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Oakdale rules out medical marijuana dispensaries No plans filed, but chief says it was matter of time By RICHARD T. ESTRADA /August 06, 2008 OAKDALE --Fearing the city could become a magnet for medical marijuana dispensaries, and the criminal element the police chief says comes with them, the City Council has voted 4-0 to ban the businesses. Police Chief Marty…..cited reams of reports from law enforcement across the state detailing assaults, robberies and home invasions, all of which he attributed to the presence of medical marijuana dispensaries….. http://www.modbee.com/local/story/382766.html Garden Grove says no to medical pot City Council members say they are concerned marijuana dispensaries' effect on neighborhoods. By DEEPA BHARATH /The Orange County Register /Tuesday, September 23, 2008 GARDEN GROVE – City Council members have voted to pass an ordinance banning medical marijuana dispensaries……Some Orange County cities with moratoriums or permanent bans on pot dispensaries include Buena Park, Fullerton, Mission Viejo, Santa Ana, Tustin, Huntington Beach and Placentia. Laguna Woods last week became the first local city to pass an ordinance allowing medical marijuana dispensaries. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/marijuana-dispensaries-city-2168130-police-council The business of growing marijuana both indoors and outdoors is continuing to grow. Both the Federal and State Law Enforcement community continue to reporting increasing yearly seizures. These grows endanger and destroy both the lands and homes used for the production of marijuana. Neither know the difference between marijuana grown for medical or illicit purposes. Lodi man severely burned while extracting oil from marijuana By The Record /September 16, 2008 LODI – A 35-year-old man set himself ablaze, both externally and internally, while attempting to extrapolate oil form a marijuana plant in a Lodi apartment Monday night , Lodi police said……Elhard put marijuana in a sock, and pushed it into a piece of PVC pipe. He then poured butane into the pipe and let it filter through the sock in order to extrapolate Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from the cannabis. THC is marijuana’s active chemical. The butane fumes were so heavy, a nearby water heater ignited, Eubanks said. A flash fire quickly set Elhard ablaze…… 12 http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080916/A_NEWS02/80916010/-1/A_NEWS06 Mid-Valley meth scourge touches all walks of life July 07, 2008 12:58:00 AM /By Rob Young …..Motorcycle gangs pioneered the manufacture and distribution of meth a half-century ago and are still involved, but not as much as in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Hell's Angels, for example, have turned more to marijuana sales, he said….. http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/published_66024___article.html/black_recently.html Arcata, the Californian town that has gone to pot over marijuana, cultivation By Philip Sherwell in Arcata, California /07/2008 The smell of marijuana hangs in the air in Arcata, California…..The small northern Californian community has long been the heart of the Emerald Triangle in America's Pacific North West -a prime region for illicit cannabis cultivation because of its lush, rolling terrain and its relaxed attitude to drugs. A decade ago Arcata's voters overwhelmingly backed Proposition 215, a a ballot initiative that gave California the most relaxed medical marijuana laws in the US. But now there is a growing backlash. Angry residents are increasingly questioning the abuses of the loosely-drafted law that have followed that decision including the fact that the town has four officially-approved medical cannabis outlets, where the drug is sold, compared with just two ordinary pharmacies for all Arcata's other health needs. They are even more irate about the way that illicit commercial marijuana growers and dealers have quietly moved in, exploiting Arcata's reputation as a liberal-minded town with an easy-going approach both to marijuana, and to law enforcement. According to local counter-narcotics officials, up to 1,000 of its 7,500 homes have been converted into illegal "grow houses", where hydroponic watering equipment and high-wattage lighting enable large quantities of cannabis plants to grow rapidly indoors -in far greater quantities than are allowed by law. …..But some of Arcata's dispensaries are accused of paying little heed to whether their patients are genuinely sick, or have just obtained a dodgy doctor's note from a $200 "consultation", and last week town officials began hearings on how to regulate them more strictly. One, the Humboldt Co-operative, which operates out of a disused car dealership, has 6,000 registered patients across northern California, 2,000 of whom buy the drug regularly…..Inside the dispensary, a range of different marijuana products with such unmedicinal names as Brain Wreck and Purple Haze are on display -often bought, said Mr Hoover, by healthy-looking college students……The dispensaries operate a sliding rate for clients, depending on income and disability, but the usual rate is $40 for an eighth of an ounce…..Our residential neighborhoods are being turned into industrialized drug production zones." The scale of the problem only became clear after fires caused by shoddy wiring broke out in two grow houses. There has also been a spate of armed robberies by cannabis thieves and an influx of outsiders with pitbull dogs and what locals describe as threatening attitudes…..Wade DeLashmutt, a carpenter and lifelong resident, is a leader of this latest counter-cultural revolt. He became convinced his new neighbor, from Montana, was growing marijuana commercially…..It 13 was very unpleasant," said Mr DeLashmutt, 43, who now regrets voting for Proposition 215. "How has this happened? We've let criminals into our town and nobody seemed to be doing anything about it. We're a very liberal community and the wrong people have taken advantage of that in a big way." His neighbour's house was eventually raided by the police who recovered 600 cannabis plants, 27 pounds of processed pot and thousands of dollars in cash…..The mayor, Mark Wheatley, said problems unleashed by the explosion in grow houses ranged from a surge in crime and fire risks to soaring rental prices. He said the huge consumption of energy to run the operations shocked environmentally-conscious residents. "Arcata is a highly tolerant community, but we have now reached the tipping point with the fires, the home invasions, the impact on housing and the environment." he said. "People have had enough."…..The illicit pot is sold for about $3,000 a pound, and is usually shipped to buyers around San Francisco, Los Angeles and further afield. The town's police chief, Randy Mendosa, is alarmed that his sedate town is rapidly gaining an unsavory reputation. But he acknowledged that he did not have the resources to bust the grow houses. "…… http://www.uk420.com/boards/index.php?showtopic=137303 Medical marijuana activist convicted of growing 24,000 pot plants Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer /September 6, 2008 A federal court jury has convicted a medical marijuana activist of illegally growing more than 24,000 pot plants that were clearly visible from a highway near his home in Lake County……He was arrested in 2004 after federal agents said they found 32,500 marijuana plants in gardens near his home in Upper Lake. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ruled that the seizure was based on an invalid warrant, but allowed prosecutors to offer evidence of more than 24,000 plants that were in plain view of Highway 20. Lepp also argued that, as a Rastafarian minister, he had a religious right to grow and use marijuana, a sacrament to his faith. He claimed his church had 2,500 members who were all sharecroppers of the plants……Defense lawyer Michael Hinckley said Lepp would appeal on the religious issue and perhaps on other grounds as well. He said Lepp, whose wife and father both died of cancer, believes strongly in the religious and medical use of marijuana. Noting that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld such federal prosecutions despite California's medical marijuana law, Hinckley said, "As long as the state and federal government are in conflict on this issue, unfortunate results like this are going to continue to occur." http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/05/BAVJ12OIKI.DTL Pushing Back: ONDCP Releases 2008 Marijuana Sourcebook (Washington, D.C.) – Today, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) released it’s largest-ever compilation of data relating to marijuana. The 2008 Marijuana Sourcebook contains important data on marijuana in the United States including the latest use patterns and trends, health health effects, criminal justice aspects, supply sources, and information regarding so-called “medical marijuana.” The publication draws from a wide variety of national scientific and research-based data sources. The Sourcebook also contains data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics that reveals that less than one half of one percent of inmates in state prisons are serving time for marijuana possession only. 14 Additionally, the Sourcebook contains the latest analysis from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) which reveals that levels of THC – the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana – have reached the highest-ever amounts since scientific analysis of the drug began in the late 1970s. The average amount of THC in the most recently seized samples of marijuana has reached a new high of 9.6 percent. This compares to an average of just under 4 percent reported in 1983 and represents more than a doubling in the potency of the drug since that time. http://stash.norml.org/2008/07/29/pushing-back-ondcp-releases-2008-marijuanasourcebook/Marijuana trafficker Edwin Hoey being prosecuted for tax fraud By Jennifer Squires-Sentinel staff writer /08/12/2008 SANTA CRUZ -A Westside man convicted last year of possessing and selling hundreds of pounds of pot is now under investigation for tax evasion, according to court records. ……Hoey faced more than 10 years in state prison, but was sentenced in November to a year in County Jail after he pleaded no contest to trafficking marijuana. He served just less than eight months for the crimes, which at the time he said he thought were OK because he was largely selling to medical users through a Santa Cruz medicinal dispensary…..Hoey, a photographer, was arrested in December of that year after deputies found 100 pounds of pot in his house and $500,000 cash in a storage locker. He remains adamant that most of the marijuana was destined for medicinal users.…. Hoey said his "one mistake" was that he had also sold pot to friends on the East Coast. Sheriff's deputies reported Hoey had shipped marijuana through the US Postal Service to people in 10-15 states, and that many were not medicinal users. Officials from the District Attorney's Office and the state Franchise Tax Board were not available to comment Tuesday. http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10181258?nclick_check=1 Medical Marijuana's Eco Boomtown Humboldt County High: California Community Thrives on Legal Pot By MARY SPICUZZA /=ARCATA, Calif., Sept. 5, 2008 When Stephen Gasparas arrived in Humboldt County in late 2004, he was driving a VW Westfalia pop-top camper on the verge of breaking down and had only $100 in his pocket. Gasparas, who ran a flooring business in Chicago before heading west, seems to have found far greener pastures in Humboldt County's medical marijuana industry. Less than four years later, the owner of the Arcata iCenter, a collective marijuana dispensary, is now driving a new hybrid Toyota Highlander and bringing in about $100,000 a year. (And judging by the foot traffic in and out of the iCenter, that figure is a modest estimate.) But Gasparas, 38, is just one of many in Humboldt County and throughout California benefiting from the booming medical marijuana industry. Exactly how much the Golden State has made in pot profits is a hazy figure, mostly because California doesn't keep exact numbers on the sales tax on medical marijuana. It's estimated that $143 million in medical marijuana sales have netted $11.4 million in state and local taxes annually, based on registered businesses, California State Board of Equalization spokeswoman Anita Gore said. And those estimates are small compared with those in a 15 2006 report co-written by California NORML state coordinator Dale Gieringer, which said that Californians consumed between $870 million and $2 billion worth of medical marijuana per year……For years, Humboldt County has enjoyed the benefits of a booming underground economy. But changes to state laws --such as the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996, when voters approved the medical use of marijuana --mean that many engaged in cultivation and sales are trying to follow state medical marijuana laws. Or at least some of them are making an effort, and in doing so are pouring money into local and state tax coffers. The City of Arcata declined to disclose specific taxes paid on medical marijuana sales by local businesses, calling that "proprietary information." But the city's finance director, Janet Luzzi, said one dispensary in town is among Arcata's top 25 producers of sales tax, and has been for several quarters. "It's not always there," Luzzi said. "But it's often there." Other medical marijuana dispensaries, however, recently received written reminders from Luzzi. "Not all of them were paying taxes," she said. And taxes aside, most here acknowledge marijuana sales have for years contributed to county finances…..Despite widespread support for medical marijuana, tensions seem especially high in towns like Arcata, where people are struggling to agree on the details of medical marijuana, such as rules for growing and limits for medical marijuana possession. It's a debate that's playing out in counties around California, from historically pot-friendly places like Mendocino County to Los Angeles…..Some residents complain that a few grow houses have grown out of control, causing problems ranging from skunklike odors to house fires. So, even as California's attorney general seems comfortable delving into the medical marijuana debate, stores like Humboldt Hydroponics refuse to even discuss the topic. When asked about the issue of medical marijuana and the economy, a man behind the counter of Humboldt Hydroponics shop in Arcata seemed on edge as he immediately insisted he had nothing to say because his shop had "no affiliation" with medical marijuana. But while standing outside his Arcata iCenter dispensary, Stephen Gasparas seemed to be making a sincere effort to bring medical marijuana out of the shadows and celebrate its contributions to California's economy….. http://abcnews.go.com/Busine ss/story?id=5727836&page=1 Pot-candy boss sentenced on federal drug charges Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer /September 6, 2008 The owner of an Oakland factory that produced marijuana candy with names like Buddafinga and Mr. Greenbud has been sentenced to a year in a halfway house and a year of home detention for conspiring to manufacture and distribute marijuana. Michael Martin, 33, of El Sobrante was also sentenced Wednesday to five years of probation by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken in Oakland. Martin is the owner of Tainted Inc., which started as a boutique business that made chocolate truffles and grew into a large marijuana-candy maker that bought chocolate by the ton, authorities said. Tainted Inc. employee Jessica Sanders was sentenced Wednesday to three years' probation for illegally using a phone to distribute marijuana, a felony.…..In a sentencing memorandum, however, Assistant U.S. Attorney Keslie Stewart wrote that Martin "was not growing marijuana solely for his own use or for the use of a sick family member. He was running a profitable business and supporting himself and his family with the proceeds of marijuana sales…..In September 2007, federal agents raided his factory on the 900 block 16 of 61st Street in North Oakland and a building on the 300 block of 40th Street where marijuana was grown. The investigation bore similarities to DEA raids in Oakland in 2006 in which five people connected with a company called Beyond Bomb were convicted of making marijuana-laced treats with such names as Munchy Way, Rasta Reece's and Puff-a-Mint Pattie. In federal marijuana cases, defense attorneys are barred from telling jurors that companies supply medical cannabis products through licensed dispensaries to qualified patients….. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/ article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/05/BAGS12OSPG.DTL&tsp=1 Where have all the meth labs gone? South of the border By Linda Williams/TWN Staff Writer /09/10/2008 …..Mexican D.T.O.s now dominate the wholesale distribution of ice or meth, marijuana, cocaine and heroin throughout California, according to federal and state law enforcement agencies. The D.T.O.s then recruit affiliated street gangs Norteño and Sureño as well as outlaw gangs such as the Hells Angels for retail distribution. The trading of marijuana for ice is considered a key element in the distribution of meth within Mendocino County….. Earlier, in March 2008, agents confiscated 27 pounds of ice, 69 pounds of marijuana, as well as hashish, cocaine, and $46,000 in cash from an alleged distribution ring bringing meth into the Santa Rosa area from Merced County. Most other area busts have involved much smaller amounts of meth more closely associated with the retail distribution network. The two main Mexican drug trafficking organizations, according to the U.S. D.O.J., influencing the Mendocino County drug scene are the Federation cartel (a coalition of the Sinaloa, Juárez, and Valencia cartels) with prime jurisdiction over the Bay Area and the Tijuana cartel controlling central valley regions around the Sacramento and Stockton areas……In the Willits area, one small-scale lab was found at a fugitive's hideout on Sherwood Road in 2008. The fugitive was dodging attempted murder charges in Lake County stemming from an alleged marijuana theft in Willits. Broken glassware and a quart container partially filled with a caustic material was discovered near a Brooktrails residential marijuana grow late in 2007 that was considered a possible old meth lab site….. http://www.willitsnews.com/ci_10428046 In Door Grows Oakland man arrested for growing 160 pot plants The Associated Press /07/05/2008 OAKLAND, Calif.— Officers from the city's public school detail said they could smell marijuana when they went to John Halsema's home….Halsema told them he was an authorized medical marijuana user and had 40 pot plants. When police returned with a search warrant, they found 160 marijuana plants growing under automatic watering, lighting and ventilation systems in three of the house's six rooms, but no documents backing up Halsema's claim he was a medical marijuana patient. Authorities also said they seized were fake police identification cards, three guns and books on how to make bombs, silencers and homemade guns http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_9795308 17 Fire in nice Oakland neighborhood reveals pot-growing operation Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer /July 16, 2008 OAKLAND A man and a woman were arrested today after a house fire led to the discovery of a marijuana-growing operation in a well-scrubbed Oakland neighborhood …..The cause of the fire was under investigation. Authorities found about 100 marijuana plants inside the home, which was being rented the two people who were arrested…..Several large marijuana-cultivation operations have been uncovered recently in Oakland. In May, 150 pot plants were found after a fire broke out at an apartment complex overlooking Lake Merritt. In April, police raided a former auto body shop in the city's San Antonio neighborhood and seized 2,100 marijuana plants. In November, several hundred marijuana plants were found at a West Oakland building after firefighters doused a three-alarm blaze at an adjacent warehouse. The month before that, police found more than 4,000 marijuana plants inside a newly built East Oakland home after checking on the resident's well-being because the garage door was left open…… http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/15/BAHI11PHGM.DTL&tsp=1 Police investigate foster parents for medical marijuana sales By MARY WESTON -Staff Writer /07/17/2008 OROVILLE --Police arrested a man, cited a teen and began an investigation on the teen's foster parents after marijuana was found during a welfare check…..At the property, officers found 18 marijuana plants. One foster parent had doctor recommendations for the drugs. Officers found evidence the parents had been selling the medical marijuana to a distributor, Trostle said. Police are investigating if two other medical marijuana growers at the scene were selling their crops, too. Also found were marijuana plants growing inside a trailer where the juvenile lived, as well as a bag of dried marijuana, police said. The foster teens were removed from the home, and police confiscated six medium-sized plants and the bag of marijuana as evidence…… http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_9905813 Police seize marijuana, arrest 2 Published: Saturday, July 19, 2008 Marijuana growers converted a west Santa Rosa home into an indoor pot farm crammed with so many plants there was no room left for anyone to live inside the house, police said Saturday. Santa Rosa police arrested two men and seized 1,008 marijuana plants …..Santa Rosa Code Enforcement, PG&E and the Santa Rosa Fire Department were called to the scene because of unsafe conditions at the home. The property was condemned by code enforcement due to numerous violations and PG&E pulled the electricity meter to prevent an electrical fire….. http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080719/news/349487548 Sweep nets 18 suspects, cache of cocaine, guns 18 Federal agents arrested 18 people yesterday and seized more than 2 pounds of cocaine and five handguns in conjunction with a state narcotics investigation, authorities said. Eight search warrants were served in the southeastern area of San Diego County and one was executed in San Bernardino County, where agents found an indoor marijuanagrowing operation…..The cocaine and weapons were found at one location in San Diego, and about 4􀀁 ounces of crack cocaine was confiscated at another…... http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080723-9999-1m23pubsafe.ht ml DEA Seizes More Than $60M Worth Of Marijuana From California Homes Story by knbc.com /Wednesday, July 23, 2008 RIVERSIDE, Calif. --Thousands of marijuana plants --which could have generated millions of dollars a year in illegal profits --were seized Tuesday during raids on three homes in Riverside County, authorities said. Marijuana-growing facilities were shut down in Eastvale, Hemet and Riverside, in an operation targeting a total of eight homes…..”Drug traffickers are using sophisticated equipment and measures to transform their seemingly quiet suburban homes into illicit marijuana grow operations,"….."These lucrative illegal operations can function with little scrutiny, which makes them attractive to the criminal element….." He said the marijuana growers reconfigured the home's electrical system to bypass the local utility meter, stealing roughly $4,000 a month in wattage….."These sophisticated growing operations pose an extreme hazard to our neighborhoods with their dangerous electrical wiring and changes made to the house infrastructure…..Tuesday's arrests and seizures stemmed from a yearlong investigation that, to date, has led to the dismantling of 33 marijuana grow operations and the seizure of more than 19,000 plants. http://www.officer.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=42468 4 arrested in major marijuana bust, police say By Harry Harris and William Brand /Oakland Tribune /07/24/2008 OAKLAND — The suspected ringleader of a marijuana growing operation that stretched from Oakland to Mendocino County was one of four people arrested Wednesday night by police who also seized more than $250,000 in cash and at least $60,000 worth of pot, police said. It was one of the largest and most sophisticated marijuana growing operations police have seen in recent years, they said. Among the more unique details about the operation, Sgt. Bernard Ortiz said, was that suspected ringleader Theodore Christos had three houses in Oakland — each for a different part of the enterprise. One house was for growing marijuana, the second was for conducting transactions with buyers, and the third was his residence in North Oakland…..Besides the Oakland locations, Ortiz said, Christos owns property in Mendocino County where authorities believe additional crop is grown…..Working until early Thursday, officers also served a search warrant at a house in the 500 block of Crestmont Drive in Oakland, where two men who apparently worked for Christos were arrested and 151 marijuana seedling plants were seized as well as a revolver and more than $250,000 in cash that was in a duffle bag. The men's names were not released. The grow site on Crestmont was very sophisticated, police said, with the latest watering, lighting and ventilation technology….. http://www.insidebayarea.com/t imesstar/ci_9987635 19 Pot house busted in San Bernardino By Stacia Glenn, Staff Writer /07/28/2008 SAN BERNARDINO -Police seized more than 70 marijuana plants at a house over the weekend…..A search of the property revealed a large marijuana grow house with plants worth about $15,000, police said. The marijuana plants were in various stages of grow both in the house and the backyard. http://www.dailybulletin.com/search/ci_10020626?IADID=Searchwww.dailybulletin.com-www.dailybulletin.com Five-city pot farm raid nets $1M in marijuana Lori Consalvo, Staff Writer /07/23/2008 A Corona house was one of five residential pot farms busted in a $1 million raid this week, according to U.S. Justice Department officials……Officials believe the houses were connected to an Asian organized crime ring that is involved in growing and distributing large amounts of marijuana. "They had the same kind of material. ... Each house was modified to accommodate the grow," said Special Agent Sarah Pullen of the Drug Enforcement Administration. "We definitely believe they were related." All of the indoor-grow operations were bypassing local utility meters and stealing electricity to support growing operations, according to a news release….. http://www.dailybulletin.com/search/ci_9977337?IADID=Searchwww.dailybulletin.com-www.dailybulletin.com 800 Marijuana Plants Seized From Bradbury House Two Men In Custody After Investigation In San Gabriel Valley Foothills Authorities Tuesday seized about 800 marijuana plants that were growing inside a house in the San Gabriel Valley foothills city of Bradbury and took two men into custody.…..He said he was hesitant to estimate the street value of the plants. But he noted that 300 of them were nearly mature, and the others were young plants. http://www.knbc.com/news/17104345/detail.html Deputies bust three Bonny Doon pot grows By Jennifer Squires -Sentinel staff writer /08/09/2008 Sheriff's deputies found nearly 1,200 pot plants and arrested two men suspected of cultivating and selling marijuana Thursday at three indoor grows discovered in June during the Martin Fire. The simultaneous busts netted marijuana worth about more than $1 million……Packer told deputies he had a medical recommendation for one of the grows, but couldn't find the paperwork. …..Carney said he was initially worried that the grow on Ice Cream Grade could have sparked the Martin Fire because indoor gardens require a lot of electricity to feed and the use sometimes blows power transmitters. The wildfire was human-caused and ignited deep in the ecological preserve near the foot of the Moon Rocks, according to Cal Fire. The person who started the fire has not been located. Indoor pot grows found in Bonny Doon * 433 plants on the 200 block of Atherly Lane. 20 * 221 plants on the 600 block of Ice Cream Grade Road. * 516 plants on the 300 block of Conifer Lane. SOURCE: Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office. http://www.mercurynews.com/centralcoast/ci_1014228 3?nclick_check=1 PETALUMA: NEARLY 300 MARIJUANA PLANTS SEIZED FROM RESIDENCE PETALUMA (BCN) Sun, 17 Aug 2008 Nearly 300 marijuana plants were seized and two Petaluma residents arrested after officers responded to a disturbance call Saturday afternoon……Once inside the officers discovered two bedrooms, a downstairs closet and part of the garage were being used to grow 297 marijuana plants, police