Operators of a Costa Mesa medical marijuana dispensary that was raided by police in January sued the city and its Police Department on Tuesday, alleging that officers had no right to force their way into the Harbor Boulevard storefront. The lawsuit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, claims that Costa Mesa police never presented a warrant during or after the search, in which they arrested employees and confiscated marijuana products. According to attorney Matthew Pappas, who is representing the dispensary, Costa Mesa Collective, the city has refused to provide a list of the items the officers seized. [continues 427 words]
The Costa Mesa City Council has postponed its discussion of a new report by the police department that urges caution about the potential effects of medical marijuana dispensaries returning to the city. The discussion is now scheduled for 7 p.m. during the council's Dec. 16 meeting. It was originally set for Tuesday's meeting. In the report, police contend that dispensaries in Southern California "have had a negative impact on the communities where they operate," and are associated with "negative consequences for the surrounding communities, including robberies and murder." [continues 278 words]
There is a strong parallel between what is happening on our southern border with the large numbers of unaccompanied immigrant children crossing or attempting to cross into our country and what happened at the beginning of World War II. Then Jewish parents in Germany sent their children to England to protect them from the Nazis. Today Central American parents are sending their children to our country to protect them from the violence of drug gangs. It took a huge world effort to destroy the Nazis. However, only the United States can reduce the violence caused by these drug gangs by ending our failed war on drugs and controlling the distribution of all drugs. Note what is happening with marijuana in Colorado and Washington. [continues 694 words]
At the end of my Sept. 7 column, I asked you to respond to me about any area of importance to you, and I would show to your satisfaction how it was made worse by marijuana prohibition. So many of you took me up on my offer that I want to share my answers. So here goes: Under our curent system, marijuana is the largest cash crop in California - No. 2 is grapes. But when a product like marijuana is made illegal, it is pushed underground. So these are some of the obvious and not so obvious results: [continues 637 words]
With the recent statement by Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. that the federal government will not prosecute people for marijuana offenses as long as they are acting within the laws of their states, it is simply a question of time before the entire "war on drugs" is over. In fact, the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel is now in sight. This is not really a victory for those who want to use marijuana as much as it is a victory for liberty. The government should hold people responsible for their actions, but not for what they, as adults, put into their bodies. [continues 887 words]
Virtually all of us in the drug-policy and prison-sentencing reform movements applaud U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.'s comments Aug. 12 at the American Bar Assn. meeting in San Francisco. This was the first time within memory that a high-ranking federal official has stated the obvious: that we have far too many people in prison in the United States and should rethink our sentencing laws. As this column has mentioned several times, the United States has 5% of the world's population but 25% of its prisoners. Former U.S. Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia was quoted on the front page of Parade Magazine as saying, in reference to these statistics: "Either we are the most evil people in the world, or we are doing something wrong." [continues 1013 words]
I was amazed to hear a car recently crashed into a medical marijuana dispensary on 19th Street ("Driver held after SUV crashes into dispensary," July 4). The amazing part of this story is that in October 2011 the City Council of Costa Mesa called in the U.S. Department of Justice, resulting in the closing of all collectives in the city by Jan. 31, 2012, even though their actions may have been in violation of state opening meetings laws known as the Brown Act. [continues 439 words]
Costa Mesa High School graduate Kory Bennion addressed about 100 parents and students at his former campus this week during the culmination of the campus' anti-drug event. "There were people that were really close to me that were addicted to alcohol and drugs," he said about his time in high school. "And these were my parents." Bennion was one of two closing speakers Wednesday afternoon. The previous day students watched a documentary about drug overdoses, and earlier Wednesday, parents were invited to a resource fair featuring law enforcement, treatment centers and other tools like home drug tests. [continues 257 words]
Orange County Cannabis Alliance Wants Nonprofit Collectives to Operate Storefronts in Costa Mesa. Measure Could End Up on the November Ballot. Medical marijuana advocates on Wednesday submitted nearly 6,800 signatures to the Costa Mesa city clerk in hopes of placing an initiative on the November ballot that would legalize nonprofit collectives citywide. "It's imperative to provide safe access for veterans and cancer patients," said dispensary owner Robert Martinez. "I'm super stoked to bring these signatures." Martinez held a press conference outside of City Hall announcing that he and members of the Orange County Cannabis Alliance gathered nearly 1,000 more valid signatures than the 5,812 required, or 10% of registered voters. [continues 416 words]
Jones & Mayer attorney says decision vindicates what they have been fighting for on behalf of Costa Mesa. A federal appeals court decided Monday that cities do not violate the federal rights of the disabled when they shut down medical marijuana dispensaries - a ruling praised by Costa Mesa's legal counsel. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit by severely disabled Californians who were authorized by their physicians to use marijuana for medical purposes. [continues 361 words]
March 3, 2012 | 6:58 p.m. Editor's note: Judge James P. Gray (Ret.) was a speaker Feb. 16 at the closing banquet of an international forum titled "Drugs Unbalanced - After a Century of Their Prohibition." The forum was sponsored by Mexico United Against Delinquency, and was held at the Anthropological Museum in Mexico City. The following is a summary of his comments. As we part company, I wanted to use my time to present a final summary of this forum. But for reasons I will discuss, that cannot be done completely at this time. [continues 783 words]
The city has spent $457,612 on court fees in its court challenges of the marijuana clinics. Costa Mesa City Attorney Tom Duarte asked federal authorities months ahead of a January raid to help shutter the marijuana dispensaries operating illegally in the city, according to a letter he wrote to the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles. "In light of your office's recent announcement relating to increased enforcement against illegal marijuana cultivation and distribution, we therefore seek your office's assistance," Duarte wrote to U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. on Oct. 26. "We believe that by working together with the U.S. Department of Justice, we can eradicate these illegal businesses from our city." [continues 367 words]
Police estimate Costa Mesa has more than 40 marijuana dispensaries, even though they are technically illegal because a city ordinance bans them. COSTA MESA -- Mayor Gary Monahan wants to legalize marijuana dispensaries in the city. Speaking with retired U.S. Army veteran Robert Martinez on KOCI radio's "Cannabis Community" show Sunday morning, which was broadcast from his bar, Skosh Monahan's, Monahan said the city has to look at legalizing and registering the city's collectives to bring in regulation. [continues 439 words]
I have been speaking out for more than 19 years against our nation's policy of drug prohibition, but recently I encountered a view from Mexico that I had not heard before. It was titled "Drug Trafficker's Paradise," and was written by Francisco Martin Moreno in a column published on the Internet. Here is a summary of the questions he asked and what he wrote. Do you know the name of a single American drug kingpin of our times? I am, of course, not referring to the infamous "gangsters" of the Prohibition era in the United States, such as Capone, Dillinger and Frank Nitti (among so many underworld characters) who found in the United States the fertile ground necessary to develop and reach international "prestige." [continues 831 words]
On Sept. 1 you will have a chance to help us make history. On this date there will be an event to support the Regulate Marijuana Like Wine Initiative that will be on the November 2012 ballot. Please join us. The event will be hosted by Richard Moriarty at his Newport Beach Vineyards and Winery, 2128 Mesa Drive, Newport Beach, which overlooks the Back Bay from behind the Newport Beach Golf Course. This truly interesting winery isn't open to the public, and doesn't give public tastings, but Richard is opening his doors for us because he believes in this cause. [continues 863 words]
Newport Beach officials have decided to take legal action, and possibly shut down, three medical marijuana clinics for alleged city code violations. Last week, according to Newport Beach spokeswoman Tara Finnigan and meeting minutes, the City Council authorized staff during a closed session to begin so-called nuisance abatement proceedings against three clinics: West Coast Cure (2814 W. Newport Blvd.), Nature's Alternative Solutions (3400 Irvine Ave., No. 117) and The Healing Tree (4120 Birch St.). The city's zoning code doesn't allow people to operate a facility that violates federal law, said City Atty. David Hunt. [continues 164 words]
Judge Allows Group of Businesses Deemed Public Nuisances to Reopen Pending a Court Hearing Scheduled for June 3. COSTA MESA - A group of shuttered marijuana dispensaries previously deemed public nuisances were allowed to reopen in the city this weekend thanks to a court order, confirmed one of the business owners Saturday. Sue Lester, a former City Council candidate and owner of Herban Elements at 440 Fair Drive, said an Orange County Superior Court judge's order Friday allowing her business to reopen was the "right thing to do" pending a court hearing next month. [continues 154 words]
In my public discussions about our nation's failed and hopeless policy of marijuana prohibition, I often say that Proposition 19 actually won the election last November, but we will simply be delaying implementation for two years. I say that for two reasons. First, Proposition 19 was so successful in legitimizing the discussion about the failure of marijuana prohibition both statewide and nationwide, and even worldwide, that people for the first time have actually started to think seriously about the issue. And that is really all we need, because what we are doing today simply doesn't make sense. [continues 765 words]
There is a big difference between condoning marijuana use and protecting children from drugs ("It's A Gray Area: It always comes back to values," Nov. 14). Decriminalization acknowledges the social reality of marijuana and frees users from the stigma of life-shattering criminal records. What's really needed is a regulated market with age controls. Separating the hard and soft drug markets is critical. As long as organized crime controls marijuana distribution, consumers will continue to come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like cocaine, meth and heroin. This "gateway" is a direct result of marijuana prohibition. [continues 74 words]
After the recent election was over, one of my friends confided to me that in the final analysis that he was unable to vote in favor of Proposition 19, which would have treated marijuana like alcohol for adults. The reason was that marijuana is harmful, especially to children, and if the initiative passed it would be yet one more compromise and retreat away from our value system. I really understand his concerns. Almost everywhere we look today, we seem to be losing ground in what is healthy about our way of life. The examples are familiar to us all, such as the managers of the city of Bell and other cities ostensibly manipulating the finances so as to pay themselves unconscionable salaries and benefits, professional baseball players taking steroids, young people valuing their membership in juvenile gangs more than obtaining an education, and many more. So now we "legalize" marijuana, thus allowing additional moral backsliding and decay? For many people, this was simply too much, and they registered their protest at the polls. [continues 228 words]
