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’,”
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.
KTVB.com: “Police shut down and raided the 45th Parallel medical marijuana dispensary in Ontario Tuesday, alleging illegal activity on behalf of its members.”
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.”
Woodland Hills Patch: “Two women were arrested Tuesday afternoon during a raid on medical marijuana dispensary in Woodland Hills” California.
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.”
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’.”
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!!!
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.”
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.”
East Bay Express: “San Diego’s U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy sure has some strong opinions about medical weed. . . . Duffy . . . has gone on to threaten local city officials in Del Mar with jail time for administering lawful medical cannabis regulations. Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union told Duffy to can it. Registered voters in Del Mar will have a choice to regulate clubs at the ballot box this November, and Duffy’s threats against Del Mar officials amount to “unjustified interference in local legislative matters,” wrote David Loy, legal director for the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties, in an open letter.”
Laura Duffy wrote her letter of July 17, 2012, in response to a request from Del Mar, California, City Attorney Leslie Devaney “concerning the Department of Justice’s guidance on investigations and prosecutions in states and cities that authorize the medical use of marijuana. This letter is written to clarify the U.S. Department of Justice’s guidance on this issue.” Ms. Duffy’s letter states:
“You raised concerns with respect to the citizen-drafted City of Del Mar Compassionate Use Dispensary Regulation and Taxation Ordinance (“Ordinance”) which has qualified with sufficient signatures to be placed on the November 2012 ballot in the City of Del Mar, California. . . . State and City employees who conduct activities mandated by the Ordinance are not immune from liability under the CSA.”
East Valley Courier: “The Department of Public Safety served a search warrant Tuesday afternoon for the cultivation of marijuana at a home where two medical marijuana patients live. . . .The actual amount of usable cannabis buds was about two pounds, according to DPS detective Lance Shupe. It was the second DPS-led raid on the home of William Larry Hess in as many years. . . . Detective Shupe said Hess’ rock/metal wall reached a maximum height of only eight feet and was not compliant with the regulations. ‘Even though a marijuana patient can have 12 plants each, they were in violation of cultivating,’ Shupe said.”
Reason TV produced a six minute video about the recent arrest of California medical marijuana dispensary owner Aaron Sandusky. “This is a Constitutional battle, and we’re going to defend our rights,” says Aaron Sandusky who faces federal drug trafficking charges despite operating his dispensary within California’s medical marijuana laws. Sandusky was interviewed after his recent release from jail on bail pending his trial.
httpvh://youtu.be/9R7XNPYZ73M
Gila County Attorney Daisy Flores said, “Arizona voters determined that dispensaries should be permitted if in compliance with our Arizona law, as county attorney, I must respect the will of the people.”
The Las Vegas Review-Journal is reporting that two Arizona card-carrying medical marijuana patients were arrested for growing more marijuana plants and possessing more marijuana than allowed under Arizona’s medical marijuana law. The men are Trent Salem and Brandon Militello. Trent is the son of the mayor of Kingman, Arizona.
The video below should be watched in its entirety by the types of people listed below who personally or in connection with any type of entity grow, sell or distribute marijuana (medical or otherwise) in Maricopa County, Arizona:
In the video Maricopa County Attorney William Montgomery states:
Montgomery: “Rather than allow people to take additional action an put themselves in jeopardy of prosecution at a later point in time it is more prudent now to let people know that their conduct is not authorized.”
Question: “A patient growing pot at home is that person at risk of being prosecuted?”
Montgomery: “Yes. You cannot grow it.”
Question: “Are employees of a dispensary at risk?
Montgomery: “Yes”
Question: “Are the owners of the business at risk?”
Montgomery: “Yes”
Question: “Would you open a dispensary right now? Would you even work there?”
Montgomery: “Absolutely not. . . . Part of my statements at this point in time is to literally help, help to protect those people from conducting any more business or taking another step in that direction which would jeopardize whatever resources they put into it as well as their own liberty.”
Hungry Horse News: “Two more people connected with a medical marijuana business on Jellison Road were sentenced to prison in federal court, including the head of an operation prosecutors claim did business across the U.S. According to court documents, Christopher Durbin, 33, of Oregon and Whitefish, owned and operated several businesses in the Flathead Valley, including Four Seasons Gardening, Northern Lights Medical and Good Medicine Providers . . . . Prosecutors also claim Durbin deposited about $71,900 at Glacier Bank in 16 cash deposits ranging from $4,000 to $6,000 — structured small enough not to cause the bank to file a currency transaction report. Witnesses were prepared to testify that Durbin talked about the need to make deposits small enough to avoid the currency transaction reports.”
KVOA.com: “The Green Halo caregiver collective, or GHCC, was incorporated as Green Halo LLC on April 25, 2011 with the purpose of distributing medicinal marijuana to patients for free. On Tuesday, four people working at the facility, at 3359 N. Freeway, were arrested for unlawful possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of marijuana for sale. After a two month investigation, police determined the marijuana was not really free.”
For more on the topic the legality of cannabis clubs under Arizona’s medical marijuana laws read “Are Arizona Cannabis Clubs Legal Under Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Laws?“
CBS 13 Sacramento: “A Sacramento restaurant was raided Wednesday by Sacramento sheriff’s deputies. They say it was a front for a medicinal marijuana dispensary. Believe it or not from sheriff’s deputies who’ve eaten here, this place has the reputation of having great food but even members of law enforcement didn’t suspect the other business being operated here.”
Washington Post: “If someone wanted to do business in the small Southern California city of Cudahy, federal prosecutors say one-time city manager Angel Perales had some advice. “Money makes the monkey dance,” Perales told an FBI informant, according to court documents. Perales, Mayor David Silva and Councilman Osvaldo Conde were arrested Friday and charged with soliciting and accepting cash bribes totaling $17,000 to support the opening of a medical marijuana dispensary.”
See other stories on these arrests:
4KXLF.com: “A Bozeman couple that operated medical marijuana dispensaries in Dillon, Big Sky and Bozeman were sentenced in federal court this week. Mark Sigler and Valerie Sigler were ordered to each forfeit $450,000 by Judge Donald Molloy. Mark must also service six months home arrest and four years of supervised release.”
Reason.com: “Medical marijuana dispensary owner Aaron Sandusky might be going to jail for a long, long time. . . . Thom Mrozek, the press representative for the Department of Justice’s Central California district, responded to questions about G3 Holistic with this emailed statement: ‘Those associated with the G3 marijuana store ignored a series a warnings that the retail store in Upland was operating in violation of the law. Those warnings came from local officials, through letters from the Department of Justice, during the execution of search warrants and through civil lawsuits’.”
Sandusky and the DEA’s previous raids on G3 Holistic are showcased in this Reason.tv video on Obama’s war on medical marijuana.
httpvh://youtu.be/WYANybQlaUc
The Press-Enterprise: “Federal authorities indicted and arrested six men connected with the operation of G3 Holistic, a chain of Inland medical marijuana dispensaries which federal authorities say were actually for-profit marijuana sales storefronts. G3 tried in 2011 to hide more than $3.3 million it took in ‘to maintain the façade of G3 Holistic as a nonprofit organization,’according to an Internal Revenue Service analysis. . . . In a civil forfeiture complaint, the government claimed that a forensic investigation by the IRS identified 19 bank accounts linked with G3 Holistic Inc. or individuals connected with it. The accounts had received $3.3 million in deposits during an eight-month period in 2011, with withdrawals nearly equaling that amount. The IRS concluded it was to make G3 appear to be a nonprofit organization.”
The six people who were indicted are: Aaron Sandusky, John Leslie Nuckolls II, Keith Alan Sandusky, Paul Neumann Brownbridge, Richard Irwin Kirchnavy and Brandon Anton Gustafson.
Words of Advice to Medical Marijuana Dispensary Owners: Keep a low profile. Do not do media or interviews. Aaron Sandusky has a Youtube video that not only got him on the feds radar, but probably made him a target of enforcement action.
httpvh://youtu.be/lfKE-zSVeAo
Phoenix New Times: “People caught near the U.S.-Mexico border with backpacks bulging with marijuana are eligible for reduced sentences under a new policy by the Arizona U.S. Attorney’s Office. “Backpackers” with no prior history of drug offenses and no extenuating circumstances, like also packing a firearm, are receiving plea deals that reduce the initial charge to a misdemeanor with a sentence of 180 days behind bars, according to a letter from the office obtained by New Times. The amount of pot in the backpack apparently doesn’t matter.”
The text below is a June 6, 2012, press release issued by the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. “Federal enforcement actions – the asset forfeiture lawsuits and warning letters – have now targeted more than 220 marijuana stores and grows in the Central District of California.” That is more than two times the number of dispensaries Arizona will have, but each Arizona dispensary will be growing and selling on a large scale by virtue of the fact Arizona’s medical marijuana law limits the number of dispensaries.
If you are involved with an organization that is seeking to obtain a license to operate an Arizona medical marijuana dispensary or a landlord that is considering leasing to a dispensary you must read this press release and note the text in bold in red then ask yourself this question:
Why in the world would you want to risk your future by getting involved with an Arizona medical marijuana dispensary?
Federal Enforcement Actions Against Commercial Marijuana Operations Continue with Warning Letters and Civil Lawsuits Targeting Illegal Storefronts in Los Angeles County
LOS ANGELES – As part of the ongoing federal enforcement actions against the commercial marijuana industry in California, federal authorities this week filed two asset forfeiture lawsuits against properties housing three marijuana stores in Santa Fe Springs and sent warning letters to people associated with another 34 illegal marijuana operations in Los Angeles County.
The warning letters and lawsuits target all known marijuana stores in the communities of Santa Fe Springs, Whittier, South El Monte, La Mirada, Diamond Bar, Artesia, Paramount, South Gate, City of Commerce, Agoura Hills and Malibu.
The two civil asset forfeiture complaints were filed yesterday in United States District Court in Los Angeles against two properties in Santa Fe Springs where marijuana stores are currently operating. According to the lawsuits, “Under federal law, the distribution of marijuana (a Schedule I controlled substance under Title 21) is prohibited except under very limited circumstances not applicable here. The government is informed and believes that at all times relevant to this complaint, the operation of the marijuana stores on the defendant property was not (and is not) permitted under California law.”
The forfeiture lawsuits allege that the owners of the properties knowingly allowed commercial marijuana stores to operate in Santa Fe Springs. The buildings named in the forfeiture lawsuits house:
two marijuana stores located on one property on Rosecrans Avenue which have been the subject of cease and desist letters issued by Santa Fe Springs and which appear to involve a landlord as a silent partner; and
a marijuana store on Telegraph Road that received a cease and desist letter from the city, and which is being operated by a man with a prior conviction in state court for possession of marijuana for sale.
The two marijuana stores at the Rosecrans Avenue location – Tri-City Patient’s Association and the Canna-America Collective (until recently known as the Organic Way Collective) – were the subject of federal search warrants that were executed this morning.
In conjunction with the filing of the asset forfeiture complaints, letters were mailed out yesterday to the property owners and operators of 34 additional marijuana stores that are either currently operating or were recently closed in selected areas in Los Angeles. The warning letters give the operators and landlords 14 days to come into compliance with federal law or risk potential civil or criminal actions.
This week’s enforcement actions in Los Angeles County follow similar actions in recent months across the seven-county Central District of California. Starting in October 2011, prosecutors began filing asset forfeiture lawsuits and sending letters to marijuana operations in selected areas in the Central District of California (see, for example: http://www.justice.gov/usao/cac/Pressroom/2012/056.html).
With the lawsuits filed this week, the United States Attorney’s Office has filed a total of 12 asset forfeiture complaints. Three of those actions have been resolved with the closure of the marijuana stores and court-approved consent decrees in which property owners agreed that they would no longer rent to people associated with illegal marijuana operations or the property would be subject to an immediate forfeiture to the government.
Federal enforcement actions – the asset forfeiture lawsuits and warning letters – have now targeted more than 220 marijuana stores and grows in the Central District of California. The majority of those stores are now closed, are the subject of eviction proceedings by landlords, or have been the subject of additional federal enforcement actions such as search warrants.
In October 2011, the four United States Attorneys in California announced the coordinated enforcement actions targeting illegal marijuana cultivation and trafficking (see: http://www.justice.gov/usao/cac/Pressroom/2011/144a.html).
The United States Attorney’s Office is working in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration and IRS – Criminal Investigation. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which provides law enforcement services in most of the communities targeted this week, provided substantial assistance to federal authorities.
Release No. 12-074
Emphasis added.
The Gazette: “An El Paso County jury on Monday acquitted a corporate trainer turned-medical marijuana grower on drug cultivation charges . . . . [Elisa] Kappelmann, who left her job at Hewlett Packard in Colorado Springs to open a medical marijuana dispensary, had faced up to 12 years in prison on two felonies in connection with a May 2010 raid on a Colorado Springs warehouse where she leased an 800-square-foot suite as a temporary grow house.”
The following is the complete text of a letter dated February 16, 2012, that was sent by Ann Birmingham Sheel, the U.S. Attorney for Arizona, to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer:
“February 16, 2012
The Honorable Janice K. Brewer
Governor of Arizona
1700 W. Washington Street
Phoenix, AZ 85007Dear Governor Brewer:
I write in response to your letter dated January 13, 2012, seeking guidance from my office and the Department of Justice concerning the potential criminal and civil ramifications for state employees implementing the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA). As noted in previous communications from this office, Congress has determined that marijuana is a controlled substance within Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Enforcement of the federal Controlled Substances Act has been, and continues to be, a priority for the Department of Justice. Thus, compliance with the AMMA and Arizona regulations will not provide a safe harbor or immunity from federal prosecution for anyone involved in the cultivation and distribution of marijuana.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona (“the USAO”) will continue to follow the guidance received from the Department of Justice in October 2009 and June 2011. Under this guidance, seriously ill individuals who use marijuana as part of a medically-recommended treatment regimen, consistent with state laws, or caregivers individuals providing care to seriously ill individuals-will likely not be the focus of the USAO’s limited prosecutorial resources. Nonetheless, neither a person’s status as an individual, or a caregiver, nor compliance with the AMMA, renders possession or distribution of marijuana lawful under the Controlled Substances Act. As such, state employees who conduct activities authorized by the AMMA are not immune from liability under the CSA.
This USAO will continue to vigorously enforce the Controlled Substances Act against individuals and entities that operate and facilitate large marijuana production facilities and marijuana production facilities involved in the cultivation, sale, and distribution of marijuana, even if purportedly for medical purposes. The USAO will evaluate all potential civil and criminal enforcement actions on a case-by-case basis in light of the priorities of the Department of Justice and available prosecutorial resources.
I thank you for providing me with this opportunity to clarify the position of the Department of Justice as it relates to the potential prosecution of state employees operating under
the AMMA.Sincerely yours,
ANN BIRMINGHAM SCHEEL
Acting United States Attorney
District of Arizona”
The red text in bold was added for emphasis.
We were unaware until today that Arizona’s medical marijuana advocate Alan Sobol was indicted in January of 2012 on ten criminal counts apparently from his activities in connection with the 2811 Club. The counts allege violations of the following Arizona Revised Statutes:
This story out of Montana should be a wake up call for anybody who leases or is considering leasing land that would be used to grow, store or sell marijuana, medical or non-medical. I knew that the federal government has sued landlords who leased to medical marijuana dispensaries for the purpose of causing the landlords to forfeit the land, but this is the first case I have heard about where the landlord was convicted of a crime.
Billings Gazette: “A Flathead Valley landlord has been sentenced to a year in prison for his tenants’ medical marijuana operation.”
The Sun: “Local and federal law enforcement agencies raided and shut down a medical marijuana clinic Tuesday morning in what police say was the first of eight dispensaries they plan to bust in the city. . . . ‘This should serve as notice to the other dispensaries that they’re not going to fly under the radar,’ said Fontana police Sgt. Billy Green. . . . ‘It’s significant to us because we have identified seven other medical marijuana facilities in the city, and we are working with the federal government to get them shut down as well,’ Green said”