Last month, New Mexico approved a bill banning the law-enforcement procedure allowing the seizure and sale of property alleged to have been used for criminal activities, where the property owners are not convicted or even charged with a crime, commonly known as civil asset forfeiture. The bill, HB560, requires a criminal conviction before property can be forfeited to the state, and passed both chambers with robust support from both Democrats and Republicans. Additionally, any proceeds from actual criminal convictions would be transferred to the state's general fund. [continues 654 words]
The Bay Area Medical Cannabis Industry Seems to Be Taking Two Steps Back for Every Step Forward Lately. Notes From Four of the Front Lines. Berkeley could add a fourth licensed brick-and-mortar dispensary by the end of the year, now that the March 20 deadline to apply for such a business license has passed. The city has three existing permitted dispensaries - Berkeley Patients Group, BPCC, and CBCB - a number that's been unchanged in a decade, said Charles Pappas, a member of the Berkeley Medical Cannabis Commission. [continues 804 words]
Medical marijuana dispensaries are now banned in the unincorporated areas of Solano County. Following a decision made by six of the seven cities in the county, the Solano County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously decided to "permanently prohibit medical marijuana operations." The city of Vallejo is the only city in the county that doesn't have a ban on medical marijuana dispensaries. "This is not a rural issue, it's an urban issue," said Supervisor Erin Hannigan. She added that dispensaries in the rural areas of the county would place an "undue burden" on the cities that have a ban. [continues 483 words]
The hot button that is medical marijuana was pushed Tuesday night in Vacaville, with speakers on both sides of the spectrum voicing passionate opinions at a public meeting on the issue. The goal -- for Solano County officials to gather commentary on whether potential dispensary sites are plausible. "This issue is one that a lot of local governments have struggled with," said Bill Emlen, the county's director of the Department of Resource Management. "It's a complicated issue, in reality. It's not a traditional land use issue." [continues 578 words]
The owners of a former Vallejo medical marijuana dispensary raided by police last year are suing the city for alleged abuse of power, excessive force and retaliation. Plaintiffs Daniel and Rhonda Chadwick operated Homegrown Holistic Cooperative, Inc. at 215 Tennessee St., which shut down after being raided by police on Aug. 10, 2012. It was one of at least six dispensaries raided by police last year; however, all of the cases fell apart because, lawyers argued, police didn't understand California law. [continues 306 words]
Legal concerns have doomed Napa's mission to provide a local medical marijuana dispensary. The federal government's surprising shift in 2011 toward aggressively fighting city ordinances that support these facilities has made it impossible for Napa to move forward with its previously approved initiative. Tuesday, the City Council wisely decided to reverse course and repeal the law permitting dispensaries within city limits. Legally, there weren't many other options. Where does that leave Napa's medical marijuana users? Most likely, in Vallejo. [continues 523 words]
Prohibiting medical marijuana dispensaries will not eliminate or even dissipate the existing cannabis market in Solano County ("Solano County leaders ban marijuana dispensaries for one year," July 31). But it will eliminate any opportunity for county officials to either regulate or provide oversight to this market. Prohibition is the absence of regulation. Prohibition drives markets underground and abdicates control of these markets to those who typically operate outside the boundaries of the law. By contrast, regulations allow for the government to establish legal parameters for where, when and how markets operate. [continues 131 words]
What a difference an election can make. Two years ago, when the Solano County Board of Supervisors adopted and later extended and re-extended a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas, it was with the hope that court rulings and staff know-how would eventually make that prohibition permanent. Sure enough, in May, the California Supreme Court ruled that cities and counties had the authority to decide whether dispensaries would be allowed in their communities. This week, staff presented an ordinance that would have prevented those dispensaries from being established in the unincorporated areas. [continues 376 words]
Poised to completely ban medical marijuana dispensaries from unincorporated regions of Solano County, the Board of Supervisors is now leaning in a different direction. Since 2011, supervisors and county staff have walked a thin line trying to come up with the best way to handle dispensaries setting up shop in the rural parts of the county. The federal government bans the use of marijuana, while California grants exceptions for medicinal use, creating a dilemma for communities across the state. The Solano County Planning Commission previously looked at the issue but did not submit a formal recommendation to supervisors since its vote was split 2 to 2, with one commissioner absent. [continues 437 words]
Two minutes after taking a five-second hit from a vaporizer, Josh felt the effects of the earwax marijuana rushing over him. "I felt like I was gonna die," the 17-year-old recalled. "The movie we were watching started to look 3-D. I kept seeing lights." What the others in the group Josh was with had failed to tell him when they offered the drug to him, was that earwax marijuana can include up to 90 percent THC. In short, it's highly hallucinogenic. And, knowledgeable sources say, it can be very dangerous to certain people. [continues 932 words]
State medical marijuana law does not trump local dispensary bans, regulation or other land use decisions, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday. Whether the ruling could add a new wrinkle to what Vallejo's next steps in regards to its fluctuating medical marijuana dispensary growth remains to be seen. While the ruling is a "big win" for Riverside County -- the litigant in the case -- and cities in general, Vallejo City Attorney Claudia Quintana said it may not have a significant impact on how the city approaches dispensaries. [continues 584 words]
These packaged marijuana products were returned this week to a Vallejo marijuana dispensary from the Vallejo Police Department. The items were confiscated last year duriing one of several raids on local dispensaries. The items were returned after the criminal case was dismissed. (Courtesy photo) As Solano County law enforcement brainstorms new ways to investigate marijuana dispensaries, Vallejo police this week returned nearly 60 pounds of weed and hundreds of dead plants to two dispensaries raided last year. The property was returned Wednesday to Better Health Group and L.E.S. collective members after a judge tossed out one of cases and prosecutors dismissed the other. Retired Solano County Superior Court Judge Allan Carter granted the order for the return of the property on April 12. [continues 486 words]
Following a favorable court ruling for a Vallejo dispensary on Thursday, police and prosecutors said Friday they are weighing their next steps. The ruling dismissed charges against the Better Health Group's operators, who had been charged with illegally selling marijuana. The case stemmed from a Vallejo police crackdown on several storefront collectives earlier this year. "We do not feel that this ruling was an open invitation for people to set up marijuana shops in Vallejo," police Lt. Lee Horton said Friday. "On the contrary, we feel that this case will be part of the overall effort to set clear guidelines and boundaries moving forward in how we deal with this issue. [continues 484 words]
Medical marijuana backers plan to march from the police department to City Hall next week to protest recent dispensary raids in Vallejo. The "Peaceful Protest and Advocacy March" is being organized by members of the now shuttered Better Health Group dispensary at 3611 Sonoma Blvd. The dispensary closed after a third raid by police on June 22. "We're organizing a rally to speak out against the raids and, in general, this kind of thuggish behavior by the police," said Morgan Hannigan, a 24-year-old dispensary volunteer and Vallejo resident. [continues 361 words]
It's bad enough that federal and state regulations regarding medical marijuana are still in conflict nearly 16 years after California became the first state to authorize its use. What's worse is that California still hasn't put its own rules into place. That leads to seemingly bizarre situations such as occurred last week: On Monday, a Solano County jury acquitted a Vacaville businessman of operating an illegal dispensary -- the only one in the city. The next day, an indictment of 25 drug suspects included a deposition that outlined some of their alleged connections with multiple medical marijuana dispensaries in Vallejo, which has at least 20 such storefront operations. [continues 550 words]
It was interesting to read about the problem of nitrate contamination in California ("Nitrate contamination spreading," March 14). I believe a retired game warden friend of mine has it correct when he says it's mainly due to illegal marijuana growing by Mexican drug cartels. Unfortunately, because of the spread of marijuana growers, Californians have lost safe access to much of the state. In 2010, I was pheasant-hunting on public land in Solano County and came across a freshly harvested marijuana farm that had not been there the previous year. Earlier the same year, while hunting deer on Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve (BCCER), I came across the remains of a marijuana plot. On BCCER, the growers dug out a reservoir in the trees at the foot of the cliffs, where fertilizer could be mixed and drip-fed to the marijuana plants. There was no response from the Solano Sheriff's department about the Solano grove, but I did get a response from the California Department of Fish and Game. [continues 154 words]
Months before Vallejo voters overwhelmingly approved taxing pot dispensaries as a first step toward regulating them, the police department set a chain of events in motion that would lead to a raid Tuesday of one of the city's most prominent clubs. Vallejo police Lt. Ken Weaver said Wednesday that Chief Robert Nichelini reached out to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration late last summer for help in going after a local dispensary. Nichelini had deferred all comment to Weaver, calling him the "point of contact" in the case. [continues 1101 words]
It is time for Solano County's elected officials to stop kicking the can down the road when it comes to the issue of regulating medical marijuana dispensaries. New flash: It's been almost 15 years now since California's voters enacted Proposition 215, allowing for the doctor-recommended use and cultivation of cannabis. So why do Solano County Supervisors require yet another 45 days to "research federal and state regulation on medical marijuana and the legalities of allowing dispensaries to open a business." ("Supes say medical marijuana dispensary on hold," Aug. 24). Just what legal revelations do the supervisors expect to realize in the next 45 days that they haven't determined in the last 5,350-plus days? What specific information do the supervisors require before making their decision that couldn't be provided by simply making phone calls to the city councils of Berkeley or Oakland, both of which have licensed and regulated dispensaries for well over a decade? [continues 205 words]
The Solano County Board of Supervisors is moving forward to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas of the county. Supervisors last month denied a request from a dispensary owner to amend zoning codes to allow dispensaries. Board members asked staff to bring back potential ordinance changes that would, in essence, ban medical marijuana dispensaries. On Tuesday, supervisors will consider adopting an interim urgency ordinance that imposes a 45-day moratorium on any business or facility that cultivates, sells and distributes medical marijuana in unincorporated Solano County. They will also decide whether to hold a public hearing Oct. 4 to consider an extension of the urgency ordinance. [continues 309 words]
A sensible ordinance spelling out where medical marijuana dispensaries could be located in unincorporated areas of Solano County goes before the Board of Supervisors this afternoon. Supervisors aren't likely to adopt it, and more's the pity since dispensaries are theoretically allowed to locate in the county, even though there are no rules to regulate them. That's because supervisors two years ago ducked the issue. The board couldn't muster the four votes needed to impose a two-year moratorium on medical marijuana, and rather than instruct staff to write some rules for dispensaries, it just let the matter drop. [continues 494 words]
