Pubdate: Thu, 27 Sep 2012
Source: News-Herald, The (Southgate, MI)
Copyright: 2012 Heritage Newspapers
Contact: http://www.heritagenews.com/lettertoeditor/
Website: http://www.thenewsherald.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4015
Author: Dave Herndon

POLICE RAID TWO MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES IN CITY

ALLEN PARK - Yesterday afternoon police raided a pair of medical
marijuana dispensaries that were operating illegally.

Interim Police Chief James Wilkewicz said the dispensaries were
operated by the same people, and were illegally serving dozens of
clients a day.

One dispensary was in a shopping complex at the corner of Reeck Road
and Maylawn Avenue. Wilkewicz said the site was doubly in the wrong
because the operators lied on the certificate of occupancy filed with
the city. According to their filings, they were supposed to be
operating a car service.

The other dispensary was on Ecorse Road between Allen and Pelham in a
small building next to a store that sells smoke supplies.

Under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Law, dispensaries are not a legal
way to sell marijuana to patients.

"The law says no dispensaries period," Wilkewicz said. "Until there
are changes to that, we'll keep shutting them down."

Wilkewicz said police used a combination of tips and confidential
informants to prove that the shops were operating illegally.

"Under the law, you have to have a patient/caregiver relationship," he
said. "We had people go in there with medical cards and no other
relationship that were able to buy right away."

Police handled the drug bust without the assistance of any other law
enforcement groups, mainly because they had to pull their officer out
of the Downriver Area Narcotics Organization after budget and
personnel cuts.

Department officials confiscated money, equipment and "pounds" of
marijuana. Wilkewicz couldn't release further specifics on what was
taken.

No arrests have been made yet, but, according to Wilkewicz,
information that could lead to warrants will be passed along to the
Wayne County Prosecutor's Office "soon."

"I have officers working on building a case," he said.

He stressed that dispensaries are currently illegal, and that the
department will continue to shut down any that open in the city.

"They can go somewhere else," Wilkewicz said. "If they open here,
we'll keep closing them down."
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MAP posted-by: Matt