter McWilliams (search). In 1996, McWilliams wrote a wonderful book arguing for the legalization of consensual crimes called Ain’t Nobody’s Business If You Do.McWilliams also suffered from AIDS and lymphoma. After California legalized medicinal marijuana in 1996, he found that smoking the drug forestalled nausea long enough for him to eat the food he needed to keep his medication down. By this time, McWilliams’ book had become very popular, and he became a popular advocate for legalizing victimless crimes. In 1997, federal agents raided his home, and arrested him for possession and distribution of marijuana. At his trial, McWilliams wasn’t allowed to tell the jury that marijuana enabled him to take his medication, nor was he allowed to use in his defense the fact that medicinal use of the drug was legal in California.While out on bail and awaiting sentencing (and not permitted to smoke marijuana), McWilliams could no longer digest his medication. His nausea returned, and his condition deteriorated. One night while taking a bath, he choked on his own vomit, and died.People who are hurting ought to be able to get the medication that makes them feel better. It’s better to enable someone to die peacefully than to starve them to death. Cops shouldn’t be making medical decisions. All sound pretty reasonable, don’t they?Yet none are so cut-and-dry. The reasonable, self-evident supposition that we own our own lives and bodies, and so should be able to consent to our own course of treatment, has become entrenched in a sludge of professional ethics, social mores and political grandstanding.It’s time we stopped mingling our morals and our medicine.http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,151336,00.html
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Comment #14 posted by Taylor121 on March 23, 2005 at 18:30:36 PT
Sukoi, HB 254
You're certainly welcome for the info on HB 254. I only hope we are talking about it all the way up until Governor Rick Perry signs it into law :P We can always dream.Here are those links again to spread to all Texans you can find off and online. Get them to send their letters in before the full house considers it. http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=6847791&type=SThttp://www.mpp.org/TX/action.htmlIf you know of any other forums to spread this to, please do so or post it up here so I can :) Thanks to all Texans for the support for HB 254!
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on March 23, 2005 at 17:47:09 PT
breeze
That is a very good article and true. We've worked with 2 Hospices. Dying in ones home is something many people want. I hope that we see the expansion and growth in wisdom of this very valuable service.
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Comment #12 posted by breeze on March 23, 2005 at 17:36:06 PT
Pain managment
This link describes why pain management is so controversial in the US. This controversial situation is one that we should heed- the right to life and death, and the power government has over it.
Oddly, one cannot manage pain as they see fit- its up to those who AREN'T in pain to tell us the maximum amount of pain we must endure.http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050323/hl_nm/rights_schiavo_care_dc_2
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Comment #11 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on March 23, 2005 at 17:00:27 PT
OT: "On Parenting"
I found something in my local paper, a syndicated column I hadn't read before, on my way to Zippy The Pinhead (one of the two or three reasons I still keep this particular paper coming) I run into the column of one Marguerite Kelly, which my paper had titled "Drugs wreck son's relationship with family". It's a parent of a 17-year-old writing in saying, my son used to be normal, but now... gosh, I think he's taken up with the dope. Here's the paragraph I want to rant about briefly:"Our boy has had three 'brushes' with the law since he started high school. First he was found with a small amount of marijuana and the next time the school police found an empty vial in his car, which had been planted in the glove compartment bu an older boy, to whom my son had reluctantly given a ride. The police said the vial smelled like marijuana so the school expelled him - in his senior year."The entire thing is available at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/education/columns/familyalmanac/ (registration required) (www.bugmenot.com)Being a good Washinton writer, who knows which side her bread is buttered on, Kelly replies that the woman should wise up to the fact that her son does have a drug problem, the whole family should seek treatment, yadda yadda yadda. She does mention that the parents should discover whether he is a casual user or is "dependent"... perhaps he can still be saved from the demon reefer! But nowhere in her reply is the obvious.Namely, if the school police found an empty vial which smelled like pot, but didn't charge him with it, why is he being expelled? It's EMPTY! Either there's something this woman is not saying in her letter (she mentions he's been in trouble three times but only tells us about two) or there's ground for a serious lawsuit. Or it's really yet another paid government shill writing the letter in, to say, "See kids? You can get expelled for the wrong smell!!"Well, something smells about this whole thing, that's for sure.
Zippy The Pinhead
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on March 23, 2005 at 16:28:39 PT
The Bust and Hold-Up
It was a bad idea for the dispensary to keep that much cash on hand, but, I bet the cops knew the cash was there. It's why they chose the time they did. Maybe even had an informant that told them when the best take could be taken.I think the penny idea is a very good idea...a donation, having heard that they have to "rob" people to get the kind of stuff they need to keep the department well equipped with all the latest bells and whistles. What a world our greedy hateful leaders have made.
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Comment #9 posted by Sukoi on March 23, 2005 at 16:28:04 PT
Taylor 121
I was wondering about Alaska as well but I haven't heard or seen anything. BTW, thanks for all of the info that you provided regarding Texas HB 254, I certainly appreciate it!Here is an unrelated but interesting web site and article:Grandma Eats Cannabishttp://www.grandma-eats-cannabis.com/ 
UK: Why I'd Love To Go To Jailhttp://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n485/a04.html?397
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Comment #8 posted by Taylor121 on March 23, 2005 at 14:43:36 PT
Alaska. Wonder how it went today
The Alaska courts have made it clear that they consider personal use of marijuana a protected right under the state's constitutional privacy provisions, so frustrated opponents of pot use are seeking help from the state legislature, the Anchorage Daily News reported March 22.Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski and others are hoping that the state legislature will find a way to overrule the courts. Officials like assistant attorney general Dean Guaneli went to the statehouse this week to argue that lawmakers have an overriding interest in banning marijuana use despite the constitutional protections. They argued that marijuana is increasingly potent and linked to violent crime -- a claim that met with some skepticism among legislators."I used to understand that smoking grass made people mellow out," said Sen. Fred Dyson (R-Eagle River), chairman of the Health and Social Services Committee.The committee will also hear from groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and Alaskans for Marijuana Regulation and Control, who agree with the court rulings on marijuana use. They are expected to dispute the stated links between pot and violent crime, and to contend that stronger pot only means that users can smoke less to get high.http://www.jointogether.org/sa/news/summaries/reader/0%2C1854%2C576515%2C00.html
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Comment #7 posted by potpal on March 23, 2005 at 14:13:46 PT
Think Gandi
Complain to a higher authority? (no pun intended) Maybe a sympathic journalist can take up the angle.Or...everyone reading this (or at least 10%) mail:
 Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Eric Davis of the Wilshire Division
...a shiny penny and a fatty, of catnip, of course, maybe a rant or two...10000 pennies and dobbers would make a nice sight...It would at least let them know they are being watched and there's a whole lot of us out here...Give pot a chance.
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Comment #6 posted by dongenero on March 23, 2005 at 13:10:59 PT
its' a shakedown
Corrupt police using their power to shakedown, for profit, someone whom they feel will have no chance of defending themselves.
Of course they know about Proposition 215...it's the law they are sworn to uphold afterall. Greed is a powerful temptation.Main Entry: ex·tort
Pronunciation: ik-'stort
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Latin extortus, past participle of extorquEre to wrench out, extort, from ex- + torquEre to twist -- more at TORTURE
: to obtain from a person by force, intimidation, or undue or illegal power
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Comment #5 posted by Hope on March 23, 2005 at 12:59:23 PT
Yes, Unkat...they are laughing at us
but it still does not call for violent resistance. We're better than they are.
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on March 23, 2005 at 12:54:55 PT
Unkat
I, personally have no doubt whatsoever it was about the money.That police forum many of us visited in Missouri gave a perfect example of that. When it was mentioned their stance had a great deal to do with the money they got in drug arrests they screamed..."Just give us an example of how we benefit from drug arrests."When the answers flowed back...enumerating forfeiture, siezure, and numbers to get grants and budget increases, they didn't say a word. They are probably really surprised that the people have any idea as to what is going on.They care more about drug crimes than any others because that's their well milked cash cow...and they actually seemed to assume we were ignorant of it. They don't get more money and increased budgets and more "toys" and new cars for solving burglary, robbery, murder, rape, and assault crimes.Actually, all in all...it makes the truly decent cops feel as though their goal...protecting and serving...has been prostituted.
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Comment #3 posted by unkat27 on March 23, 2005 at 12:33:39 PT
Easy Money for Fascist Law-Enforcers
Now, don't try and tell me that this wasn't profit motivated. This was an easy $150,000 for the fascist law-enforcers, nothing more and nothing less, period. This is just the sort of criminal activity the British Colonials were killed for and the kind of activity that organized criminals are jailed for. Since these criminals are working for the 'law', they are as bad as the British colonials. Now, continue to tell me that 'nonviolent resistance' is the only way to stop these fascist scumbags and you know how they are responding? They are laughing because they know none of these 'potheads' have the strength or balls to fight back. Laughing on an easy $150,000. Of course, 'practical jokes' can really piss people off, even when they do not include violence. Hmm....
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on March 23, 2005 at 12:23:01 PT
Thanks ekim
Here's a page I made a few years ago when NORML had the conference in California. If You're Going To San Francisco: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/wish.htm
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Comment #1 posted by ekim on March 23, 2005 at 12:09:28 PT
annual conference!
2005 Conferencehttp://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6437Get Up, Stand Up! 
Stand Up For Your Rights! San Francisco, CA 
March 31 - April 2, 2005Where do freedom-loving citizens like YOU gather annually? 
Answer: The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law's annual conference!best-selling author and TV travel guru Rick Steves 
NORML's new executive director Allen St. Pierre 
former NFL star Mark Stepnoski 
WAMM's Valerie Corral 
more
http://www.norml.org
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