Pubdate: Tue, 18 Nov 2008
Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)
Copyright: 2008 The Orange County Register
Contact:  http://www.ocregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321
Author: Salvador Hernandez
Cited: Lake Forest City Council http://www.cityoflakeforest.com/cg/cg2b.htm
Cited: Americans for Safe Access http://www.americansforsafeaccess.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/states/ca/ (California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis - Medicinal - United States)

MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATES PROTEST LAKE FOREST RAIDS

LAKE FOREST - Two raids conducted at Lake Forest medical marijuana 
dispensaries Friday afternoon have owners and volunteers at other 
dispensaries on high alert. Advocates for the centers argue the raids 
and subsequent arrests are connected to attempts by the city to 
strong-arm the facilities into shutting down.

The searches of 215 Agenda and The Health Collective, conducted by 
the narcotics division of the Orange County Sheriff's Department, 
were "completely separate" from the city's attempt to shut down 22 
Lake Forest medical marijuana dispensaries through a lawsuit that 
alleges the businesses violate the city's zoning code, said City 
Attorney Scott Smith.

"Our lawsuits remain on track and still pending," Smith said in an 
interview before Tuesday night's City Council meeting.

At the meeting, about 10 people - patients who use medical marijuana, 
the owner and an employee of 215 Agenda, and other advocates of safe 
access - urged council members to safeguard Lake Forest medical 
marijuana storefronts.

"This is medicine that's affordable, that works for me, that provides 
me quality of life," said Jacob Davis, an 18-year-old nursing 
assistant currently in a wheelchair because of a head-on car crash last July.

"I don't have insurance, so I have to pay all this out of my pocket," 
said Davis, who uses medical marijuana to ease the pain from his 
accident. "If you close these storefronts, I don't have access to 
this medicine."

Daniel Hewitt, an employee of 215 Agenda working at the time of the 
raid, said he asked to see a search warrant five times to no avail. 
He also said police duck-taped the store's cameras before searching 
the facility and that customer Lawrence Fox was injured by police 
during the raid.

Councilmember Richard Dixon requested a memo from the sheriff's 
department about the issues raised by Hewitt.

Mark Moen, the owner of 215 Agenda, also spoke out during tonight's 
meeting, telling council members the dispensary is a non-profit.

"The reason I got into this business isn't for money," said Moen, who 
went on to share his need for medical marijuana after chemotherapy 
treatments. At the time, Moen said, "there was no access anywhere."

Investigators with the sheriff's department searched 215 Agenda and 
The Health Collective Friday afternoon, two of at least 22 
dispensaries operating in Lake Forest. Authorities also searched the 
homes of dispensary owners and managers in Westminster, Rancho Santa 
Margarita and Mission Viejo.

Moen, 50, Robert Adams Moody, 23, and Steven John Wick, 26, were 
booked on suspicion of marijuana sales, said Jim Amormino, spokesman 
for the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Moen and Moody were 
released after posting bond. Wick was later released.

Sheriff officials said search warrants that were served on two 
dispensaries and the homes of three owners of the collectives on 
Friday were the result of a lengthy investigation into the two 
establishments, and that city officials were not involved with the 
decision to search the two locations. Smith, the city attorney, 
declined to comment on whether city staff knew about the criminal 
investigation of the two dispensaries.

Medical marijuana proponents are concerned the raids could be part of 
an effort by the city to force dispensaries into closing, even though 
California law allows marijuana sales to people with a doctor's prescription.

"These were legal collectives," said Marla James, board member for 
Americans for Safe Access, an organization that supports the use of 
marijuana for medicinal purposes. "Rumors have spread that the 
sheriffs have more warrants planned."

The search warrants stemmed from a "months long" investigation into 
the two dispensaries and are not related to the lawsuit filed by the 
city, Amormino said.

But Christopher Glew, an attorney representing six of the 
dispensaries named in the city lawsuit, said the dispensaries are 
following California law. Glew described the sheriffs' decision to 
raid two dispensaries involved in a civil suit with the city as more 
than just a coincidence.

"It's just getting to the point of ridiculousness," Glew said. "It's 
become a matter of harassment."

Sheriff officials provided few details on why the search warrants 
were served, citing an ongoing investigation, but said it included 
the use of undercover operatives. Officials with the District 
Attorney's office were also present during the searches, Amormino said.

"(The investigation) revealed they were operating outside (state) 
law," Amormino said.

After California voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996, raids were 
often conducted by federal officials who said that although state law 
permitted the dispensaries, marijuana remained illegal under federal 
law. But earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice said it 
would stop pursuing federal drug cases against dispensaries that 
abide by state guidelines.

Since the U.S. Attorney General made the announcement, many 
dispensaries in California have operated with relative ease, but 
Friday's searches have led owners and volunteers in Orange County to 
express concern over what justifications were used by sheriff 
officials to search the dispensaries and seize its goods, said James 
of Americans for Safe Access.

"What it appears to be is there is pending litigation, they tried to 
evict them, now they're trying to strong arm these people out of 
here," Glew said. "What they're saying is, 'If we can't beat you in 
court, we're going to keep arresting you.'"

Sheriff officials said that is not the case.

"Ultimately it's going to be settled in court," Amormino said. "We 
have to provide information to the court in order to obtain a search warrant."

Farrah Emami, spokeswoman for the District Attorney's office said no 
charges have been filed against the three men as of Tuesday 
afternoon, though the case is still under investigation.

Glew said the searches and seizure of the dispensaries' marijuana 
seem to be part of an effort to pressure dispensaries into shutting down.

"It's very selective prosecution. I think it's very targeted," he 
said. "They just suddenly happened to pick two in Lake Forest? You 
have to start reading between the lines."

For proponents of medical marijuana vying to keep dispensaries open 
in Lake Forest, it's another chapter in their fight against the city.

In September, city officials filed a lawsuit naming 35 defendants, 
including dispensary owners and landlords who leased office space to 
the businesses.

In a ruling of a separate case last week, a judge found that one of 
the city's dispensaries, Earth Cann Wellness Center, was not in 
violation of the city's zoning laws and ordered its landlord to stop 
efforts to evict the dispensary. But city officials said the ruling 
would have no effect on their legal effort to shut down 22 
dispensaries, and an attorney representing the city said the 
dispensaries would be shut down by February.

Earth Cann Wellness filed a lawsuit in response to the city's case, 
alleging the city's efforts to prohibit dispensaries through 
municipal code conflicts with state law.

James said proponents of medicinal marijuana want to work with the 
city to regulate the dispensaries and make sure they are abiding by 
state guidelines. But their efforts have been rebuffed by the city, she said.

"I know they are concerned with the number of dispensaries," she 
said. "We're offering to help regulate them, but they ignore us." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake