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gardens have on the environment. The illegal dumping of trash, pesticides and poisons pollutes the water supply and the damming and re-routing of natural streams and creeks prohibit the natural vegetation from flourishing. Earlier this year, the cause and origin of the 90,000 acre La Brea Fire was determined to be a faulty propane tank in a marijuana garden….. http://www.edhat.c om/site/tidbit.cfm?id=1400&nid=24391 3 brothers indicted for growing marijuana October 16, 2009 A federal grand jury returned one count of conspiring to manufacture marijuana against three Stockton brothers. Osvaldo Arias-Diaz, Jose Arias-Diaz and German Arias-Diaz are alleged to have grown about 3,500 marijuana plants inside Sequoia National Park, starting in June. The brothers were arrested Oct. 6 when a federal search warrant was served at the Stockton home they shared. The case is part of an investigation by the National Parks Services and the High Density Drug Trafficking Area task force. http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20091016/NEWS01/910160333 Authorities bust marijuana-growing operations east of Visalia Several suspects were arrested in raids at undisclosed sites Staff reports • October 2, 2009 Four search warrants served east of Visalia on Thursday afternoon netted hundreds of pounds of marijuana, guns and cash. Deputies with the Tulare County Sheriff's Department, along with the Farmersville Police Department and Drug Enforcement Administration agents, arrested several suspects at the sites, which contained more than 100 plants and several hundred pounds of marijuana in various stages of being dried and prepared for sale. "There were plants in there the size of orange trees," said Sgt. Chris Douglass, a Sheriff's Department spokeswoman. Officials were still investigating the scene Thursday evening http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20091002/NEWS01/ 910020325 17 Four people convicted in 'mega' medical marijuana scam sentenced By TERRY VAU DELL -Staff Writer /Thursday, November 5, 2009 OROVILLE --A handful of the nearly dozen people convicted in connection with a countywide "mega" medical marijuana scam were sentenced Monday…..During a pretrial hearing in June, sheriff's detectives testified to finding the same names of medical marijuana patients on scripts posted at multiple grow sites. Some patients testified they had been asked to join what they thought were legitimate medical marijuana cooperatives, only to learn later their doctor's recommendations were being copied and posted at several of the raided gardens. Assistant district attorney Helen Harberts alleged a Chico resident, Casey James Wilkins, had been the principal mastermind behind many of the grows and was funneling profits into a series of "shell" business in an attempt to launder the money. Wilkins pleaded no contest to charges of felony cultivation, possession of pot for sale and money laundering, laundering, in return for the dismissal of a newly-filed marijuana sales case and an agreement not to prosecute a female acquaintance. Wilkins also stipulated to a civil asset judgment that will require him to forfeit more than $9,000 in cash seized during the raids and a boat, which has already been sold at auction by local authorities…... http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_13700142 Freshwater fire reveals marijuana grow The Times-Standard /11/02/2009 An outbuilding at 49 Fellman Road in Freshwater, along with a car parked nearby, suffered heavy damage in a fire Saturday evening…..During overhaul operations, firefighters discovered a marijuana growing operation inside a room of the outbuilding. The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office was notified and responded to the scene to investigate. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and it's unclear if any arrests are planned due to the marijuana grow. http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_13693434 Humboldt man gets 6 years in land-for-pot case The The Associated Press /11/28/2009 OAKLAND, Calif.—The U.S. Attorney's Office says a Humboldt County man has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for growing large quantities of marijuana and buying several pieces of land for other people to cultivate pot. Rio Dell resident Jordan Pyhtila was sentenced Wednesday as part of a plea agreement. Besides pleading guilty to money laundering and maintaining a place to manufacture marijuana, Pyhtila forfeited four pieces of property and the proceeds from a subdivision he was developing. Federal prosecutors accused Pyhtila and a 27-year-old co-defendant of leasing land to marijuana growers and using the money to finance an excavating business and real estate deals. Drug agents found about 4,677 marijuana plants on the land that Pyhtila co-owned or financed. http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_13886420?nclick_check=1 Hooked on the marijuana money By TIFFANY REVELLE The Daily Journal /10/24/2009 Dan Fields (not his real name) knows what he's doing is illegal. But he doesn't sell marijuana because he's greedy; he does it to pay the bills. Fields has a doctor's recommendation and grows three marijuana plants in his back yard, half of what he's allowed under state law. But like many of his fellow growers, Fields' plants produce more than what he can use for medicine -enough to live on……Fields' plants are each about five feet tall, and are expected to produce about 20 pounds in all. Fields estimated near harvest time that might mean an untaxed, off-the-books profit of up to $40,000 for eight months of work. Fields' wife said that estimate was too high. Both earn legitimate, taxed incomes, but don't make enough together to raise the household income above the poverty line. "My son had a good Christmas last year," said Fields, a grower whose name has been changed. "I do this so I can feel normal for eight 18 months out of the year, and not have to scrounge and worry and have to suck gas out of my car." Fields isn't alone. "Everybody and their uncle is selling here," Mendocino County Major Crimes Task Force Commander Bob Nishiyama said. There's often a big difference between how much marijuana a person can grow and what they actually use for medicine. The average marijuana plant authorities haul away from an illegal grow is the size of a Christmas tree, and produces between three and five pounds of bud, according to Nishiyama. Nishiyama recommends growers bury the excess and let it decompose into an unusable goo……He has what his doctor considers a legitimate medical need: pain from an old back injury and nausea caused by chemotherapy for his lung cancer. He mixes a liquid form of his cannabis with butter and eats it for his ailments, but admits he sells about 75 percent of what he grows to local, undercover shops that resell it. He takes the legally-allowed eight ounces at a time to the shop owners. But that's not where Fields makes the majority of his money. Growers and law enforcement authorities agree that Mendocino County's marijuana market is so flooded with people wanting to sell what they grow that growers have to send their pot out of the county to make much money. Nishiyama said there were so many more sellers than buyers that a local dispensary had to shut down. Fields estimates he gets $3,000 to $4,000 for a pound in Southern California, and also sells the stuff from his local office for $1,000 or $1,100 per pound. Nishiyama said a pound is worth even more in other states. He's gotten calls about Mendocino County residents caught with 50 or 75 pounds from "every state in the union." Nishiyama gave the example of Chicago, where a pound of marijuana is worth $7,500. But Nishiyama says the Task Force doesn't go after people like Fields, who are within legal parameters, even when investigators are positive it's not all for medicine…..Fields admits he'd like to have more land so he could grow more marijuana. He says he enjoys the plant itself and loves growing it, but holds what many other marijuana proponents claim: using the plant isn't addictive. It's the financial effect that has him hooked. http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_13633428 Despite media assertions to the contrary, the Drug Enforcement Administration continues to take action against those who are selling marijuana in violation of the spirit of medical use. Cities and Counties are also beginning to close dispensaries via land and licensing use violations. Several Cities and Counties have also established moratoriums or enacted bans on the establishment of dispensaries within their jurisdictions. Feds to Continue Raids on Medical Pot in California By: Bryan Gibel | November 3, 2009 – 12:51 am The federal government will continue raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in California despite guidelines issued by the Justice Department two weeks ago indicating prosecutors should yield to state laws. “I think it’s unfortunate that people have for some reason picked up on this as a change in policy, because it’s really not a change at all,” said Joseph Russoniello, federal prosecutor for the northern district of California…..A memo sent Oct. 19 by Deputy Attorney General David Ogden to federal prosecutors in California and the other 13 states where medical cannabis is legal stated that law enforcement should focus on major drug trafficking networks, rather than entities “in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws.” The memo clarified a policy announced by Attorney General Eric Holder in March: Federal officials should desist from raiding and prosecuting state-approved medical marijuana providers. Less than a week after Holder’s announcement, more than a dozen Drug Enforcement Agency agents raided Emmalyn’s California Cannabis Clinic, a medical marijuana cooperative located near the intersection of 12th and Howard streets on the edge of the Mission District……Last year, State Attorney General Jerry Brown set guidelines mandating that city dispensaries are legally required to operate as not-for-profit collectives or cooperatives. That means they can only obtain cannabis from growers that are members of their co-op or collective, and their 19 customers have to be members too. Russoniello said many dispensaries in San Francisco and around California aren’t really not-for-profit, and he will prosecute any distributor fraudulently operating as a commercial enterprise in violation of state laws. “By that I mean people who are in it as if they were running a neighborhood candy store instead of running a commune, a collective or a group club that caters only to specific identified persons,” he said…… http://missionlocal.org/2009/11/feds-to-continue-raids-on-medical-pot-in-california/Investigator testifies Temecula medical marijuana collective was a sham By SARAH BURGE /The Press-Enterprise /Monday, November 2, 2009 A judge is expected to rule Wednesday on whether there is enough evidence for a 57-year-old medicinal marijuana user from Temecula to stand trial for unlawful cultivation and possession of the drug for sale. In September 2008, Riverside County sheriff's deputies seized 70 mature marijuana plants and 5 pounds of processed marijuana from the home of Martin J. Victor Sr., authorities said. Victor….told police that he ran a 10-person medicinal marijuana collective out of his home, but police said he had too much pot…..Sheriff's investigator Kenneth Thurm testified that Victor's marijuana collective was a sham and that paperwork seized during a search of the Victor home detailing the activities of the collective was simply an attempt to "give the illusion of being a legitimate co-op…..In a declaration in support of an arrest warrant filed in May, Thurm wrote that Victor "bragged about being the 'Pot Guy' in the community." It goes on to say that Victor had more marijuana than is allowed under Prop. 215 and SB 420, that he was not properly distributing marijuana to co-op members, and that the Victors were providing marijuana to people who did not have a doctor's recommendation….. http://www.pe.com/localnews/rivcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_N_victor03.448cc9d.html Prosecutor says medical marijuana manager hid behind law By Kelly Wheeler, Friday, November 20, 2009 The manager of a medical marijuana collective hid behind a law designed to help patients legally obtain the drug so he could make money, a prosecutor said Friday, but a defense attorney said the prosecution would not be able to prove the charges against his client. Jovan Jackson, 31, was arrested after a pair of raids at “Answerdam Alternative Care” on Convoy Court in Kearny Mesa last year. Jackson is charged with selling marijuana, possession for sale of marijuana and possession of ecstasy. Deputy District Attorney Chris Lindberg told jurors…..“This case is about making money, plain and simple,” the prosecutor said. During the raids, officers found credit card receipts for more than $150,000 in sales at Answerdam, Lindberg said. The prosecutor said the case was not about marijuana patients but was “about profits.” “He (Jackson) was running a business,” the prosecutor told the jury. Lindberg said an undercover San Diego police officer was able to get a medical marijuana recommendation from a doctor and then bought marijuana on two occasions at Answerdam, which, according to its records, had 1,649 members. The prosecutor said the undercover officer paid $20 to join Answerdam and immediately was able to buy the drugs. A raid on Aug. 5, 2008, at Answerdam turned up five to six pounds of marijuana and a receipt in Jackson’s name for a $100,000 transaction to an investment company, Lindberg said. Agents also searched the defendant’s home and found some marijuana by his bed and 17 ecstasy tablets, according to the prosecutor. Lindberg told the jury that Jackson took advantage of a law that allows medical marijuana patients to legally buy the drug from a collective that grows it to meet those needs…..Two months ago, 31 people were arrested during raids at 14 medical marijuana dispensaries in San Diego County. District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said the collectives appeared to be run by drug dealers trying to make a “fast buck.” The number of medical marijuana dispensaries went up recently, in the wake of of San Diego County’s failed attempt to overturn the state’s 1996 medical marijuana law and U.S. Attorney Eric Holder’s directive that federal agents only target medical marijuana storefronts when operators violate both state and federal laws. 20 http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-11-20/local-county-news/courts/prosecutor-says-medicalmarijuana-manager-hid-behind-law Medical Marijuana Dispensary Shut Down by County Reported by: Britt Carlson L A medical marijuana dispensary on the outskirts of Red Bluff in Tehama County is shut down Wednesday. The Tehama County District Attorney requested a temporary injunction in court today to close down the Red Bluff patient collective, under an ordinance adopted by the board of supervisors. The collective remained open after the moratorium that temporarily prohibited the operation of marijuana dispensaries in Tehama County. District Attorney Gregg Cohen says the collective is also in violation of a zoning code. And even after 35 citations, the collective didn't close until the injunction Wednesday. Cohen says, “The counties and the cities do have a right to regulate the health, safety and welfare of what's going on in their jurisdiction.”….. http://www.khsltv.com/content/localnews/story/Medical-Marijuana-Dispensary-Shut-Down-by-County/WdET-0FEZkGQl167Pybpug.cspx Medical-marijuana facilities in Tulare County told to close down Owner in Goshen is petitioning board to reconsider ban BY VALERIE GIBBONS /December 11, 2009 As owner of the Compassionate Cannabis Information Center in Goshen, Tammy Murray is at the center of a county fight to rein in distribution of medical marijuana. Murray was told Thursday that she has 10 days to close her 1,000-customer dispensary or face criminal charges…..Last month the Board of Supervisors voted to halt distribution of marijuana in unincorporated areas. The ordinance took effect Thursday. It does not affect medical-marijuana organizations within incorporated cities…..Under the new county ordinance, no organization that operates as a dispensary will be allowed in the unincorporated areas until the distribution of medical marijuana is recognized by federal law, Boudreaux said…..If state and federal laws come into agreement, the county will limit the number of facilities to three, and and none of the dispensaries will be allowed to operate near schools or allow customers to test the drug on site. http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20091211/NEWS01/912110325/Medicalmarijuana+facilities +in+Tulare+County+told+to+close+down County authorities shut down new Hacienda Heights medical marijuana shop By James Wagner, Staff Writer /12/17/2009 HACIENDA HEIGHTS -County officials shut down a recently opened medical marijuana collective Thursday because it didn't have the proper county approval, authorities said…..Clinics have been feeling the heat lately after Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley vowed last month to prosecute all clinics, saying the clinics were violating state law…..http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_14022680 Napa's marijuana shop is shut down By KEVIN COURTNEY /Register Staff Writer Saturday, December 12, 2009 Napa’s renegade medical marijuana clinic is defunct, at least for now…..Going Green shut down in late November after Napa Superior Court Judge Francisca Tisher issued a preliminary injunction saying that it had not been operating legally. “The court finds that defendants’ activities are a nuisance under civil and municipal codes,” Tisher said. “The court finds that defendants’ activities are contrary to the public interest and that injunctive relief is necessary to protect against significant public harm.” The clinic, run by Kimberly Pelham of American Canyon, opened without a city business license early last summer. The city sued in October to shut it down…..Napa City Attorney Michael Barrett said he was happy with 21 the preliminary injunction against Going Green. “She was not above board,” he said of Pelham’s clinic. “We want the regulations to be in place so the operations that do come in operate above board.”…..The city will ask the court to order Pelham to reimburse the city for the cost of prosecution and pay a penalty, Barrett said. Napa Police Chief Rich Melton said it was important that rogue operators pay a financial price. This will serve as a deterrent to others, he said…… http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2009/12/12/news/local/doc4b232fa4ae966275958214.tx t Fresno judge orders pot club shutdown over zoning The Associated Press /10/09/2009 FRESNO, Calif.—A judge is ordering nine Fresno medical marijuana dispensaries accused of violating a city zoning ordinance to stop distributing pot. The city says Fresno County Superior Court Judge Alan Simpson issued a temporary restraining order Friday against the clubs as city attorneys seek a more permanent order. The city requires dispensaries be in compliance with both state and federal laws…..The dispensaries' attorneys argued that the ordinance's guidelines ensure that no dispensary could operate within the city, improperly undermining state law. But Simpson says nothing in the state's medical marijuana laws pre-empted a local government's right to regulate land use. http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_13527533?nclick_check=1 Fresno to Seek Contempt Charges against Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Tuesday, November 17, 2009 Fresno, California (KFSN) --The city of Fresno is preparing for a new round of legal action against medical marijuana dispensaries that are defying a judge's order to shut down. The city attorney's office thinks one or two clinics are still operating despite last month's temporary injunction…..The city says it may soon seek contempt charges which could lead to fines and even jail time for business owners who refuse to shut down. Fresno Assistant City Attorney Doug Sloan said, "It is frustrating but we have seen in other jurisdictions where for example in the city of Oakland where the U.S. attorney got an order to shut one down and they continued to operate and the U.S. attorney had to pursue contempt also. So it's not unusual." http://abclocal.go. com/kfsn/story?section=news/politics&id=7122662 Fines mount for Walnut Creek marijuana dispensary By Elisabeth Nardi /Contra Costa Times /10/17/2009 Even as the chief executive of the C3 Collective cut a ribbon to officially open Walnut Creek's first medical marijuana dispensary, the city continued to push for the center's closure C3 held an official opening ceremony Oct. 8, even though it has been open and providing medical marijuana to its members for months. The opening happened in the face of the city's mounting defense against the collective. The nonprofit private collective is already being hit with zoning violation fines from the city — $500 for every day it is open. So far the collective owes more than $14,800. On Oct. 6, just two days before the grand opening, the city denied C3's appeal of the fines at an administrative review hearing. C3 has been ordered to pay the money by Nov. 6. Walnut Creek officials not only consider the dispensary's operation illegal, but say similar legal uses, such as pharmacies, are prohibited by zoning code on Oakland Boulevard, where the collective operates. The city sued the collective last month in an effort to shutdown the dispensary; the first hearing in that case is in March. But city attorneys are working on an injunction that, if granted, could force the center to close down sooner….."Our objective is compliance, not to get money out of people." The only way for C3 to comply would be to shut down. But that isn't going to happen, Candell said. "Their priority is the continuation of service to their patients who need medication," he said. "C3 feels they would be abandoning their patients if they were to just fold up their tent at this point." Candell said he doesn't understand why the city is pushing for a shutdown so hard 22 when, he believes, there will eventually be an ordinance that allows dispensaries in Walnut Creek. City staff is currently studying whether to allow, or permanently prohibit, medical marijuana dispensaries. http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_13577861 Medical marijuana ordinance passed By Jenny McGill /Wednesday, December 2, 2009 The Kingsburg City Council passed an emergency ordinance Nov. 18 to keep medical marijuana dispensaries out of the city for now. Kingsburg City Manager Don Pauley said the city had received a request from someone wanting to apply for a business license to open a medical marijuana dispensary in Kingsburg. The emergency ordinance keeps that from happening now. Pauley said that currently the city has been working on preparing an ordinance about the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries and medical marijuana cooperatives in Kingsburg. That ordinance will be presented to the city council and planning commission so it can be voted on later. But until that happens, Kingsburg had no regulations about medical marijuana dispensaries or cooperatives in the city. That is why the emergency ordinance needed to be passed, giving the city time to make its own rules and regulations concerning the establishment or non-establishment of medical marijuana shops……"The laws are evolving as cases go through the system," Pauley said. Rissa Stuart, acting Kingsburg city attorney, said at the council meeting that 120 cities have banned medical marijuana dispensaries in their jurisdictions. City council members did not discuss the issue, but voted unanimously to approve the emergency ordinance. The city of Selma passed a similar ordinance in October. Selma had received two inquiries about setting up a medical marijuana dispensary in the city. There have been court cases won on each side of the medical marijuana argument.…..In a report to the Kingsburg Council, City Attorney Michael Noland wrote: "...in order to protect the public safety, health and welfare of the citizens of Kingsburg, to adopt as an urgency measure, an interim ordinance prohibiting any uses that may be in conflict with a contemplated general plan, specific plan, or zoning proposal the city council, the planning commission or city staff are considering or studying." http://www.kingsburgrecorder.com/articles/2009/12/02/news/doc4b16d7e869620594518894.txt No place for marijuana dispensary in Saratoga, at least not for the next 45 days By Brian Babcock /Saratoga News /11/24/2009 With a quick discussion and vote, the Saratoga City Council has bought time to figure out what to do about medical marijuana dispensaries, which have been popping up in cities around the Bay Area for years. There will be no dispensaries opening up in Saratoga — at least for the next 45 days — as a result of an interim urgency ordinance the council unanimously approved at its Nov. 18 meeting. The town of Los Gatos approved a similar moratorium last month. The Saratoga City Council also has the ability to extend a decision on the issue for as long as two years, said city attorney Richard Taylor. The city has fielded "several inquiries from prospective medical marijuana dispensary operators," community development director John Livingstone wrote in a report to the council. The city of Saratoga's code does not specifically address medical marijuana dispensaries as a permitted or conditionally permitted use in any zoning district, Livingstone said. The city also does not have regulations in place regarding licensing for anyone seeking to establish a dispensary. Cities that have permitted dispensaries have seen a rise in crime, ranging from loitering to drug dealing to robberies, Livingstone's report states. The establishment of dispensaries has also negatively affected public health, safety and welfare in those cities, he wrote. The correlation between medical marijuana dispensaries and an upsurge in crime is very real, said Capt. Terry Calderone of the Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff-West Valley Division. "There's always a connection between narcotics use, whether it be medical marijuana or illegal narcotics, and property crimes," he told the council…… http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_13859036 23 Some cities banning medical marijuana providers Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer /10/13/2009 San Bernardino City Councilman Chas Kelley is unambiguous about his opposition to allowing medical marijuana to be distributed in his city. "I just don't want to be a regional magnet," said Kelley, noting that nearby cities had prohibitions on the books before San Bernardino followed their lead last month……In San Bernardino County, the response to medical marijuana has generally been to just say "no" -or at least "not yet." Officials in several local cities have adopted bans or moratoriums aimed at keeping cannabis providers out of some towns…..A California Police Chiefs Association report on medicinal marijuana is but one voice of skepticism. The paper argues that federal law trumps Proposition 215 and that dispensaries, which should be deemed illegal, are likely targets for criminals looking to score pot or cash. "Marijuana dispensaries are commonly large money-making enterprises who will sell marijuana to most anyone who produces a physician's written recommendation for its medical use," the report reads. "These recommendations can be had by paying unscrupulous physicians a fee and claiming to have most any malady, even headaches." Kelley, the San Bernardino councilman, referred to the report in late September when he won his colleagues' approval to ban dispensaries from the city. He echoed concerns that cannabis can be prescribed for trivial problems and that without a ban, San Bernardino could become a place where the sight of people "puffing away on weed" becomes a new obstacle to business development. Redlands and Yucaipa have already banned dispensaries, and Rialto is moving in that direction. Other inland jurisdictions have adopted temporary bans that block cannabis providers until more detailed policies can be crafted. Loma Linda, Montclair and Yucca Valley are among the cities that have moratoriums. County government also has a moratorium. San Bernardino County extended its temporary ban in August, but some providers who set up operations before county officials acted are still dispensing marijuana…… http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_13548448?nclick_check=1 Los Gatos council says no to having medical marijuana dispensary in town By Judy Peterson /Los Gatos Weekly-Times /10/13/2009 Cancer patients