Pubdate: Wed, 28 Oct 2015 Source: Orange County Register, The (CA) Copyright: 2015 The Orange County Register Contact: http://www.ocregister.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321 MORE LICENSES, FEWER RAIDS The folks over at Sky High Collective must be on a first-name basis with Santa Ana's finest, as city police raided the medical marijuana dispensary Monday - the fourth time in five months. It is also the same dispensary where, on May 26, a hidden security camera that went unnoticed recorded officers dismantling surveillance equipment, playing darts, making derogatory remarks about an amputee bystander and, purportedly, helping themselves to some edible marijuana products. According to a copy of a search warrant, obtained by the Register, police in the Monday raid seized "about 22 pounds of marijuana edibles, computers, electronic tablets and digital video recorders." They likely got all the cameras this time. An internal investigation into the May 26 raid continues, although, five months later, we wonder if any progress has been made. We also wonder why more progress hasn't been made on the legalization front; only three licensed dispensaries, out of a potential 20, have opened in Santa Ana. Further, the most recent raid seems just another example of how enforcement efforts appear to be having little effect on illegally medical marijuana outlets. One patient the Register interviewed outside Sky High Collective summed up the conundrum. "They've already closed it a couple of times, but they open back up," Omar Tawil said. "I guess it's on to the next one." And it will continue to be "on to the next one" until the pace of of opening legal dispensaries more closely approximates the zeal with which illegal operators are closed. The pattern of sporadic raids on unlicensed dispensaries, coupled with a prolonged licensing process for more businesses, denies revenue to the city and harms the legitimate operators, who are placed at a competitive disadvantage against their illicit rivals for agreeing to the regulatory hurdles and hefty fees the city requires. South Coast Safe Access paid the city $22,900 in its first month of legal operation, but, the Register noted, the operators felt business had been "slowed by unlicensed, illegal competitors." Licensing delays are only further enriching the illicit marijuana trade. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom