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"disqusTitle": "Harborside's Steve DeAngelo on Medical Marijuana Crackdown: 'Death by a Thousand Cuts'",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_40563\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 222px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/09/medicalmarijuanaSM.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-40563\" title=\"medicalmarijuanaSM\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/09/medicalmarijuanaSM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"222\" height=\"300\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marijuana plant buds at a dispensary. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It may not yet be time to call U.S. Attorney for Northern California Melinda Haag's enforcement actions against pot facilities over the past four months a \"war on medical marijuana,\" but she certainly took hostilities to a new level this week by \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oakland-marijuana-20120713,0,2948053.story\">filing civil forfeiture complaints against the landlords of the Harborside dispensaries\u003c/a> in Oakland and San Jose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last October, California's four U.S. attorneys\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\"> announced they would undertake a series of enforcement actions\u003c/a> against what was then the state's booming marijuana industry. Since then, hundreds of medical \u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/07/13/harborsides-steve-deangelo-on-medical-marijuana-crackdown-death-by-a-thousand-cuts/#interview\">\u003cstrong>Interview with Harborside's Steve DeAngelo\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>marijuana outlets have closed shop in the state, including some in the Bay Area and Northern California that had great stature in the medical marijuana community but were targeted by the federal government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some also had the express blessing of local officials. \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/03/15/berkeley-patients-group-marijuana-dispensary-to-close/\">Mayor Tom Bates on the shuttered Berkeley Patients Group\u003c/a>, for instance: \"We're really sorry to see them close up\"; Mendocino Supervisor John McCowen on the raided Northstone Organics: \"I believe [they] can account for every ounce of marijuana [grown]...and it's going to patients who have a physician recommendation.\" And Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker's statement on this week's Harborside action: \"As Oakland’s City Attorney and a former Assistant US Attorney, I strongly oppose federal actions against members of Oakland's business community who are complying with California and Oakland laws and regulations and paying their fair share of taxes.\" \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/03/15/interview-w-us-attorney-haag-on-pot-operations-if-its-close-to-children-thats-a-line-were-going-to-draw/\">March interview with KQED's Michael Montgomery\u003c/a>, U.S. Attorney Haag laid out criteria she said placed marijuana facilities in the most jeopardy of being targeted. In the interview, she emphasized proximity to schools and children:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>One of my concerns about dispensaries that are in proximity to schools and parks and playgrounds is the possibility they could be the target of violence or armed robbery. People in the community may be supportive of the dispensary being in their community until there's a robbery and people come running out of the dispensary shooting guns...When a dispensary comes to my attention that is close to a school, a park, a playground or children, that's a line I've decided to draw.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>The complaint against Harborside's landlords, however, have moved that line. Harborside is not near any facility that children may frequent, and Haag, in a statement, offered a new reason for going after a medical marijuana provider:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>This office has used its limited resources to address those marijuana dispensaries that operate close to schools, parks and playgrounds. As I have said in the past, this is a non-exclusive list of factors relevant to whether we should commence civil forfeiture actions against marijuana properties, and circumstances may require us to address other situations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I now find the need to consider actions regarding marijuana superstores such as Harborside. The larger the operation, the greater the likelihood that there will be abuse of the state’s medical marijuana laws, and marijuana in the hands of individuals who do not have a demonstrated medical need.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>While it may seem that Haag is changing the rules in the middle of the game, it is true that she left the door open for more expansive enforcement in her interview with Montgomery:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>I can't promise going forward that it won't change. I can't promise that we very well may find an appropriate case for criminal prosecution. We very well may find a case where it's appropriate to not give notice to the owner of the property but simply to institute an asset forfeiture action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I cannot promise that we will not bring actions against dispensaries that are not close to schools and parks and playgrounds but for some other reason we felt that it was appropriate to expand our look. So I don't want to send the message to people that if you are more than 1000 feet from a school you will not be targeted.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"interview\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today I talked about the situation with Harborside Executive Director Steve DeAngelo, a passionate advocate of medical marijuana who appeared in the Discovery Channel reality series \u003ca href=\"http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/weed-wars/\">Weed Wars\u003c/a>. DeAngelo characterized the federal crackdown on medical marijuana as \"death by a thousand cuts,\" contending that U.S. Attorney Haag will continue to expand the criteria for taking action against marijuana facilities that are legal in the state of California -- but not under federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Edited transcript...\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: How do you see the action against Harborside?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>HARBORSIDE'S STEVE DEANGELO\u003c/strong>: The Justice Department issued a statement that said we'd been targeted because of an abstract principle that larger dispensaries tend to result in more people inappropriately receiving cannabis. I don't think that's a valid principle, but even if it were, to target an organization like Harborside that has an exemplary record of legal compliance simply because of a general principle that may or not apply to other people in the industry is really an egregious abuse of prosecutorial discretion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: What are Harborside's plans for the future?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>STEVE DEANGELO\u003c/strong>: \u003ca href=\"http://www.insidebayarea.com/oakland-tribune/ci_21064582/customers-flock-marked-pot-dispensary\">We are open\u003c/a> and we have no intention of closing our doors voluntarily. We made a commitment to our patients six years ago to provide them with a safe place to get cannabis medicines and we're going to do that unless it becomes impossible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime I think the Justice Dept has grievously overreached; I think the amount of support both from public and elected officials demonstrates that. We intend to engage the Justice Dept. by every legal means.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: Have you talked to your landlords, who are the target of these actions?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>STEVE DEANGELO\u003c/strong>: The landlords at this point are evaluating the legal position they find themselves in. They are in legal communication with our counsel. At this point it's too early to say how it will unfold. We're confident we have not violated any of the provisions of our lease. I really feel for the property owners who, believing the Obama Justice Dept that they were not going to target organizations that were in compliance with state law and seeing we were licensed by the city of Oakland and in good standing, then leased us this property. Property owners are in a terrible position.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: When U.S. Attorney Haag laid out the proposition that facilities near children would be her primary target, she also said she wasn't promising that she wouldn't expand those criteria. Comments?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>STEVE DEANGELO\u003c/strong>: This is one in a series of lies. When the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">U.S. attorneys announced their campaigns last October\u003c/a> they said they were going to go after profiteers and criminals who were using the medical cannabis law as a shield for those activities. In fact if you take a look at who they have targeted it reads like an honor role of the most legitimate and compliant operators in the medical cannabis industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So first it was supposed to be profiteers and criminals, then she started targeting organizations with the highest integrity like the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana and Berkeley Patients Group and Divinity Tree and Vapor Room because they were supposedly too close to children. In San Francisco the park in the Tenderloin that one marijuana facility was close to had more crack vials and syringes than children playing in it and was directly cross the street from a strip club, a liquor store and an outdoor drug market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now she's saying it doesn't matter if you're not too close to a school if you're too large.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So after she rolls up all of the large dispensaries, she's then going to find another category of dispensary to go after. Clearly this is a strategy of death by a thousand cuts and one misrepresentation is going to be followed by another until the public stands up and demands it stop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: Melinda Haag also said this in her interview with Michael Montgomery: \"Marijuana dispensaries are full of cash and are very public about them. Some of them go on television…\" Do you think doing \"Weed Wars\" maybe wasn't the best idea?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>STEVE DEANGELO\u003c/strong>: We created Harborside intentionally as a model to demonstrate that medicine could be distributed in a way that brings benefits to communities not harm. We have an obligation to the patients that are in places that don't have access. It was always our belief that if all the world could see what we were doing at Harborside and see how we handled this medicine then they would support what we were doing. And that's true. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Do I regret doing \"Weed Wars\"? Absolutely not. After it aired we had a flood of senior citizens coming in, veterans, people from states where they don’t have access to medical cannabis. We had dozens and dozens of parents of gravely ill children coming to us because of what they saw. We were able to greatly expand the reach of patients we were providing for, and we were able to provide a positive example of cannabis distribution for the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I would say, however, that I think there's a connection between my outspoken views and Harborside being targeted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: I personally know several people who have prescriptions for medical marijuana who are not really sick or have minor ailments. They have found it very easy to go to a doctor and get a prescription. What do you say to the argument that there are healthy people who are getting prescriptions and making a mockery of the law?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>STEVE DEANGELO\u003c/strong>: Nobody's making a mockery of the law. California law explicitly allows a decision about whether or not cannabis should be used based on whether it's effective, and it turns out to be effective for a very wide range of medical and wellness conditions. California law requires the doctor and patient agree that this is something that would be beneficial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you take a look at the parade of pharmaceutical drugs offered to us every night with a range of side effects that comes out of something like a Stephen King novel, for things like insomnia and depression and anxiety and affective disorder and upset stomach and inability to digest and erectile dysfunction, all of which cannabis is more effective on and has fewer side effects than, I think there's a very strong case to be made that cannabis should not be considered a last line of defense for people who are terminally ill but rather the first, safest and most natural alternative to be looked to rather than pharmaceuticals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California we have a mechanism to address medical cannabis recommendations that have been written inappropriately. That mechanism is the Medical Board of California, which disciplines and examines doctors who are accused of wrongdoing. People who think recommendations are being written inappropriately should take their case there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's impossible for the staff of any dispensary to properly evaluate whether patients are truly ill who walk in with a recommendation. There are a great number of patients who are seriously ill who don't bear any physical signs of their illness. I don’t' think we have the ability to make that call, I don't think a cop sitting outside of a dispensary has the ability to make that call, and I don’t think a prosecutor watching \"Weed Wars\" has the ability to make that call. Only a well-trained doctor with access to all of the medical records can make a decision as to whether a recommendation is in compliance with that law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: Do you think the state bears any responsibility for this crackdown by virtue of not clarifying more specifically what is legal and what is not?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>STEVE DEANGELIS\u003c/strong>: Following the federal government, the major degree of responsibility falls on the California Assembly, which was requested by when Prop 215 was passed to set up a system of regulated distribution of medical cannabis. That has not happened all these years later. Even as recently as just a few weeks ago, the California Assembly, when presented with a perfectly reasonable regulatory scheme, failed to get it done, not because they had any real objections but because some of the Assembly members just don't like Prop 215. If people don’t like Prop 215, let them put another initiative on the ballot and let them see if they can get it past the voters and change the law.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the interview, I asked our reporter Michael Montgomery to assess the notion that U.S. Attorney Haag has expanded her list of targets with little or no warning. Here's what he had to say:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>It's worth going back to the\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\"> statements by the four U.S. Attorneys last year\u003c/a>. While they said medical marijuana was being used a cover by drug traffickers, they didn't say this would be the sole focus of their enforcement actions. Another face of the problem, as described by the U.S. Attorneys, was marijuana as a commercial industry. They did make it clear that size matters and that large-scale operators would be a priority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you look back at the internal guidelines developed for law enforcement agents by the U.S. Attorneys in California, whether you agree with them or not, they do set out certain thresholds -- that is, the amount of marijuana being cultivated or distributed. If you get above a certain threshold, according to the document, you become a higher priority target. Harborside, by its own admission, was responsible for the cultivation and distribution of marijuana way above the thresholds in these guidelines.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\n",
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"description": "It may not yet be time to call U.S. Attorney for Northern California Melinda Haag's enforcement actions against pot facilities over the past four months a "war on medical marijuana," but she certainly took hostilities to a new level this week by filing civil forfeiture complaints against the landlords of the Harborside dispensaries in Oakland",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_40563\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 222px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/09/medicalmarijuanaSM.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-40563\" title=\"medicalmarijuanaSM\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/09/medicalmarijuanaSM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"222\" height=\"300\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marijuana plant buds at a dispensary. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It may not yet be time to call U.S. Attorney for Northern California Melinda Haag's enforcement actions against pot facilities over the past four months a \"war on medical marijuana,\" but she certainly took hostilities to a new level this week by \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oakland-marijuana-20120713,0,2948053.story\">filing civil forfeiture complaints against the landlords of the Harborside dispensaries\u003c/a> in Oakland and San Jose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last October, California's four U.S. attorneys\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\"> announced they would undertake a series of enforcement actions\u003c/a> against what was then the state's booming marijuana industry. Since then, hundreds of medical \u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/07/13/harborsides-steve-deangelo-on-medical-marijuana-crackdown-death-by-a-thousand-cuts/#interview\">\u003cstrong>Interview with Harborside's Steve DeAngelo\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>marijuana outlets have closed shop in the state, including some in the Bay Area and Northern California that had great stature in the medical marijuana community but were targeted by the federal government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some also had the express blessing of local officials. \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/03/15/berkeley-patients-group-marijuana-dispensary-to-close/\">Mayor Tom Bates on the shuttered Berkeley Patients Group\u003c/a>, for instance: \"We're really sorry to see them close up\"; Mendocino Supervisor John McCowen on the raided Northstone Organics: \"I believe [they] can account for every ounce of marijuana [grown]...and it's going to patients who have a physician recommendation.\" And Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker's statement on this week's Harborside action: \"As Oakland’s City Attorney and a former Assistant US Attorney, I strongly oppose federal actions against members of Oakland's business community who are complying with California and Oakland laws and regulations and paying their fair share of taxes.\" \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/03/15/interview-w-us-attorney-haag-on-pot-operations-if-its-close-to-children-thats-a-line-were-going-to-draw/\">March interview with KQED's Michael Montgomery\u003c/a>, U.S. Attorney Haag laid out criteria she said placed marijuana facilities in the most jeopardy of being targeted. In the interview, she emphasized proximity to schools and children:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>One of my concerns about dispensaries that are in proximity to schools and parks and playgrounds is the possibility they could be the target of violence or armed robbery. People in the community may be supportive of the dispensary being in their community until there's a robbery and people come running out of the dispensary shooting guns...When a dispensary comes to my attention that is close to a school, a park, a playground or children, that's a line I've decided to draw.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>The complaint against Harborside's landlords, however, have moved that line. Harborside is not near any facility that children may frequent, and Haag, in a statement, offered a new reason for going after a medical marijuana provider:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>This office has used its limited resources to address those marijuana dispensaries that operate close to schools, parks and playgrounds. As I have said in the past, this is a non-exclusive list of factors relevant to whether we should commence civil forfeiture actions against marijuana properties, and circumstances may require us to address other situations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I now find the need to consider actions regarding marijuana superstores such as Harborside. The larger the operation, the greater the likelihood that there will be abuse of the state’s medical marijuana laws, and marijuana in the hands of individuals who do not have a demonstrated medical need.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>While it may seem that Haag is changing the rules in the middle of the game, it is true that she left the door open for more expansive enforcement in her interview with Montgomery:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>I can't promise going forward that it won't change. I can't promise that we very well may find an appropriate case for criminal prosecution. We very well may find a case where it's appropriate to not give notice to the owner of the property but simply to institute an asset forfeiture action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I cannot promise that we will not bring actions against dispensaries that are not close to schools and parks and playgrounds but for some other reason we felt that it was appropriate to expand our look. So I don't want to send the message to people that if you are more than 1000 feet from a school you will not be targeted.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"interview\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today I talked about the situation with Harborside Executive Director Steve DeAngelo, a passionate advocate of medical marijuana who appeared in the Discovery Channel reality series \u003ca href=\"http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/weed-wars/\">Weed Wars\u003c/a>. DeAngelo characterized the federal crackdown on medical marijuana as \"death by a thousand cuts,\" contending that U.S. Attorney Haag will continue to expand the criteria for taking action against marijuana facilities that are legal in the state of California -- but not under federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Edited transcript...\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: How do you see the action against Harborside?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>HARBORSIDE'S STEVE DEANGELO\u003c/strong>: The Justice Department issued a statement that said we'd been targeted because of an abstract principle that larger dispensaries tend to result in more people inappropriately receiving cannabis. I don't think that's a valid principle, but even if it were, to target an organization like Harborside that has an exemplary record of legal compliance simply because of a general principle that may or not apply to other people in the industry is really an egregious abuse of prosecutorial discretion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: What are Harborside's plans for the future?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>STEVE DEANGELO\u003c/strong>: \u003ca href=\"http://www.insidebayarea.com/oakland-tribune/ci_21064582/customers-flock-marked-pot-dispensary\">We are open\u003c/a> and we have no intention of closing our doors voluntarily. We made a commitment to our patients six years ago to provide them with a safe place to get cannabis medicines and we're going to do that unless it becomes impossible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime I think the Justice Dept has grievously overreached; I think the amount of support both from public and elected officials demonstrates that. We intend to engage the Justice Dept. by every legal means.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: Have you talked to your landlords, who are the target of these actions?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>STEVE DEANGELO\u003c/strong>: The landlords at this point are evaluating the legal position they find themselves in. They are in legal communication with our counsel. At this point it's too early to say how it will unfold. We're confident we have not violated any of the provisions of our lease. I really feel for the property owners who, believing the Obama Justice Dept that they were not going to target organizations that were in compliance with state law and seeing we were licensed by the city of Oakland and in good standing, then leased us this property. Property owners are in a terrible position.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: When U.S. Attorney Haag laid out the proposition that facilities near children would be her primary target, she also said she wasn't promising that she wouldn't expand those criteria. Comments?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>STEVE DEANGELO\u003c/strong>: This is one in a series of lies. When the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">U.S. attorneys announced their campaigns last October\u003c/a> they said they were going to go after profiteers and criminals who were using the medical cannabis law as a shield for those activities. In fact if you take a look at who they have targeted it reads like an honor role of the most legitimate and compliant operators in the medical cannabis industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So first it was supposed to be profiteers and criminals, then she started targeting organizations with the highest integrity like the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana and Berkeley Patients Group and Divinity Tree and Vapor Room because they were supposedly too close to children. In San Francisco the park in the Tenderloin that one marijuana facility was close to had more crack vials and syringes than children playing in it and was directly cross the street from a strip club, a liquor store and an outdoor drug market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now she's saying it doesn't matter if you're not too close to a school if you're too large.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So after she rolls up all of the large dispensaries, she's then going to find another category of dispensary to go after. Clearly this is a strategy of death by a thousand cuts and one misrepresentation is going to be followed by another until the public stands up and demands it stop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: Melinda Haag also said this in her interview with Michael Montgomery: \"Marijuana dispensaries are full of cash and are very public about them. Some of them go on television…\" Do you think doing \"Weed Wars\" maybe wasn't the best idea?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>STEVE DEANGELO\u003c/strong>: We created Harborside intentionally as a model to demonstrate that medicine could be distributed in a way that brings benefits to communities not harm. We have an obligation to the patients that are in places that don't have access. It was always our belief that if all the world could see what we were doing at Harborside and see how we handled this medicine then they would support what we were doing. And that's true. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Do I regret doing \"Weed Wars\"? Absolutely not. After it aired we had a flood of senior citizens coming in, veterans, people from states where they don’t have access to medical cannabis. We had dozens and dozens of parents of gravely ill children coming to us because of what they saw. We were able to greatly expand the reach of patients we were providing for, and we were able to provide a positive example of cannabis distribution for the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I would say, however, that I think there's a connection between my outspoken views and Harborside being targeted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: I personally know several people who have prescriptions for medical marijuana who are not really sick or have minor ailments. They have found it very easy to go to a doctor and get a prescription. What do you say to the argument that there are healthy people who are getting prescriptions and making a mockery of the law?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>STEVE DEANGELO\u003c/strong>: Nobody's making a mockery of the law. California law explicitly allows a decision about whether or not cannabis should be used based on whether it's effective, and it turns out to be effective for a very wide range of medical and wellness conditions. California law requires the doctor and patient agree that this is something that would be beneficial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you take a look at the parade of pharmaceutical drugs offered to us every night with a range of side effects that comes out of something like a Stephen King novel, for things like insomnia and depression and anxiety and affective disorder and upset stomach and inability to digest and erectile dysfunction, all of which cannabis is more effective on and has fewer side effects than, I think there's a very strong case to be made that cannabis should not be considered a last line of defense for people who are terminally ill but rather the first, safest and most natural alternative to be looked to rather than pharmaceuticals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California we have a mechanism to address medical cannabis recommendations that have been written inappropriately. That mechanism is the Medical Board of California, which disciplines and examines doctors who are accused of wrongdoing. People who think recommendations are being written inappropriately should take their case there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's impossible for the staff of any dispensary to properly evaluate whether patients are truly ill who walk in with a recommendation. There are a great number of patients who are seriously ill who don't bear any physical signs of their illness. I don’t' think we have the ability to make that call, I don't think a cop sitting outside of a dispensary has the ability to make that call, and I don’t think a prosecutor watching \"Weed Wars\" has the ability to make that call. Only a well-trained doctor with access to all of the medical records can make a decision as to whether a recommendation is in compliance with that law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>JON BROOKS\u003c/strong>: Do you think the state bears any responsibility for this crackdown by virtue of not clarifying more specifically what is legal and what is not?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>STEVE DEANGELIS\u003c/strong>: Following the federal government, the major degree of responsibility falls on the California Assembly, which was requested by when Prop 215 was passed to set up a system of regulated distribution of medical cannabis. That has not happened all these years later. Even as recently as just a few weeks ago, the California Assembly, when presented with a perfectly reasonable regulatory scheme, failed to get it done, not because they had any real objections but because some of the Assembly members just don't like Prop 215. If people don’t like Prop 215, let them put another initiative on the ballot and let them see if they can get it past the voters and change the law.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the interview, I asked our reporter Michael Montgomery to assess the notion that U.S. Attorney Haag has expanded her list of targets with little or no warning. Here's what he had to say:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>It's worth going back to the\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\"> statements by the four U.S. Attorneys last year\u003c/a>. While they said medical marijuana was being used a cover by drug traffickers, they didn't say this would be the sole focus of their enforcement actions. Another face of the problem, as described by the U.S. Attorneys, was marijuana as a commercial industry. They did make it clear that size matters and that large-scale operators would be a priority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you look back at the internal guidelines developed for law enforcement agents by the U.S. Attorneys in California, whether you agree with them or not, they do set out certain thresholds -- that is, the amount of marijuana being cultivated or distributed. If you get above a certain threshold, according to the document, you become a higher priority target. Harborside, by its own admission, was responsible for the cultivation and distribution of marijuana way above the thresholds in these guidelines.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Where will it end? In March, a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/03/15/interview-w-us-attorney-haag-on-pot-operations-if-its-close-to-children-thats-a-line-were-going-to-draw/\">U.S. attorney told KQED\u003c/a> that the federal crackdown on pot dispensaries would focus on establishments near places that children gather: schools, parks and playgrounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_70135\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/07/Harborside-press-conference.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-70135\" title=\"Harborside press conference\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/07/Harborside-press-conference-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Harborside Health Center attorney Henry Wykowski says the dispensary plans to stay open. (Caitlin Esch/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"http://www.harborsidehealthcenter.com/\">Harborside Health Center’s\u003c/a> facilities in Oakland and San Jose don’t fall into that category. So when federal authorities announced on Wednesday that they filed court papers to seize the company’s assets, they gave the impression that any dispensary may be fair game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in a press release Melinda Haag, US Attorney for Northern California, said as much: “I now find the need to consider actions regarding marijuana superstores such as Harborside. The larger the operation, the greater the likelihood that there will be abuse of the state’s medical marijuana laws, and marijuana in the hands of individuals who do not have a demonstrated medical need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harborside is one of the largest — some say \u003cem>the\u003c/em> largest dispensary in the world. And while medical marijuana is legal under state law, but it still breaks federal law. So federal agents can strike whatever pot dispensary they want, and the new move suggests none is safe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->Harborside’s management remains defiant. KQED’s Caitlin Esch attended a press conference there this morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s her report:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Through tears, Modesto resident Jason David told a crowd of reporters and cannabis activists Thursday that medical marijuana saved his 5-year-old son’s life. His son suffers from Dravet Syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The first time I ever gave him medical cannabis is the first time he ever went seizure-free in his life,” David said. “Can you imagine your kids having seizures every single day? Being in pain 12 to 14 hours a day? Crying and screaming?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David travels to Harborside’s Oakland location regularly to buy a custom-made liquid medicine for his son. David estimates he has a two-month supply left, and doesn’t know where he would go for the medicine if Harborside closed its doors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan called on federal prosecutors to focus on the real crisis in Oakland: violence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Please, we need those resources devoted to stopping the shooting, stopping the violence and stopping the killing. That should be the clear priority.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaplan said Harborside operates legally under state-law and pays more than a $1 million a year in city taxes. Kaplan said the 100-plus jobs the dispensary provides are critical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haborside Executive Director Steve DeAngelo said the dispensary helps more than 100,000 patients and he won’t go down without a fight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will resist this action with every legal means at our disposal,” DeAngelo said. “And should we be forced from our present location, we will find alternate means of providing medicine to our patients who need it. We will never abandon our patients; we will never abandon people like Jason David — not as long as I draw breath.”\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can see part of the press conference yourself in this video by \u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/user/tonythetraveler\">tonythetraveler\u003c/a>:\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ya5POFGyHZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Where will it end? In March, a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/03/15/interview-w-us-attorney-haag-on-pot-operations-if-its-close-to-children-thats-a-line-were-going-to-draw/\">U.S. attorney told KQED\u003c/a> that the federal crackdown on pot dispensaries would focus on establishments near places that children gather: schools, parks and playgrounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_70135\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/07/Harborside-press-conference.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-70135\" title=\"Harborside press conference\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/07/Harborside-press-conference-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Harborside Health Center attorney Henry Wykowski says the dispensary plans to stay open. (Caitlin Esch/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"http://www.harborsidehealthcenter.com/\">Harborside Health Center’s\u003c/a> facilities in Oakland and San Jose don’t fall into that category. So when federal authorities announced on Wednesday that they filed court papers to seize the company’s assets, they gave the impression that any dispensary may be fair game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in a press release Melinda Haag, US Attorney for Northern California, said as much: “I now find the need to consider actions regarding marijuana superstores such as Harborside. The larger the operation, the greater the likelihood that there will be abuse of the state’s medical marijuana laws, and marijuana in the hands of individuals who do not have a demonstrated medical need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harborside is one of the largest — some say \u003cem>the\u003c/em> largest dispensary in the world. And while medical marijuana is legal under state law, but it still breaks federal law. So federal agents can strike whatever pot dispensary they want, and the new move suggests none is safe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->Harborside’s management remains defiant. KQED’s Caitlin Esch attended a press conference there this morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s her report:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Through tears, Modesto resident Jason David told a crowd of reporters and cannabis activists Thursday that medical marijuana saved his 5-year-old son’s life. His son suffers from Dravet Syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The first time I ever gave him medical cannabis is the first time he ever went seizure-free in his life,” David said. “Can you imagine your kids having seizures every single day? Being in pain 12 to 14 hours a day? Crying and screaming?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David travels to Harborside’s Oakland location regularly to buy a custom-made liquid medicine for his son. David estimates he has a two-month supply left, and doesn’t know where he would go for the medicine if Harborside closed its doors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan called on federal prosecutors to focus on the real crisis in Oakland: violence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Please, we need those resources devoted to stopping the shooting, stopping the violence and stopping the killing. That should be the clear priority.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaplan said Harborside operates legally under state-law and pays more than a $1 million a year in city taxes. Kaplan said the 100-plus jobs the dispensary provides are critical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haborside Executive Director Steve DeAngelo said the dispensary helps more than 100,000 patients and he won’t go down without a fight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will resist this action with every legal means at our disposal,” DeAngelo said. “And should we be forced from our present location, we will find alternate means of providing medicine to our patients who need it. We will never abandon our patients; we will never abandon people like Jason David — not as long as I draw breath.”\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can see part of the press conference yourself in this video by \u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/user/tonythetraveler\">tonythetraveler\u003c/a>:\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ya5POFGyHZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>An Oakland medical marijuana dispensary that’s been billed as the largest pot shop on the planet is being targeted for closure by federal prosecutors in Northern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/03/15/interview-w-us-attorney-haag-on-pot-operations-if-its-close-to-children-thats-a-line-were-going-to-draw/\">US Attorney Melinda Haag explains the reasoning behind raids on pot dispensaries (March 15, 2012).\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Harborside Health Center spokeswoman Gaynell Rogers said U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag’s office has threatened to seize the property where the popular dispensary has operated since 2006 as well its sister shop in San Jose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rogers says employees found the complaints taped to doors at the two locations on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although medical marijuana is legal in California, court papers filed Sunday say the dispensaries are violating federal law by selling marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The court action represents an escalation in a months-long, statewide crackdown on medical marijuana by Haag, who said last year she would try to shut dispensaries that were within 1,000 feet of schools, which Harborside isn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cp>LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California appeals court has struck down Los Angeles County’s ban on medical marijuana dispensaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_69478\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/07/marijuana_grove_sized.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-69478\" title=\"marijuana_grove_sized\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/07/marijuana_grove_sized.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mateusz Atroszko/stock.xchng\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The 4th District Court of Appeal ruled Monday that because the state’s medical marijuana laws authorize cooperatives and collectives to grow, store and distribute pot, a lower court judge erred when she cited the 2010 ban in granting the county an injunction against the Alternative Medicinal Cannabis Collective last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/medical-marijuana/\">\u003cstrong>KQED’s medical marijuana coverage\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>However, the decision does not mean the coast is clear for the Covina dispensary. The Court of Appeal says even though L.A. County can’t outlaw pot shops completely, local lawmakers still can limit where they locate require them to obtain operating permits and business licenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal prosecutors also have cracked down by moving to seize the building that houses Alternative Medicinal Cannabis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"description": "LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A California appeals court has struck down Los Angeles County's ban on medical marijuana dispensaries. The 4th District Court of Appeal ruled Monday that because the state's medical marijuana laws authorize cooperatives and collectives to grow, store and distribute pot, a lower court judge erred when she cited the 2010 ban in granting the county an injunction against the Alternative Medicinal Cannabis Collective last year. KQED's medical marijuana coverage However, the decision does not mean the coast is clear for the Covina dispensary. The Court of Appeal says even though L.A. County can't outlaw pot shops",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California appeals court has struck down Los Angeles County’s ban on medical marijuana dispensaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_69478\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/07/marijuana_grove_sized.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-69478\" title=\"marijuana_grove_sized\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/07/marijuana_grove_sized.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mateusz Atroszko/stock.xchng\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The 4th District Court of Appeal ruled Monday that because the state’s medical marijuana laws authorize cooperatives and collectives to grow, store and distribute pot, a lower court judge erred when she cited the 2010 ban in granting the county an injunction against the Alternative Medicinal Cannabis Collective last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/medical-marijuana/\">\u003cstrong>KQED’s medical marijuana coverage\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>However, the decision does not mean the coast is clear for the Covina dispensary. The Court of Appeal says even though L.A. County can’t outlaw pot shops completely, local lawmakers still can limit where they locate require them to obtain operating permits and business licenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal prosecutors also have cracked down by moving to seize the building that houses Alternative Medicinal Cannabis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>by Michael Montgomery and David Downs, \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/finances-prominent-california-pot-club-revealed-documents-16574\">California Watch \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_68392\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 304px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/06/berkeley-patients-group.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-68392\" title=\"berkeley patients group\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/06/berkeley-patients-group.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"304\" height=\"358\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Berkeley Patients Group closed its storefront operation in May. (Michael Montgomery/California Watch)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At the peak of California’s pot boom in 2009, one of the state’s largest medical marijuana dispensaries recorded more than $15 million in sales to thousands of customers for popular strains like Grand Daddy Purple, OG Kush and Blue Dream. What it didn’t record was much profit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the same period the dispensary – Berkeley Patients Group – registered just over $100,000 in “net income.” So where did all the money go? Until now it’s been hard to know, since Berkeley Patients Group, like other California dispensaries, keeps a tight lock on its internal finances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But according to company accounting documents and emails obtained by California Watch, much of Berkeley Patients Group's income from lucrative pot sales went to growers, staff salaries that included nearly $1 million for top executives, advertising, security, accountants and attorneys and a host of other operating expenses. Smaller expenditures included $39,916 on “decorations and ambiance” and $2,481 for softball.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The documents, which were reviewed by accounting experts, shed light on the private world of California’s medical marijuana industry, which has been the focus of a major crackdown by federal prosecutors who allege many operations are actually fronts for drug traffickers. Medical marijuana advocates and some state lawmakers have criticized the federal enforcement actions, saying prosecutors have targeted legitimate enterprises that are operating in compliance with state law, which allows \"qualified patients\" and their \"designated primary caregivers\" to grow marijuana \"collectively or cooperatively.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley Patients Group’s owners declined to be interviewed for this story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On its website, the group bills itself a “medical cannabis collective.” It also has a permit issued by Berkeley authorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In May, the group abruptly closed its storefront operation on San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley after federal prosecutors threatened to seize the property from the landlord, David Mayeri. In a letter to Mayeri, U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag cited violations of federal law and the dispensary’s proximity to two schools. Haag did not explicitly accuse Berkeley Patients Group of acting as a front for drug traffickers, and no criminal charges have been filed in the case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this month the group announced it had launched a medical marijuana delivery service, but it’s unclear whether it will resume storefront sales in Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Delivering medical marijuana to customers’ homes instead of selling it from a storefront could decrease federal pressure on Berkeley Patients Group. However, the group will likely face a significant drop in sales volume that will impact its large operating budget, designed to handle more than 10,000 members a month, according to interviews with former staff and industry experts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two of the best years for Berkeley Patients Group were 2008 and 2009, when it recorded $17.4 million and $16.4 million respectively in total income from the distribution of marijuana buds, edible products infused with pot, as well as seeds, clones and other items (company discounts reduced the actual figures by $1.1 million in 2008 and $1.3 million in 2009). According to company documents, the cost for goods sold was about $10 million in 2008 and $9 million in 2009, leaving a gross profit margin close to 40 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The biggest portion of the group’s operating expenses went to labor costs, which totaled $3.3 million in 2009, including more than $911,00 paid to co-directors Deborah Goldsberry, Etienne Fontan and Tim Schick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley Patients Group’s former bookkeeper, Doug McVay, said salaries for top executives were increased by as much as 50 percent in 2009, and that total compensation figures detailed in the documents reflected generous bonuses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was a lot of money,” he said, noting that salaries for other staff were also raised. \"Employees were treated quite well.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State medical marijuana laws do not require dispensary operators to disclose salaries of any employees. Executives at Berkeley Patients Group and Harborside Health Center, a large dispensary based in Oakland, have repeatedly refused to publicly reveal compensation packages or report them to local authorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because BPG is a private company, it does not disclose salaries or other sensitive financial information to the public,” Berkeley Patients Group said in a written statement earlier this year, adding that compensation levels were in line with “other medical non-profits of our size in the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Allison Margolin, a Los Angeles defense attorney who has represented more than 70 dispensaries, said Berkeley Patients Group’s salaries looked fair and the books seemed to be in order.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Margolin said successful marijuana operators were justified in measuring themselves against other nonprofits of comparable size. “Executives of nonprofits can make millions of dollars – hospitals are nonprofits,\" she said. \"I think it's reasonable for dispensary executives to make millions, too, considering the risk and myriad skills involved.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, she said the company’s finances could help explain why medical marijuana costs as much as $60 for an eighth of an ounce in California, which is similar to the cost on the black market. There's the cost of inventory, plus an endless list of expenses including insurance, attorney and accountant fees and advertising.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The truth is, if dispensaries weren't charging market prices they'd be out of business,” she said, adding that the constant threat of robberies and police raids raised the cost of doing business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley Patients Group spent $151,789 for security in 2009.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One area where the dispensary appears to fall short of its public rhetoric is in its donations to local charities. While company executives have said they contribute generously to groups ranging from local libraries and schools to the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce, internal documents show the group gave $18,083 to charity in 2009. In contrast, it distributed $253,433 to marijuana advocacy organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the past year, Berkeley Patients Group has faced a series of legal and financial challenges. 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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>by Michael Montgomery and David Downs, \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/finances-prominent-california-pot-club-revealed-documents-16574\">California Watch \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_68392\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 304px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/06/berkeley-patients-group.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-68392\" title=\"berkeley patients group\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/06/berkeley-patients-group.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"304\" height=\"358\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Berkeley Patients Group closed its storefront operation in May. (Michael Montgomery/California Watch)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At the peak of California’s pot boom in 2009, one of the state’s largest medical marijuana dispensaries recorded more than $15 million in sales to thousands of customers for popular strains like Grand Daddy Purple, OG Kush and Blue Dream. What it didn’t record was much profit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the same period the dispensary – Berkeley Patients Group – registered just over $100,000 in “net income.” So where did all the money go? Until now it’s been hard to know, since Berkeley Patients Group, like other California dispensaries, keeps a tight lock on its internal finances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But according to company accounting documents and emails obtained by California Watch, much of Berkeley Patients Group's income from lucrative pot sales went to growers, staff salaries that included nearly $1 million for top executives, advertising, security, accountants and attorneys and a host of other operating expenses. Smaller expenditures included $39,916 on “decorations and ambiance” and $2,481 for softball.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The documents, which were reviewed by accounting experts, shed light on the private world of California’s medical marijuana industry, which has been the focus of a major crackdown by federal prosecutors who allege many operations are actually fronts for drug traffickers. Medical marijuana advocates and some state lawmakers have criticized the federal enforcement actions, saying prosecutors have targeted legitimate enterprises that are operating in compliance with state law, which allows \"qualified patients\" and their \"designated primary caregivers\" to grow marijuana \"collectively or cooperatively.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley Patients Group’s owners declined to be interviewed for this story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On its website, the group bills itself a “medical cannabis collective.” It also has a permit issued by Berkeley authorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In May, the group abruptly closed its storefront operation on San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley after federal prosecutors threatened to seize the property from the landlord, David Mayeri. In a letter to Mayeri, U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag cited violations of federal law and the dispensary’s proximity to two schools. Haag did not explicitly accuse Berkeley Patients Group of acting as a front for drug traffickers, and no criminal charges have been filed in the case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this month the group announced it had launched a medical marijuana delivery service, but it’s unclear whether it will resume storefront sales in Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Delivering medical marijuana to customers’ homes instead of selling it from a storefront could decrease federal pressure on Berkeley Patients Group. 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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_49491\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 150px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/12/marijuanaplants.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-49491\" title=\"marijuanaplants\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/12/marijuanaplants-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Flickr\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Rachael Myrow here, host of the California Report, with an AM post from somewhere else in California. We're in this Golden State together. Right?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court's decision to dismiss a lawsuit filed by disabled medical marijuana users against Costa Mesa and Lake Forest. The suit claimed the Orange County cities violated the Americans With Disabilities Act when they closed down pot dispensaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the ruling, Judge Raymond Fisher wrote, \"we recognize that the plaintiffs are gravely ill,\" but \"for now Congress has determined that, for purposes of federal law, marijuana is unacceptable for medical use.\" According to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-marijuana-disabled-20120522,0,2558295.story\">Los Angeles Times\u003c/a>, a lawyer for the plaintiffs says he will ask a larger panel of the 9th Circuit to review the case [\u003ca href=\"http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2012/05/21/10-55769.pdf\">Marla James et al v. City of Costa Mesa, City of Lake Forest\u003c/a>].\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just last week, the California Supreme Court \u003ca href=\"http://www.ocregister.com/news/court-354672-marijuana-medical.html\">agreed to review\u003c/a> a Court of Appeals decision regarding medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation. In that case , the Appeals Court ruled in favor of Evergreen Holistic, a former Lake Forest medical marijuana collective, finding that cities cannot shut down a medical marijuana dispensary that cultivates its own marijuana. The judges said a collective that includes a dispensary function — growing its own pot — does not constitute a nuisance. The ruling is the latest in a string of cases that attempts to interpret the state's medical marijuana law for the benefit of cities and counties. [\u003cem>\u003ca title=\"City of Lake Forest v. Evergreen Holistic Collective\" href=\"http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/G043909.PDF\">City of Lake Forest v. Evergreen Holistic Collective\u003c/a>]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Confused? I feel like \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiareport.org/\">The California Report\u003c/a> needs a large whiteboard to keep track of all the disparate issues and rulings moving through the courts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would appear we need to deliver a sequel to \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiareport.org/specialcoverage/republicofcannabis/\">Republic of Cannabis\u003c/a>, our special co-production with the Center for Investigative Reporting earlier this year. Republic of Cannabis II: Twisted & Tied?\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_49491\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 150px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/12/marijuanaplants.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-49491\" title=\"marijuanaplants\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/12/marijuanaplants-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Flickr\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Rachael Myrow here, host of the California Report, with an AM post from somewhere else in California. We're in this Golden State together. Right?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court's decision to dismiss a lawsuit filed by disabled medical marijuana users against Costa Mesa and Lake Forest. The suit claimed the Orange County cities violated the Americans With Disabilities Act when they closed down pot dispensaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the ruling, Judge Raymond Fisher wrote, \"we recognize that the plaintiffs are gravely ill,\" but \"for now Congress has determined that, for purposes of federal law, marijuana is unacceptable for medical use.\" According to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-marijuana-disabled-20120522,0,2558295.story\">Los Angeles Times\u003c/a>, a lawyer for the plaintiffs says he will ask a larger panel of the 9th Circuit to review the case [\u003ca href=\"http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2012/05/21/10-55769.pdf\">Marla James et al v. City of Costa Mesa, City of Lake Forest\u003c/a>].\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just last week, the California Supreme Court \u003ca href=\"http://www.ocregister.com/news/court-354672-marijuana-medical.html\">agreed to review\u003c/a> a Court of Appeals decision regarding medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation. In that case , the Appeals Court ruled in favor of Evergreen Holistic, a former Lake Forest medical marijuana collective, finding that cities cannot shut down a medical marijuana dispensary that cultivates its own marijuana. The judges said a collective that includes a dispensary function — growing its own pot — does not constitute a nuisance. The ruling is the latest in a string of cases that attempts to interpret the state's medical marijuana law for the benefit of cities and counties. [\u003cem>\u003ca title=\"City of Lake Forest v. Evergreen Holistic Collective\" href=\"http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/G043909.PDF\">City of Lake Forest v. Evergreen Holistic Collective\u003c/a>]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Confused? I feel like \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiareport.org/\">The California Report\u003c/a> needs a large whiteboard to keep track of all the disparate issues and rulings moving through the courts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would appear we need to deliver a sequel to \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiareport.org/specialcoverage/republicofcannabis/\">Republic of Cannabis\u003c/a>, our special co-production with the Center for Investigative Reporting earlier this year. Republic of Cannabis II: Twisted & Tied?\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Pelosi Has 'Strong Concerns' About Federal Crackdown on Medical Marijuana; Read Statement",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64341\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 254px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/berkpatientsgroups1.jpg\">\u003cimg src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/berkpatientsgroups1-254x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"berkpatientsgroups\" width=\"254\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-64341\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Berkeley Patients Group shut its doors last week. (Michael Montgomery/California Watch)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nancy Pelosi has weighed in on the recent federal crackdown on the medical marijuana industry in California. Her \u003ca href=\"http://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/2012/05/pelosi-statement-on-recent-federal-government-actions-threatening-safe-access-to-medicinal-marijuana.shtml\">statement\u003c/a>, released yesterday...\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>San Francisco – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in response to recent federal government actions threatening safe access to medicinal marijuana for those who are seriously ill or enduring difficult and painful therapies:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Access to medicinal marijuana for individuals who are ill or enduring difficult and painful therapies is both a medical and a states’ rights issue. Sixteen states, including our home state of California, and the District of Columbia have adopted medicinal marijuana laws – most by a vote of the people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have strong concerns about the recent actions by the federal government that threaten the safe access of medicinal marijuana to alleviate the suffering of patients in California, and undermine a policy that has been in place under which the federal government did not pursue individuals whose actions complied with state laws providing for medicinal marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Proven medicinal uses of marijuana include improving the quality of life for patients with cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and other severe medical conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am pleased to join organizations that support legal access to medicinal marijuana, including the American Nurses Association, the Lymphoma Foundation of America, and the AIDS Action Council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Medicinal marijuana alleviates some of the most debilitating symptoms of AIDS, including pain, wasting, and nausea. The opportunity to ease the suffering of people who are seriously ill or enduring difficult and painful therapies is an opportunity we must not ignore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For these reasons, I have long supported efforts in Congress to advocate federal policies that recognize the scientific evidence and clinical research demonstrating the medical benefits of medicinal marijuana, that respects the wishes of the states in providing relief to ill individuals, and that prevents the federal government from acting to harm the safe access of medicinal marijuana provided under state law. I will continue to strongly support those efforts.\"\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The statement comes on the heels of an \u003ca href=\"http://www.change.org/petitions/representative-nancy-pelosi-oppose-the-raids-against-medical-cannabis-facilities\">online petition\u003c/a> asking Pelosi to...\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>...stand with us in defending medical cannabis dispensaries and patients from persecution, to advise President Obama about the unwarranted persecution of medical cannabis patients and dispensaries, to call for an investigation of the constitutionality of California dispensary closures, and to facilitate setting up a emergency medical cannabis distribution system for catastrophically ill patients whose physicians recommended medical cannabis as part of their treatment in the district you represent.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Other \u003ca href=\"http://www.scribd.com/doc/91783023/Resolution-of-the-San-Francisco-Democratic-Party\">local Democrats have called on the Obama administration to cease and desist\u003c/a> shutting down dispensaries, and lawmakers from other states where medical marijuana is legal have \u003ca href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/02/lawmakers-in-5-states-tell-feds-medical-marijuana_n_1397811.html\">also objected\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, Rolling Stone published an \u003ca href=\"http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/ready-for-the-fight-rolling-stone-interview-with-barack-obama-20120425\">interview with Obama\u003c/a> in which he defended the amped up enforcement on medical cannabis over the last half-year...\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Let me ask you about the War on Drugs. You vowed in 2008, when you were running for election, that you would not \"use Justice Department resources to try and circumvent state laws about medical marijuana.\" Yet we just ran a story that shows your administration is launching more raids on medical pot than the Bush administration did. What's up with that?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here's what's up: What I specifically said was that we were not going to prioritize prosecutions of persons who are using medical marijuana. I never made a commitment that somehow we were going to give carte blanche to large-scale producers and operators of marijuana – and the reason is, because it's against federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I can't nullify congressional law. I can't ask the Justice Department to say, \"Ignore completely a federal law that's on the books.\" What I can say is, \"Use your prosecutorial discretion and properly prioritize your resources to go after things that are really doing folks damage.\" As a consequence, there haven't been prosecutions of users of marijuana for medical purposes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The only tension that's come up – and this gets hyped up a lot – is a murky area where you have large-scale, commercial operations that may supply medical marijuana users, but in some cases may also be supplying recreational users. In that situation, we put the Justice Department in a very difficult place if we're telling them, \"This is supposed to be against the law, but we want you to turn the other way.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That's not something we're going to do. I do think it's important and useful to have a broader debate about our drug laws. One of the things we've done over the past three years was to make a sensible change when it came to the disparity in sentencing between crack cocaine and powder cocaine. We've had a discussion about how to focus on treatment, taking a public-health approach to drugs and lessening the overwhelming emphasis on criminal laws as a tool to deal with this issue. I think that's an appropriate debate that we should have.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>If that reasoning sounds familiar to followers of this issue, it may be because it's similar to that expressed in comments made by Melinda Haag, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, who \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">announced with her colleagues last October\u003c/a> that they would be targeting medical marijuana dispensaries and growers, plus their landlords. The prosecutors have been true to their words; that's exactly \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/medical-marijuana/\">what's happened\u003c/a> and is \u003ca href=\"http://www.marinij.com/novato/ci_20481413/feds-target-novato-pot-dispensaries-one-closes\">continuing\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March, KQED's Michael Montgomery sat down with Haag, who for the first time \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/03/15/interview-w-us-attorney-haag-on-pot-operations-if-its-close-to-children-thats-a-line-were-going-to-draw/\">explained her rationale for the amped up enforcement\u003c/a>. Some of her language echoes Obama's in the Rolling Stone inteview...or vice-versa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The reason that the four California U.S. Attorneys announced our efforts together is that we were all experiencing the same thing, which is that everyone was saying we were hearing and everyone was saying the U.S. attorneys are not going to take any actions with respect to marijuana in California because of the 2009 \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.usdoj.gov/blog/archives/192\">Ogden memo\u003c/a>. [\u003cem>Note: The 2009 memo written by Deputy Attorney General David Ogden that laid out enforcement guidelines for federal prosecutors in regard to medical marijuana\u003c/em>.] So it's fair game. We can have grow operations, we can have dispensaries, we can do anything we want with respect to marijuana because the Department of Justice in 2009 in the Ogden memo said that the California U.S. attorneys will not take action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was incorrect. And we felt that we needed to send a message that it wasn't correct. I actually felt that it was more fair to send a message because, for example, I was hearing from Oakland that it was going to issue licenses and allow large-scale grow operations in warehouses. And what was described to me was that they were going to be quote \"Walmart-sized.\" And I was hearing that everyone believed that would be okay and that my office would not take any action. And I knew it isn't okay, it is a violation of federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When you're talking about that scale grow-operation across the bay in Oakland it wouldn't be something that I could ignore. I didn't think it was fair to stand by, be silent, let people pull licenses in Oakland, put millions of dollars into setting up a grow operation in a warehouse and then come in and take an enforcement action.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the U.S. attorneys' declaration of stepped-up enforcement last October, hundreds of medical marijuana facilities in California have shut down after letters were sent to them or their landlords threatening legal action by the federal government. In the Bay Area, a veritable Who's Who in the industry have succumbed to threats of imprisonment, fines, and forfeiture of assets. Berkeley Patients Group, Oaksterdam, the Marin Alliance For Medical Marijuana, and Medithrive in San Francisco are just four that have shut their doors. \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64341\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 254px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/berkpatientsgroups1.jpg\">\u003cimg src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/berkpatientsgroups1-254x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"berkpatientsgroups\" width=\"254\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-64341\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Berkeley Patients Group shut its doors last week. (Michael Montgomery/California Watch)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nancy Pelosi has weighed in on the recent federal crackdown on the medical marijuana industry in California. Her \u003ca href=\"http://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/2012/05/pelosi-statement-on-recent-federal-government-actions-threatening-safe-access-to-medicinal-marijuana.shtml\">statement\u003c/a>, released yesterday...\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>San Francisco – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in response to recent federal government actions threatening safe access to medicinal marijuana for those who are seriously ill or enduring difficult and painful therapies:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Access to medicinal marijuana for individuals who are ill or enduring difficult and painful therapies is both a medical and a states’ rights issue. Sixteen states, including our home state of California, and the District of Columbia have adopted medicinal marijuana laws – most by a vote of the people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have strong concerns about the recent actions by the federal government that threaten the safe access of medicinal marijuana to alleviate the suffering of patients in California, and undermine a policy that has been in place under which the federal government did not pursue individuals whose actions complied with state laws providing for medicinal marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Proven medicinal uses of marijuana include improving the quality of life for patients with cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and other severe medical conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am pleased to join organizations that support legal access to medicinal marijuana, including the American Nurses Association, the Lymphoma Foundation of America, and the AIDS Action Council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Medicinal marijuana alleviates some of the most debilitating symptoms of AIDS, including pain, wasting, and nausea. The opportunity to ease the suffering of people who are seriously ill or enduring difficult and painful therapies is an opportunity we must not ignore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For these reasons, I have long supported efforts in Congress to advocate federal policies that recognize the scientific evidence and clinical research demonstrating the medical benefits of medicinal marijuana, that respects the wishes of the states in providing relief to ill individuals, and that prevents the federal government from acting to harm the safe access of medicinal marijuana provided under state law. I will continue to strongly support those efforts.\"\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The statement comes on the heels of an \u003ca href=\"http://www.change.org/petitions/representative-nancy-pelosi-oppose-the-raids-against-medical-cannabis-facilities\">online petition\u003c/a> asking Pelosi to...\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>...stand with us in defending medical cannabis dispensaries and patients from persecution, to advise President Obama about the unwarranted persecution of medical cannabis patients and dispensaries, to call for an investigation of the constitutionality of California dispensary closures, and to facilitate setting up a emergency medical cannabis distribution system for catastrophically ill patients whose physicians recommended medical cannabis as part of their treatment in the district you represent.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Other \u003ca href=\"http://www.scribd.com/doc/91783023/Resolution-of-the-San-Francisco-Democratic-Party\">local Democrats have called on the Obama administration to cease and desist\u003c/a> shutting down dispensaries, and lawmakers from other states where medical marijuana is legal have \u003ca href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/02/lawmakers-in-5-states-tell-feds-medical-marijuana_n_1397811.html\">also objected\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, Rolling Stone published an \u003ca href=\"http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/ready-for-the-fight-rolling-stone-interview-with-barack-obama-20120425\">interview with Obama\u003c/a> in which he defended the amped up enforcement on medical cannabis over the last half-year...\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Let me ask you about the War on Drugs. You vowed in 2008, when you were running for election, that you would not \"use Justice Department resources to try and circumvent state laws about medical marijuana.\" Yet we just ran a story that shows your administration is launching more raids on medical pot than the Bush administration did. What's up with that?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here's what's up: What I specifically said was that we were not going to prioritize prosecutions of persons who are using medical marijuana. I never made a commitment that somehow we were going to give carte blanche to large-scale producers and operators of marijuana – and the reason is, because it's against federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I can't nullify congressional law. I can't ask the Justice Department to say, \"Ignore completely a federal law that's on the books.\" What I can say is, \"Use your prosecutorial discretion and properly prioritize your resources to go after things that are really doing folks damage.\" As a consequence, there haven't been prosecutions of users of marijuana for medical purposes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The only tension that's come up – and this gets hyped up a lot – is a murky area where you have large-scale, commercial operations that may supply medical marijuana users, but in some cases may also be supplying recreational users. In that situation, we put the Justice Department in a very difficult place if we're telling them, \"This is supposed to be against the law, but we want you to turn the other way.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That's not something we're going to do. I do think it's important and useful to have a broader debate about our drug laws. One of the things we've done over the past three years was to make a sensible change when it came to the disparity in sentencing between crack cocaine and powder cocaine. We've had a discussion about how to focus on treatment, taking a public-health approach to drugs and lessening the overwhelming emphasis on criminal laws as a tool to deal with this issue. I think that's an appropriate debate that we should have.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>If that reasoning sounds familiar to followers of this issue, it may be because it's similar to that expressed in comments made by Melinda Haag, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, who \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">announced with her colleagues last October\u003c/a> that they would be targeting medical marijuana dispensaries and growers, plus their landlords. The prosecutors have been true to their words; that's exactly \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/medical-marijuana/\">what's happened\u003c/a> and is \u003ca href=\"http://www.marinij.com/novato/ci_20481413/feds-target-novato-pot-dispensaries-one-closes\">continuing\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March, KQED's Michael Montgomery sat down with Haag, who for the first time \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/03/15/interview-w-us-attorney-haag-on-pot-operations-if-its-close-to-children-thats-a-line-were-going-to-draw/\">explained her rationale for the amped up enforcement\u003c/a>. Some of her language echoes Obama's in the Rolling Stone inteview...or vice-versa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The reason that the four California U.S. Attorneys announced our efforts together is that we were all experiencing the same thing, which is that everyone was saying we were hearing and everyone was saying the U.S. attorneys are not going to take any actions with respect to marijuana in California because of the 2009 \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.usdoj.gov/blog/archives/192\">Ogden memo\u003c/a>. [\u003cem>Note: The 2009 memo written by Deputy Attorney General David Ogden that laid out enforcement guidelines for federal prosecutors in regard to medical marijuana\u003c/em>.] So it's fair game. We can have grow operations, we can have dispensaries, we can do anything we want with respect to marijuana because the Department of Justice in 2009 in the Ogden memo said that the California U.S. attorneys will not take action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was incorrect. And we felt that we needed to send a message that it wasn't correct. I actually felt that it was more fair to send a message because, for example, I was hearing from Oakland that it was going to issue licenses and allow large-scale grow operations in warehouses. And what was described to me was that they were going to be quote \"Walmart-sized.\" And I was hearing that everyone believed that would be okay and that my office would not take any action. And I knew it isn't okay, it is a violation of federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When you're talking about that scale grow-operation across the bay in Oakland it wouldn't be something that I could ignore. I didn't think it was fair to stand by, be silent, let people pull licenses in Oakland, put millions of dollars into setting up a grow operation in a warehouse and then come in and take an enforcement action.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the U.S. attorneys' declaration of stepped-up enforcement last October, hundreds of medical marijuana facilities in California have shut down after letters were sent to them or their landlords threatening legal action by the federal government. In the Bay Area, a veritable Who's Who in the industry have succumbed to threats of imprisonment, fines, and forfeiture of assets. Berkeley Patients Group, Oaksterdam, the Marin Alliance For Medical Marijuana, and Medithrive in San Francisco are just four that have shut their doors. \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>by David Downs and Michael Montgomery, \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/berkeley-pot-dispensary-biggest-casualty-federal-crackdown-15994\">California Watch\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With its only retail outlet due to close Monday, Berkeley Patients Group is set to become the biggest casualty so far in a bold and controversial legal offensive by federal prosecutors against California’s pot industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group sent an e-mail to customers earlier today announcing the pending closure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_63953\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 254px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/berkpatientsgroups.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-63953\" title=\"berkpatientsgroups\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/berkpatientsgroups.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"254\" height=\"298\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Montgomery/California Watch\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While dozens of other medical marijuana dispensaries around the state have been forced to shut down since California’s four U.S. attorneys launched the crackdown in October, none is as large or commands the same local political support as Berkeley Patients Group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Late last year, Melinda Haag, U.S. attorney for Northern California, warned the group’s landlord, David Mayeri, that the government would seize his assets if marijuana continued to be distributed at the property. The letter cited violations of federal law and the outlet’s 1,000-foot proximity to two schools. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Marijuana dispensaries are full of cash and they’re full of marijuana, and everybody knows that,” Haag said \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/prominent-berkeley-marijuana-dispensary-close-shop-15320\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in an interview in March.\u003c/a> “They are at risk of being robbed, and many of them are robbed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haag said another dispensary being targeted for closure was located next to a preschool in Santa Cruz. In February, armed gunmen robbed the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley Patients Group supporters, including neighboring businesses, contend the facility has operated safely for 12 years and has never been the scene of a serious crime. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group’s owners declined interview requests. But in written responses today, they said closing the current site “would deprive many patients safe access to their medicine and be particularly difficult for the hundreds of low income patients who rely on BPG for free medical cannabis and holistic health services. This is an outcome that we have been working very hard to prevent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under a legal agreement with Mayeri, Berkeley Patients Group must cease operations at its location tomorrow and vacate the premises by June 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Medical marijuana activists have denounced efforts to close the facility. They’ve also condemned a recent raid by federal agents on nearby Oaksterdam University, a medical marijuana training school that has been dubbed the “Princeton of pot.” With federal indictments possible in that case, owner Richard Lee announced he’s stepping down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley Patients Group representatives declined to say whether they have secured a new location for their dispensary. But real estate experts said the federal crackdown has left property owners nervous about renting to medical marijuana establishments, even if they have permits from local authorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s almost impossible to relocate, especially under the rules and regulations that the cities and state have in place right now,” said Adam Peterson, a real estate agent for Cassidy Turley BT Commercial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if the dispensary reopens, other challenges remain, including a whopping tax bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to a 2011 state \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/346718-c-berkeley-patients-group-inc-sum.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">audit\u003c/a>, Berkeley Patients Group owes $6.4 million to the California State Board of Equalization for its failure to pay sales taxes from 2004 to 2007. Officials have said they are paying off the debt in monthly installments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group has also been embroiled in bitter legal battles with two former employees – the group’s co-founder and a senior manager.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part of the dispute stems from the group’s decision – at the peak of California’s pot boom three years ago – to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in four dispensaries in Maine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beginning in 2009, Berkeley Patients Group helped create a sister business, Northeast Patients Group, which eventually won permits for the dispensaries. The group projected annual revenues of more than $22 million, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/347384-npg-package.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">documents\u003c/a> submitted to Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Court \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/347383-bpg-npg-complaint.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">documents\u003c/a> from Maine show Berkeley executives pumped more than $600,000 in loans, services and other expenses into the enterprise, which was headed by a former manager and modeled on the group’s operations in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the collaboration went sour. Last year, Berkeley Patients Group filed a lawsuit against the former employee, Rebecca DeKeuster, and Northeast Patients Group, alleging they sold trade secrets to a competitor and failed to repay the loans. The case is still in litigation. Since then, DeKeuster opened three dispensaries in Maine, but Berkeley Patients Group has ended its involvement in the project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a written statement, the group’s executives said they decided to establish the business in Maine because they wanted to help set up the nation’s first state-run dispensary system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The decision to work in Maine was not taken lightly, but it was a unanimous decision by our Board,” the statement read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But two former employees criticized the way the group went about the expansion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doug McVay, Berkeley Patients Group’s bookkeeper in 2009 and 2010, said the decision to invest in out-of-state dispensaries was “ill-conceived and over-ambitious at best,” leaving the organization financially vulnerable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Funds went out without a clear understanding of whether they were for a loan, an investment or something different, and those designations would change over time,” he said in an e-mail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deborah Goldsberry, a co-founder who left Berkeley Patients Group last year, alleged money for the Maine project was pulled from a special trust account set aside to cover the group’s state tax obligations, according to a wrongful termination \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/346717-bpg-complaint.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">complaint\u003c/a> filed in Alameda County Superior Court in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Goldsberry declined to comment on the complaint, which was settled in January. In a statement, Berkeley Patients Group denied “using any money set aside for taxes to fund the work in Maine” and said the complaint “was never served and any matters have been resolved to the parties’ mutual satisfaction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Company business documents show money for the Maine expansion came from internal reserves as well as a loan from the group’s landlord, Mayeri. The documents do not show the group drew funds from a special tax account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McVay, Berkeley Patients Group’s former bookkeeper, said the dispute over the Maine project was connected to other financial arrangements, including a deal in which current CEO Tim Schick and Goldsberry purchased a property adjacent to the dispensary. Berkeley Patients Group provided the down payment and covered monthly mortgage installments, according to McVay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the time … we never had a signed agreement on file – no interest, no repayment plan, no terms, nothing,” he said. “The paperwork was minimal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a written statement, Berkeley Patients Group said the property was purchased by Goldsberry and Schick in 2009 “in anticipation that BPG would expand physically at that location. Clearly those plans have changed, and what will be done with that additional space has yet to be decided.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some prominent players in the Bay Area’s medical marijuana industry said the acrimony was fueled by a clash between Berkeley Patients Group’s “hippie” roots and the need to operate an increasingly sophisticated business amid murky laws and zealous federal law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was a very different organization back then,” said Mickey Martin, an Oakland-based dispensary consultant, referring to the founding of the group after Californians legalized medical marijuana in 1996. “Very hippie-rooted. They tried to run it like a family organization.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2003, SB 420 provided legal cover for medical marijuana outlets. Six years later, the medical marijuana retail business was booming across California. Operating with a city permit, Berkeley Patients Group was serving thousands of customers a month with $19 million in annual revenues, according to interviews and Internet postings by company managers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group also cultivated a community-friendly reputation, donating thousands of dollars to local groups ranging from a special school for hearing-impaired children to the local chamber of commerce. In 2009, the Berkeley City Council declared “Berkeley Patients Group Day,” lauding the dispensary for its tax revenue, donations, sponsorships and “living wages.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that same year, Berkeley Patients Group started to move away from its hippie roots, according to Martin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Martin said the group’s push into new business ventures was spurred in part by competition. In 2010, Steve DeAngelo – owner of Harborside Health Center in Oakland, another large dispensary – founded “CannBe” to export marijuana-related business opportunities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CannBe offered the services of a legalization “A-team” that would work to pass local medical marijuana regulations and win coveted distribution permits for clients around the country. A CannBe internal sales brochure dated October 2010 lists consulting fees of $270,000 for each signed contract plus an additional $5.15 charge for every customer transaction, payable monthly for at least 10 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DeAngelo said the document was similar to a franchise agreement but that actual deals were for “significantly” less money. CannBe folded last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a bill to tightly regulate medical marijuana is debated in Sacramento, Henry Wykowski, a finance expert who advises dispensaries, said more rules could mean fewer disputes of the kind that Berkeley Patients Group and other operators have experienced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think that more regulation would be bad for the industry. The guidelines are gray and when they’re gray that can lead to all sorts of problems,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was reported in collaboration with KQED public radio.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"description": "by David Downs and Michael Montgomery, California Watch With its only retail outlet due to close Monday, Berkeley Patients Group is set to become the biggest casualty so far in a bold and controversial legal offensive by federal prosecutors against California’s pot industry. The group sent an e-mail to customers earlier today announcing the pending closure. While dozens of other medical marijuana dispensaries around the state have been forced to shut down since California’s four U.S. attorneys launched the crackdown in October, none is as large or commands the same local political support as Berkeley Patients Group. Late last year,",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>by David Downs and Michael Montgomery, \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/berkeley-pot-dispensary-biggest-casualty-federal-crackdown-15994\">California Watch\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With its only retail outlet due to close Monday, Berkeley Patients Group is set to become the biggest casualty so far in a bold and controversial legal offensive by federal prosecutors against California’s pot industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group sent an e-mail to customers earlier today announcing the pending closure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_63953\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 254px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/berkpatientsgroups.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-63953\" title=\"berkpatientsgroups\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/05/berkpatientsgroups.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"254\" height=\"298\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Montgomery/California Watch\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While dozens of other medical marijuana dispensaries around the state have been forced to shut down since California’s four U.S. attorneys launched the crackdown in October, none is as large or commands the same local political support as Berkeley Patients Group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Late last year, Melinda Haag, U.S. attorney for Northern California, warned the group’s landlord, David Mayeri, that the government would seize his assets if marijuana continued to be distributed at the property. The letter cited violations of federal law and the outlet’s 1,000-foot proximity to two schools. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Marijuana dispensaries are full of cash and they’re full of marijuana, and everybody knows that,” Haag said \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/prominent-berkeley-marijuana-dispensary-close-shop-15320\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in an interview in March.\u003c/a> “They are at risk of being robbed, and many of them are robbed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haag said another dispensary being targeted for closure was located next to a preschool in Santa Cruz. In February, armed gunmen robbed the facility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley Patients Group supporters, including neighboring businesses, contend the facility has operated safely for 12 years and has never been the scene of a serious crime. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group’s owners declined interview requests. But in written responses today, they said closing the current site “would deprive many patients safe access to their medicine and be particularly difficult for the hundreds of low income patients who rely on BPG for free medical cannabis and holistic health services. This is an outcome that we have been working very hard to prevent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under a legal agreement with Mayeri, Berkeley Patients Group must cease operations at its location tomorrow and vacate the premises by June 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Medical marijuana activists have denounced efforts to close the facility. They’ve also condemned a recent raid by federal agents on nearby Oaksterdam University, a medical marijuana training school that has been dubbed the “Princeton of pot.” With federal indictments possible in that case, owner Richard Lee announced he’s stepping down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley Patients Group representatives declined to say whether they have secured a new location for their dispensary. But real estate experts said the federal crackdown has left property owners nervous about renting to medical marijuana establishments, even if they have permits from local authorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s almost impossible to relocate, especially under the rules and regulations that the cities and state have in place right now,” said Adam Peterson, a real estate agent for Cassidy Turley BT Commercial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if the dispensary reopens, other challenges remain, including a whopping tax bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to a 2011 state \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/346718-c-berkeley-patients-group-inc-sum.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">audit\u003c/a>, Berkeley Patients Group owes $6.4 million to the California State Board of Equalization for its failure to pay sales taxes from 2004 to 2007. Officials have said they are paying off the debt in monthly installments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group has also been embroiled in bitter legal battles with two former employees – the group’s co-founder and a senior manager.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part of the dispute stems from the group’s decision – at the peak of California’s pot boom three years ago – to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in four dispensaries in Maine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beginning in 2009, Berkeley Patients Group helped create a sister business, Northeast Patients Group, which eventually won permits for the dispensaries. The group projected annual revenues of more than $22 million, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/347384-npg-package.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">documents\u003c/a> submitted to Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Court \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/347383-bpg-npg-complaint.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">documents\u003c/a> from Maine show Berkeley executives pumped more than $600,000 in loans, services and other expenses into the enterprise, which was headed by a former manager and modeled on the group’s operations in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the collaboration went sour. Last year, Berkeley Patients Group filed a lawsuit against the former employee, Rebecca DeKeuster, and Northeast Patients Group, alleging they sold trade secrets to a competitor and failed to repay the loans. The case is still in litigation. Since then, DeKeuster opened three dispensaries in Maine, but Berkeley Patients Group has ended its involvement in the project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a written statement, the group’s executives said they decided to establish the business in Maine because they wanted to help set up the nation’s first state-run dispensary system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The decision to work in Maine was not taken lightly, but it was a unanimous decision by our Board,” the statement read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But two former employees criticized the way the group went about the expansion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doug McVay, Berkeley Patients Group’s bookkeeper in 2009 and 2010, said the decision to invest in out-of-state dispensaries was “ill-conceived and over-ambitious at best,” leaving the organization financially vulnerable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Funds went out without a clear understanding of whether they were for a loan, an investment or something different, and those designations would change over time,” he said in an e-mail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deborah Goldsberry, a co-founder who left Berkeley Patients Group last year, alleged money for the Maine project was pulled from a special trust account set aside to cover the group’s state tax obligations, according to a wrongful termination \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/346717-bpg-complaint.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">complaint\u003c/a> filed in Alameda County Superior Court in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Goldsberry declined to comment on the complaint, which was settled in January. In a statement, Berkeley Patients Group denied “using any money set aside for taxes to fund the work in Maine” and said the complaint “was never served and any matters have been resolved to the parties’ mutual satisfaction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Company business documents show money for the Maine expansion came from internal reserves as well as a loan from the group’s landlord, Mayeri. The documents do not show the group drew funds from a special tax account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McVay, Berkeley Patients Group’s former bookkeeper, said the dispute over the Maine project was connected to other financial arrangements, including a deal in which current CEO Tim Schick and Goldsberry purchased a property adjacent to the dispensary. Berkeley Patients Group provided the down payment and covered monthly mortgage installments, according to McVay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the time … we never had a signed agreement on file – no interest, no repayment plan, no terms, nothing,” he said. “The paperwork was minimal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a written statement, Berkeley Patients Group said the property was purchased by Goldsberry and Schick in 2009 “in anticipation that BPG would expand physically at that location. Clearly those plans have changed, and what will be done with that additional space has yet to be decided.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some prominent players in the Bay Area’s medical marijuana industry said the acrimony was fueled by a clash between Berkeley Patients Group’s “hippie” roots and the need to operate an increasingly sophisticated business amid murky laws and zealous federal law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was a very different organization back then,” said Mickey Martin, an Oakland-based dispensary consultant, referring to the founding of the group after Californians legalized medical marijuana in 1996. “Very hippie-rooted. They tried to run it like a family organization.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2003, SB 420 provided legal cover for medical marijuana outlets. Six years later, the medical marijuana retail business was booming across California. Operating with a city permit, Berkeley Patients Group was serving thousands of customers a month with $19 million in annual revenues, according to interviews and Internet postings by company managers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group also cultivated a community-friendly reputation, donating thousands of dollars to local groups ranging from a special school for hearing-impaired children to the local chamber of commerce. In 2009, the Berkeley City Council declared “Berkeley Patients Group Day,” lauding the dispensary for its tax revenue, donations, sponsorships and “living wages.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that same year, Berkeley Patients Group started to move away from its hippie roots, according to Martin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Martin said the group’s push into new business ventures was spurred in part by competition. In 2010, Steve DeAngelo – owner of Harborside Health Center in Oakland, another large dispensary – founded “CannBe” to export marijuana-related business opportunities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CannBe offered the services of a legalization “A-team” that would work to pass local medical marijuana regulations and win coveted distribution permits for clients around the country. A CannBe internal sales brochure dated October 2010 lists consulting fees of $270,000 for each signed contract plus an additional $5.15 charge for every customer transaction, payable monthly for at least 10 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DeAngelo said the document was similar to a franchise agreement but that actual deals were for “significantly” less money. CannBe folded last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a bill to tightly regulate medical marijuana is debated in Sacramento, Henry Wykowski, a finance expert who advises dispensaries, said more rules could mean fewer disputes of the kind that Berkeley Patients Group and other operators have experienced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think that more regulation would be bad for the industry. The guidelines are gray and when they’re gray that can lead to all sorts of problems,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was reported in collaboration with KQED public radio.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_63639\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 115px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/04/MedicalMarijuanaJustinSullivanGetty.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-63639\" title=\"An Initiative To Legalize Marijuana In California To Appear On Nov. Ballot\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/04/MedicalMarijuanaJustinSullivanGetty-300x204.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"115\" height=\"80\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Justin Sullivan/Getty\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As first blogged by \u003ca href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/san-francisco/\">The Huffington Post\u003c/a>, Barack Obama’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/ready-for-the-fight-rolling-stone-interview-with-barack-obama-20120425\">\u003cstrong>interview in Rolling Stone\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>, posted yesterday, includes the president answering a question on a topic that’s been the subject of frequent headlines around California recently: the months-long federal crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries and growers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s the question and Obama’s answer, from the magazine:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Let me ask you about the War on Drugs. You vowed in 2008, when you were running for election, that you would not “use Justice Department resources to try and circumvent state laws about medical marijuana.” Yet we just ran a \u003ca href=\"http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/obamas-war-on-pot-20120216\">story that shows your administration is launching more raids on medical pot than the Bush administration did\u003c/a>. What’s up with that?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s what’s up: What I specifically said was that we were not going to prioritize prosecutions of persons who are using medical marijuana. I never made a commitment that somehow we were going to give carte blanche to large-scale producers and operators of marijuana – and the reason is, because it’s against federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I can’t nullify congressional law. I can’t ask the Justice Department to say, “Ignore completely a federal law that’s on the books.” What I can say is, “Use your prosecutorial discretion and properly prioritize your resources to go after things that are really doing folks damage.” As a consequence, there haven’t been prosecutions of users of marijuana for medical purposes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The only tension that’s come up – and this gets hyped up a lot – is a murky area where you have large-scale, commercial operations that may supply medical marijuana users, but in some cases may also be supplying recreational users. In that situation, we put the Justice Department in a very difficult place if we’re telling them, “This is supposed to be against the law, but we want you to turn the other way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s not something we’re going to do. I do think it’s important and useful to have a broader debate about our drug laws. One of the things we’ve done over the past three years was to make a sensible change when it came to the disparity in sentencing between crack cocaine and powder cocaine. We’ve had a discussion about how to focus on treatment, taking a public-health approach to drugs and lessening the overwhelming emphasis on criminal laws as a tool to deal with this issue. I think that’s an appropriate debate that we should have.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>If that reasoning sounds familiar to followers of this issue, it may be because it’s similar to that expressed in comments made by Melinda Haag, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, who \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">announced with her colleagues last October\u003c/a> that they would be targeting medical marijuana dispensaries and growers, plus their landlords. The prosecutors have been true to their words; that’s exactly \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/medical-marijuana/\">what’s happened\u003c/a> and is \u003ca href=\"http://www.marinij.com/novato/ci_20481413/feds-target-novato-pot-dispensaries-one-closes\">continuing\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March, KQED’s Michael Montgomery sat down with Haag, who for the first time \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/03/15/interview-w-us-attorney-haag-on-pot-operations-if-its-close-to-children-thats-a-line-were-going-to-draw/\">explained her rationale for the amped up enforcement\u003c/a>. Some of her language echoes Obama’s in the Rolling Stone inteview…or vice-versa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The reason that the four California U.S. Attorneys announced our efforts together is that we were all experiencing the same thing, which is that everyone was saying we were hearing and everyone was saying the U.S. attorneys are not going to take any actions with respect to marijuana in California because of the 2009 \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.usdoj.gov/blog/archives/192\">Ogden memo\u003c/a>. [\u003cem>Note: The 2009 memo written by Deputy Attorney General David Ogden that laid out enforcement guidelines for federal prosecutors in regard to medical marijuana\u003c/em>.] So it’s fair game. We can have grow operations, we can have dispensaries, we can do anything we want with respect to marijuana because the Department of Justice in 2009 in the Ogden memo said that the California U.S. attorneys will not take action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was incorrect. And we felt that we needed to send a message that it wasn’t correct. I actually felt that it was more fair to send a message because, for example, I was hearing from Oakland that it was going to issue licenses and allow large-scale grow operations in warehouses. And what was described to me was that they were going to be quote “Walmart-sized.” And I was hearing that everyone believed that would be okay and that my office would not take any action. And I knew it isn’t okay, it is a violation of federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When you’re talking about that scale grow-operation across the bay in Oakland it wouldn’t be something that I could ignore. I didn’t think it was fair to stand by, be silent, let people pull licenses in Oakland, put millions of dollars into setting up a grow operation in a warehouse and then come in and take an enforcement action.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, lawmakers from Colorado, Maine, Washington, New Mexico and California — including Assemblymember Tom Ammiano of San Francisco — \u003ca href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/02/lawmakers-in-5-states-tell-feds-medical-marijuana_n_1397811.html\">wrote an open letter\u003c/a> calling on the federal government “not to interfere with our ability to control and regulate how medical marijuana is grown and distributed. Let us seek clarity rather than chaos. Don’t force patients underground, to fuel the illegal drug market.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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You vowed in 2008, when you were running for election, that you would not “use Justice Department resources to try and circumvent state laws about medical marijuana.” Yet we just ran a \u003ca href=\"http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/obamas-war-on-pot-20120216\">story that shows your administration is launching more raids on medical pot than the Bush administration did\u003c/a>. What’s up with that?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s what’s up: What I specifically said was that we were not going to prioritize prosecutions of persons who are using medical marijuana. I never made a commitment that somehow we were going to give carte blanche to large-scale producers and operators of marijuana – and the reason is, because it’s against federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I can’t nullify congressional law. I can’t ask the Justice Department to say, “Ignore completely a federal law that’s on the books.” What I can say is, “Use your prosecutorial discretion and properly prioritize your resources to go after things that are really doing folks damage.” As a consequence, there haven’t been prosecutions of users of marijuana for medical purposes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The only tension that’s come up – and this gets hyped up a lot – is a murky area where you have large-scale, commercial operations that may supply medical marijuana users, but in some cases may also be supplying recreational users. In that situation, we put the Justice Department in a very difficult place if we’re telling them, “This is supposed to be against the law, but we want you to turn the other way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s not something we’re going to do. I do think it’s important and useful to have a broader debate about our drug laws. One of the things we’ve done over the past three years was to make a sensible change when it came to the disparity in sentencing between crack cocaine and powder cocaine. We’ve had a discussion about how to focus on treatment, taking a public-health approach to drugs and lessening the overwhelming emphasis on criminal laws as a tool to deal with this issue. I think that’s an appropriate debate that we should have.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>If that reasoning sounds familiar to followers of this issue, it may be because it’s similar to that expressed in comments made by Melinda Haag, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, who \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">announced with her colleagues last October\u003c/a> that they would be targeting medical marijuana dispensaries and growers, plus their landlords. The prosecutors have been true to their words; that’s exactly \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/medical-marijuana/\">what’s happened\u003c/a> and is \u003ca href=\"http://www.marinij.com/novato/ci_20481413/feds-target-novato-pot-dispensaries-one-closes\">continuing\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March, KQED’s Michael Montgomery sat down with Haag, who for the first time \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/03/15/interview-w-us-attorney-haag-on-pot-operations-if-its-close-to-children-thats-a-line-were-going-to-draw/\">explained her rationale for the amped up enforcement\u003c/a>. Some of her language echoes Obama’s in the Rolling Stone inteview…or vice-versa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The reason that the four California U.S. Attorneys announced our efforts together is that we were all experiencing the same thing, which is that everyone was saying we were hearing and everyone was saying the U.S. attorneys are not going to take any actions with respect to marijuana in California because of the 2009 \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.usdoj.gov/blog/archives/192\">Ogden memo\u003c/a>. [\u003cem>Note: The 2009 memo written by Deputy Attorney General David Ogden that laid out enforcement guidelines for federal prosecutors in regard to medical marijuana\u003c/em>.] So it’s fair game. We can have grow operations, we can have dispensaries, we can do anything we want with respect to marijuana because the Department of Justice in 2009 in the Ogden memo said that the California U.S. attorneys will not take action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was incorrect. 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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update 4:01 p.m.\u003c/strong> IRS spokesperson Arlette Lee said the investigation is a joint effort between the IRS and the DEA. She declined further comment, stating the search warrant has been sealed by a federal court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_61019\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 225px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/04/photo-4.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-61019\" title=\"photo 4\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/04/photo-4-e1333387474596-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Federal agents guard doors of Oaksterdam University. (Photo by Rachel Dornhelm)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update 3:12 p.m.\u003c/strong> Federal agents also raided the home of Oaksterdam founder Richard Lee but did not arrest him, according to the AP.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>“Clearly, they’re trying to knock down one of the leaders in the cannabis reform movement,” said Oaksterdam Executive Chancellor Dale Sky Jones.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update 11:10 a.m.\u003c/strong> The crowd protesting the federal raid in downtown Oakland has swelled to more than 60 people. KQED’s Rachel Dornhelm reports Oakland police have arrived and closed down one block of 15th street between Broadway and Franklin. Federal agents are still carting evidence out of the \u003ca title=\"Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Coop\" href=\"http://www.rxcbc.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative\u003c/a> and loading it into a white truck. At least one protester has been taken into custody.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update 10:20 a.m. \u003c/strong>KQED’s Rachel Dornhelm is at Oaksterdam University where about 45 people have gathered to protest. Dornhelm says agents carted out what appeared to be florescent lights and other materials broadly referred to as “evidence.” Protester Maya Rise told Dornhelm, “I’m just against stealing and robbing. There are real sick people with cancer and… chronic pain that rely on cannabis. So they shouldn’t be stealing people’s medicine.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original Post:\u003c/strong> OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Federal agents have raided a San Francisco Bay area medical marijuana training school at the heart of California’s pot legalization movement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The doors to Oaksterdam University in downtown Oakland were blocked Monday morning by U.S. marshals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration carted trash bags of unknown materials out of the school to a waiting van.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About a dozen protesters out front held signs demanding an end to federal crackdowns on medical marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oaksterdam University was founded by Richard Lee, the main backer of the California ballot measure defeated in 2010 that would have legalized marijuana in the state for recreational use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The school is in an Oakland neighborhood that has also been home to several medical marijuana dispensaries, including one founded by Lee.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"description": "Update 4:01 p.m. IRS spokesperson Arlette Lee said the investigation is a joint effort between the IRS and the DEA. She declined further comment, stating the search warrant has been sealed by a federal court. Update 3:12 p.m. Federal agents also raided the home of Oaksterdam founder Richard Lee but did not arrest him, according to the AP. "Clearly, they're trying to knock down one of the leaders in the cannabis reform movement," said Oaksterdam Executive Chancellor Dale Sky Jones. Update 11:10 a.m. The crowd protesting the federal raid in downtown Oakland has swelled to more than 60 people. KQED's",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update 4:01 p.m.\u003c/strong> IRS spokesperson Arlette Lee said the investigation is a joint effort between the IRS and the DEA. She declined further comment, stating the search warrant has been sealed by a federal court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_61019\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 225px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/04/photo-4.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-61019\" title=\"photo 4\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/04/photo-4-e1333387474596-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Federal agents guard doors of Oaksterdam University. (Photo by Rachel Dornhelm)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update 3:12 p.m.\u003c/strong> Federal agents also raided the home of Oaksterdam founder Richard Lee but did not arrest him, according to the AP.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>“Clearly, they’re trying to knock down one of the leaders in the cannabis reform movement,” said Oaksterdam Executive Chancellor Dale Sky Jones.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update 11:10 a.m.\u003c/strong> The crowd protesting the federal raid in downtown Oakland has swelled to more than 60 people. KQED’s Rachel Dornhelm reports Oakland police have arrived and closed down one block of 15th street between Broadway and Franklin. Federal agents are still carting evidence out of the \u003ca title=\"Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Coop\" href=\"http://www.rxcbc.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative\u003c/a> and loading it into a white truck. At least one protester has been taken into custody.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update 10:20 a.m. \u003c/strong>KQED’s Rachel Dornhelm is at Oaksterdam University where about 45 people have gathered to protest. Dornhelm says agents carted out what appeared to be florescent lights and other materials broadly referred to as “evidence.” Protester Maya Rise told Dornhelm, “I’m just against stealing and robbing. There are real sick people with cancer and… chronic pain that rely on cannabis. So they shouldn’t be stealing people’s medicine.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original Post:\u003c/strong> OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Federal agents have raided a San Francisco Bay area medical marijuana training school at the heart of California’s pot legalization movement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The doors to Oaksterdam University in downtown Oakland were blocked Monday morning by U.S. marshals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration carted trash bags of unknown materials out of the school to a waiting van.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About a dozen protesters out front held signs demanding an end to federal crackdowns on medical marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oaksterdam University was founded by Richard Lee, the main backer of the California ballot measure defeated in 2010 that would have legalized marijuana in the state for recreational use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The school is in an Oakland neighborhood that has also been home to several medical marijuana dispensaries, including one founded by Lee.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "interview-w-us-attorney-haag-on-pot-operations-if-its-close-to-children-thats-a-line-were-going-to-draw",
"title": "Interview w/ US Attorney Haag on Pot Operations: 'If it's close to children, that's a line we're going to draw'",
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"headTitle": "Interview w/ US Attorney Haag on Pot Operations: ‘If it’s close to children, that’s a line we’re going to draw’ | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_59484\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/MedicalMarijuanaJustinSullivanGetty1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-59484\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/MedicalMarijuanaJustinSullivanGetty1-300x204.jpg\" alt=\"Melinda Haag medical marijuana interview\" width=\"250\" height=\"170\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Justin Sullivan/Getty\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Last October \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">California’s four U.S. attorneys announced a series of enforcement actions \u003c/a>intended to curtail the state’s booming marijuana industry. The effort prompted angry criticism from medical marijuana advocates, who accused the Obama administration of backtracking on pledges to allow states to go their own way, at least when it comes to medical marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then, hundreds of medical marijuana outlets have closed shop, including at least 10 in the Bay Area. Michael Montgomery recently spoke to Melinda Haag, U.S. Attorney for California’s Northern District, in her first extensive interview about the crackdown. Here’s an edited transcript:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What were the central motivating factors behind this statewide coordinated action launched by California’s four US attorney’s last October?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I have to go back a little bit to let you know that my office receives phone calls, letters and emails from people every day expressing great concern about the explosion and proliferation of the marijuana industry as a result of the passage of legislation regarding medical marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">In the view of the people that contact my office, the demand for medical marijuana in California is fueling an industry that’s ruining other parts of the state.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>In the view of the people that write to my office and call my office, the demand for medical marijuana in California is fueling an industry that is ruining other parts of the state. We have huge swaths of land in the Central Valley and in Northern California that are now devoted to the cultivation of marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I get letters that tell me that the writer lives in a small community and that community has six marijuana dispensaries. And they watch people come from all over the state and outside the state come and purchase marijuana in their small community and they express grave concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I receive letters from people who tell me things like my business is across the street from a high school and a dispensary and I watch kids all day long go in and out and then into the high school. And then I hear that they have a tremendous problem in that high school with marijuana use by the students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marijuana is illegal under federal law and I felt like I had to do something to respond to those members of my community that don’t support it and don’t support the impact they believe it’s having. The main complaint and the main theme expressed by the people that I’ve heard from is the impact on children, so with my limited resources I decided to focus on children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an initial matter we identified dispensaries that were very close to schools and parks and playgrounds. That’s what led to my decision and the effort we’ve engaged in in the Northern District of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\n\u003cp>We were hearing the U.S. attorneys are not going to take any actions with respect to marijuana in California because of the 2009 Ogden memo…We felt we needed to send a message that wasn’t correct.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The reason that the four California U.S. Attorneys announced our efforts together is that we were all experiencing the same thing, which is that everyone was saying we were hearing and everyone was saying the U.S. attorneys are not going to take any actions with respect to marijuana in California because of the \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.usdoj.gov/blog/archives/192\">2009 Ogden memo [full text]\u003c/a>. So it’s fair game. We can have grow operations, we can have dispensaries, we can do anything we want with respect to marijuana because the Department of Justice in 2009 in the Ogden memo said that the California U.S. attorneys will not take action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was incorrect. And we felt that we needed to send a message that it wasn’t correct. I actually felt that it was more fair to send a message because, for example, I was hearing from Oakland that it was going to issue licenses and allow large-scale grow operations in warehouses. And what was described to me was that they were going to be quote “Walmart-sized.” And I was hearing that everyone believed that would be okay and that my office would not take any action. And I knew it isn’t okay, it is a violation of federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When you’re talking about that scale grow-operation across the bay in Oakland it wouldn’t be something that I could ignore. I didn’t think it was fair to stand by, be silent, let people pull licenses in Oakland, put millions of dollars into setting up a grow operation in a warehouse and then come in and take an enforcement action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yours was the first letter that went out. Did you think that within a few months of your letter to officials in Oakland that there would be this proliferation of similar letters from U.S. attorneys around the country?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I certainly only focus on my own district. I wasn’t focused on what my colleagues around the country might or might not do as a result.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">If there are people who are ill and they believe that marijuana will help them or their doctors believe it will help them, the U.S. attorneys are not ordinarily going to bring any kind of enforcement action. That’s really all that the Ogden memo says.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>At your \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/#audio\">press conference\u003c/a> last fall, we heard the term “commercial industry” used quite a lot in relation to marijuana in California. What does that mean? Is it the scale, the way they operate?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you actually read the so-called Ogden memo from 2009 from the Department of Justice, what it says is that U.S. attorneys will not ordinarily use their limited resources to bring actions against seriously ill individuals or their caregivers. That’s the direction we were given. And I think it was clear from the department and clear from Washington D.C. that if there are people who are ill and they believe that marijuana will help them or their doctors believe marijuana will help them, the U.S. attorneys are not ordinarily going to step into that fray and bring any kind of an enforcement action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that’s really at its heart all that the Ogden memo says. It also makes clear that a marijuana industry is not off-limits. And if we have significant grow operations, if we have for-profit operations, certainly if those operations are having negative impacts on their communities, that it isn’t something that we’re able to ignore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You have taken more actions recently…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">When a dispensary comes to my attention that is close to a school, a park, a playground or children, that’s a line I’ve decided to draw.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The main theme that I was hearing from members of this community, members of our community in the northern district of California was a concern about children. And it has to do with marijuana use leading to other drugs, it has to do with brain development. I was hearing from psychologists who were sending me reports that find that brains are not fully developed until your mid 20s and use of marijuana or alcohol or anything else like that is more harmful than perhaps it is than when people are a little bit older and their brains are developed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>he other concern that people have expressed to me is safety. There is a belief, backed by facts, that marijuana operations are often times the victims of criminal activity. Armed robberies at dispensaries, armed robberies at grow operations, and people who are nearby are at risk as a result of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And there have been some illustrations of that concern recently in my district. For example there’s a dispensary in Santa Cruz that is next to a preschool, and it came to my attention that dispensary was the subject of an armed robbery in the middle part of February. And I heard that the parents of the preschoolers, the operators of the preschool, and the community were very concerned. So I sent a letter to the owners and operators of that dispensary putting them on notice that the dispensary is close to a preschool that it’s in violation of federal law, giving them 45 days to close it down before we take action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On another end of the spectrum we indicted a case two weeks ago in Humboldt County. There’s a grower there who allegedly had a 1500-plant grow operation. He allegedly hired undocumented workers from Central America and the indictment alleges that when those workers came to him and asked to be paid, he instead pulled out a gun, shot and killed one of them, and chased the other one through the woods, shooting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I believe there’s this notion out there that the marijuana industry is just full of organic farmers who are peacefully growing an organic natural plant and that there’s no harm associated with that. And what I hear from people in the community is that there is harm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">One thing we’ve heard in response is that this is a good dispensary. This is a dispensary that’s patient-run, or they consider themselves to be a good actor in the marijuana space. I hear them, but I have a hard time making that distinction. I’ve already drawn a line.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>You’ve also taken action against dispensaries in San Francisco and the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/03/15/berkeley-patients-group-marijuana-dispensary-to-close/\">Berkeley Patients Group\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of my concerns about dispensaries that are in proximity to schools and parks and playgrounds is the possibility they could be the target of violence or armed robbery. People in the community may be supportive of the dispensary being in their community until there’s a robbery and people come running out of the dispensary shooting guns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m concerned about that circumstance with respect to every dispensary. I simply don’t have the resources to take action with respect to every dispensary in the northern district, so I’ve had to make some decisions about how to best use my resources. So I’ve decided to focus on dispensaries that are near kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some people say “wait a minute, we’re doing fine.” For example, the situation in Berkeley. They say, “we haven’t had any problems.” The school across the street is happy with us. Why pick on us? Go somewhere else. What’s your response?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marijuana dispensaries are full of cash and they’re full of marijuana and everybody knows that. And many of them are very public about their operations. Some of them go on television, most of them have web sites, and everybody knows where they are. They are at risk of being robbed and many of them are robbed. I spoke to a police chief today about another topic and I asked him have you had any marijuana dispensaries robbed recently and he ticked off three in the last week in his community. Any given dispensary may not have been robbed to date, but they could very well be robbed in the near future and there very well could be violence associated with that. I’m concerned about the people in the dispensary, certainly; I’m also concerned about the people in the vicinity of the dispensary. Which is again why I’ve drawn this line. When a dispensary comes to my attention that is close to a school, a park, a playground or children, that’s a line I’ve decided to draw.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does that mean any dispensary that’s near a school?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">-If a location is subject to one of these letters, can they move? That is, could that remove the issue cited in the letter?\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003c/strong>-That’s correct.\u003c/p>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>We’ve sent letters to a number of dispensaries and we certainly hear back from most if not all of them, or lawyers representing them. And one thing we’ve heard in response is that this is a good dispensary. This is a dispensary that’s patient-run, or they consider themselves to be a good actor in the marijuana space. And I hear them, but I have a hard time making that distinction. I’ve already drawn a line. If it’s close to children then that’s a line we’re going to draw. If I then start trying to get in and figure out which ones are quote good or not, it’s just not something I’m capable of doing. So I’ve decided to keep that line fairly bright.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a location is subject to one of these letters, can they move? That is, could that remove the issue cited in the letter?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s correct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to marijuana cases, are you relying on civil forfeitures more than criminal prosecutions because they require fewer resources?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We take on many things in the U.S. Attorney’s office that are labor-intensive. We have a case that involves the failure of a bank and a nearly $500 million loss, where the discovery and data is measured in terabytes. And I could cite many other cases where the resources involved in bringing the case are significant and we take them on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re not really afraid of the use of resources. I don’t agree that we’re doing it because it’s easier. Marijuana is illegal under federal law and there are many things I could do as a result. I can bring a criminal action, I can bring a forfeiture action, or both. I just believe that it’s appropriate under these circumstances to bring a forfeiture action at this point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I can’t promise going forward that it won’t change. I can’t promise that we very well may find an appropriate case for criminal prosecution. We very well may find a case where it’s appropriate to not give notice to the owner of the property but simply to institute an asset forfeiture action.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">I don’t want to send the message that if you are more than 1000 feet from a school you will not be targeted. I don’t know that.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>I cannot promise that we will not bring actions against dispensaries that are not close to schools and parks and playgrounds but for some other reason we felt that it was appropriate to expand our look. So I don’t want to send the message to people that if you are more than 1000 feet from a school you will not be targeted. I don’t want to send the message that you will never be criminally prosecuted. I don’t know that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now, how would you assess the impact of this state-wide enforcement action?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We certainly got people’s attention. There’s one big positive from my perspective. And that is that I was hearing from a lot of people in this community that they believed that they could take a warehouse that they owned or a property that they owned and turn it into a large-scale marijuana grow operation and that there would be no repercussions. I was hearing from very upstanding members of the community that there were plans to do that kind of thing, to take a warehouse that they’d had trouble leasing in west Oakland and to lease it to a marijuana grow operation. I’m gratified to hear that people understand that they can’t do that and feel that nothing will ever happen. Something might happen. There might be a criminal prosecution. There might be an asset forfeiture action. It is illegal, whether you agree with it or not, under federal law, and it’s not something people should take lightly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What do you say to the argument that your actions are preventing seriously ill people from getting their medicine?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are an awful lot of marijuana dispensaries in the Northern District of California, and the number that we have taken action against is relatively small. So I am assuming that people who need access to medical marijuana still have access to it through dispensaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I also think that the Ogden memo and frankly California state law contemplated a much smaller scale with respect to medical marijuana. When I read California state law, when I read the Ogden memo, what those look like to me is that what was contemplated was people believed they need marijuana, or whose doctors believe they could benefit from marijuana, would be growing it personally or a friend or a caregiver or community member or church member would be growing it for them and it would be relatively small scale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What we have seen is an absolute explosion of the marijuana industry in California where it is not at all small scale but instead huge swaths of farmland, huge grow operations in all of the counties north of San Francisco and indoor grow operations in the more urban areas, are really taking over and are really impacting negatively on communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What do you think of calls from Kamala Harris and others for the state to tighten its laws or create a regulatory system when it comes to medical marijuana?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think I have to wait and see what happens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When you took this job in 2010, did you have any idea that a lot of time and attention would be required concerning something like marijuana?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I had absolutely no idea. I can tell you that amount of press attention with respect to medical marijuana is completely disproportionate to the tiny percentage of resources of my office that is used to address it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the most part we’re prosecuting violent gangs, bringing gun and drug cases and gang-related cases, bringing significant white collar cases, bringing public corruption cases against law enforcement officers and others, bringing child exploitations, prosecutions against people who are abusing children, human-trafficking prosecutions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You and the other U.S. attorneys in California have been criticized for taking these enforcement actions against medical marijuana operators. Some people say the feds need to end the war on pot and other drugs. What’s your response?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I certainly read and understand that there are people who disagree with what I’ve done in terms of the enforcement actions we’ve taken. And most of those sentiments conclude that it should just be legalized. That is, “you shouldn’t be doing this, instead it should be legalized.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My answer to that is those people need to go to their representatives in Congress, who are the only people with the power and ability to change federal law. I don’t have the power and ability to change federal law.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "Interview w/ US Attorney Haag on Pot Operations: 'If it's close to children, that's a line we're going to draw' | KQED",
"description": "Last October California's four U.S. attorneys announced a series of enforcement actions intended to curtail the state's booming marijuana industry. The effort prompted angry criticism from medical marijuana advocates, who accused the Obama administration of backtracking on pledges to allow states to go their own way, at least when it comes to medical marijuana. Since then, hundreds of medical marijuana outlets have closed shop, including at least 10 in the Bay Area. Michael Montgomery recently spoke to Melinda Haag, U.S. Attorney for California's Northern District, in her first extensive interview about the crackdown. Here's an edited transcript: Michael Montgomery What",
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"headline": "Interview w/ US Attorney Haag on Pot Operations: 'If it's close to children, that's a line we're going to draw'",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_59484\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/MedicalMarijuanaJustinSullivanGetty1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-59484\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/MedicalMarijuanaJustinSullivanGetty1-300x204.jpg\" alt=\"Melinda Haag medical marijuana interview\" width=\"250\" height=\"170\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Justin Sullivan/Getty\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Last October \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">California’s four U.S. attorneys announced a series of enforcement actions \u003c/a>intended to curtail the state’s booming marijuana industry. The effort prompted angry criticism from medical marijuana advocates, who accused the Obama administration of backtracking on pledges to allow states to go their own way, at least when it comes to medical marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then, hundreds of medical marijuana outlets have closed shop, including at least 10 in the Bay Area. Michael Montgomery recently spoke to Melinda Haag, U.S. Attorney for California’s Northern District, in her first extensive interview about the crackdown. Here’s an edited transcript:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What were the central motivating factors behind this statewide coordinated action launched by California’s four US attorney’s last October?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I have to go back a little bit to let you know that my office receives phone calls, letters and emails from people every day expressing great concern about the explosion and proliferation of the marijuana industry as a result of the passage of legislation regarding medical marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">In the view of the people that contact my office, the demand for medical marijuana in California is fueling an industry that’s ruining other parts of the state.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>In the view of the people that write to my office and call my office, the demand for medical marijuana in California is fueling an industry that is ruining other parts of the state. We have huge swaths of land in the Central Valley and in Northern California that are now devoted to the cultivation of marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I get letters that tell me that the writer lives in a small community and that community has six marijuana dispensaries. And they watch people come from all over the state and outside the state come and purchase marijuana in their small community and they express grave concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I receive letters from people who tell me things like my business is across the street from a high school and a dispensary and I watch kids all day long go in and out and then into the high school. And then I hear that they have a tremendous problem in that high school with marijuana use by the students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marijuana is illegal under federal law and I felt like I had to do something to respond to those members of my community that don’t support it and don’t support the impact they believe it’s having. The main complaint and the main theme expressed by the people that I’ve heard from is the impact on children, so with my limited resources I decided to focus on children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an initial matter we identified dispensaries that were very close to schools and parks and playgrounds. That’s what led to my decision and the effort we’ve engaged in in the Northern District of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\n\u003cp>We were hearing the U.S. attorneys are not going to take any actions with respect to marijuana in California because of the 2009 Ogden memo…We felt we needed to send a message that wasn’t correct.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The reason that the four California U.S. Attorneys announced our efforts together is that we were all experiencing the same thing, which is that everyone was saying we were hearing and everyone was saying the U.S. attorneys are not going to take any actions with respect to marijuana in California because of the \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.usdoj.gov/blog/archives/192\">2009 Ogden memo [full text]\u003c/a>. So it’s fair game. We can have grow operations, we can have dispensaries, we can do anything we want with respect to marijuana because the Department of Justice in 2009 in the Ogden memo said that the California U.S. attorneys will not take action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was incorrect. And we felt that we needed to send a message that it wasn’t correct. I actually felt that it was more fair to send a message because, for example, I was hearing from Oakland that it was going to issue licenses and allow large-scale grow operations in warehouses. And what was described to me was that they were going to be quote “Walmart-sized.” And I was hearing that everyone believed that would be okay and that my office would not take any action. And I knew it isn’t okay, it is a violation of federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When you’re talking about that scale grow-operation across the bay in Oakland it wouldn’t be something that I could ignore. I didn’t think it was fair to stand by, be silent, let people pull licenses in Oakland, put millions of dollars into setting up a grow operation in a warehouse and then come in and take an enforcement action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yours was the first letter that went out. Did you think that within a few months of your letter to officials in Oakland that there would be this proliferation of similar letters from U.S. attorneys around the country?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I certainly only focus on my own district. I wasn’t focused on what my colleagues around the country might or might not do as a result.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">If there are people who are ill and they believe that marijuana will help them or their doctors believe it will help them, the U.S. attorneys are not ordinarily going to bring any kind of enforcement action. That’s really all that the Ogden memo says.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>At your \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/#audio\">press conference\u003c/a> last fall, we heard the term “commercial industry” used quite a lot in relation to marijuana in California. What does that mean? Is it the scale, the way they operate?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you actually read the so-called Ogden memo from 2009 from the Department of Justice, what it says is that U.S. attorneys will not ordinarily use their limited resources to bring actions against seriously ill individuals or their caregivers. That’s the direction we were given. And I think it was clear from the department and clear from Washington D.C. that if there are people who are ill and they believe that marijuana will help them or their doctors believe marijuana will help them, the U.S. attorneys are not ordinarily going to step into that fray and bring any kind of an enforcement action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that’s really at its heart all that the Ogden memo says. It also makes clear that a marijuana industry is not off-limits. And if we have significant grow operations, if we have for-profit operations, certainly if those operations are having negative impacts on their communities, that it isn’t something that we’re able to ignore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You have taken more actions recently…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">When a dispensary comes to my attention that is close to a school, a park, a playground or children, that’s a line I’ve decided to draw.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The main theme that I was hearing from members of this community, members of our community in the northern district of California was a concern about children. And it has to do with marijuana use leading to other drugs, it has to do with brain development. I was hearing from psychologists who were sending me reports that find that brains are not fully developed until your mid 20s and use of marijuana or alcohol or anything else like that is more harmful than perhaps it is than when people are a little bit older and their brains are developed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>he other concern that people have expressed to me is safety. There is a belief, backed by facts, that marijuana operations are often times the victims of criminal activity. Armed robberies at dispensaries, armed robberies at grow operations, and people who are nearby are at risk as a result of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And there have been some illustrations of that concern recently in my district. For example there’s a dispensary in Santa Cruz that is next to a preschool, and it came to my attention that dispensary was the subject of an armed robbery in the middle part of February. And I heard that the parents of the preschoolers, the operators of the preschool, and the community were very concerned. So I sent a letter to the owners and operators of that dispensary putting them on notice that the dispensary is close to a preschool that it’s in violation of federal law, giving them 45 days to close it down before we take action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On another end of the spectrum we indicted a case two weeks ago in Humboldt County. There’s a grower there who allegedly had a 1500-plant grow operation. He allegedly hired undocumented workers from Central America and the indictment alleges that when those workers came to him and asked to be paid, he instead pulled out a gun, shot and killed one of them, and chased the other one through the woods, shooting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I believe there’s this notion out there that the marijuana industry is just full of organic farmers who are peacefully growing an organic natural plant and that there’s no harm associated with that. And what I hear from people in the community is that there is harm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">One thing we’ve heard in response is that this is a good dispensary. This is a dispensary that’s patient-run, or they consider themselves to be a good actor in the marijuana space. I hear them, but I have a hard time making that distinction. I’ve already drawn a line.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>You’ve also taken action against dispensaries in San Francisco and the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/03/15/berkeley-patients-group-marijuana-dispensary-to-close/\">Berkeley Patients Group\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of my concerns about dispensaries that are in proximity to schools and parks and playgrounds is the possibility they could be the target of violence or armed robbery. People in the community may be supportive of the dispensary being in their community until there’s a robbery and people come running out of the dispensary shooting guns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m concerned about that circumstance with respect to every dispensary. I simply don’t have the resources to take action with respect to every dispensary in the northern district, so I’ve had to make some decisions about how to best use my resources. So I’ve decided to focus on dispensaries that are near kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some people say “wait a minute, we’re doing fine.” For example, the situation in Berkeley. They say, “we haven’t had any problems.” The school across the street is happy with us. Why pick on us? Go somewhere else. What’s your response?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marijuana dispensaries are full of cash and they’re full of marijuana and everybody knows that. And many of them are very public about their operations. Some of them go on television, most of them have web sites, and everybody knows where they are. They are at risk of being robbed and many of them are robbed. I spoke to a police chief today about another topic and I asked him have you had any marijuana dispensaries robbed recently and he ticked off three in the last week in his community. Any given dispensary may not have been robbed to date, but they could very well be robbed in the near future and there very well could be violence associated with that. I’m concerned about the people in the dispensary, certainly; I’m also concerned about the people in the vicinity of the dispensary. Which is again why I’ve drawn this line. When a dispensary comes to my attention that is close to a school, a park, a playground or children, that’s a line I’ve decided to draw.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does that mean any dispensary that’s near a school?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">-If a location is subject to one of these letters, can they move? That is, could that remove the issue cited in the letter?\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003c/strong>-That’s correct.\u003c/p>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>We’ve sent letters to a number of dispensaries and we certainly hear back from most if not all of them, or lawyers representing them. And one thing we’ve heard in response is that this is a good dispensary. This is a dispensary that’s patient-run, or they consider themselves to be a good actor in the marijuana space. And I hear them, but I have a hard time making that distinction. I’ve already drawn a line. If it’s close to children then that’s a line we’re going to draw. If I then start trying to get in and figure out which ones are quote good or not, it’s just not something I’m capable of doing. So I’ve decided to keep that line fairly bright.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a location is subject to one of these letters, can they move? That is, could that remove the issue cited in the letter?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s correct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to marijuana cases, are you relying on civil forfeitures more than criminal prosecutions because they require fewer resources?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We take on many things in the U.S. Attorney’s office that are labor-intensive. We have a case that involves the failure of a bank and a nearly $500 million loss, where the discovery and data is measured in terabytes. And I could cite many other cases where the resources involved in bringing the case are significant and we take them on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re not really afraid of the use of resources. I don’t agree that we’re doing it because it’s easier. Marijuana is illegal under federal law and there are many things I could do as a result. I can bring a criminal action, I can bring a forfeiture action, or both. I just believe that it’s appropriate under these circumstances to bring a forfeiture action at this point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I can’t promise going forward that it won’t change. I can’t promise that we very well may find an appropriate case for criminal prosecution. We very well may find a case where it’s appropriate to not give notice to the owner of the property but simply to institute an asset forfeiture action.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">I don’t want to send the message that if you are more than 1000 feet from a school you will not be targeted. I don’t know that.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>I cannot promise that we will not bring actions against dispensaries that are not close to schools and parks and playgrounds but for some other reason we felt that it was appropriate to expand our look. So I don’t want to send the message to people that if you are more than 1000 feet from a school you will not be targeted. I don’t want to send the message that you will never be criminally prosecuted. I don’t know that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now, how would you assess the impact of this state-wide enforcement action?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We certainly got people’s attention. There’s one big positive from my perspective. And that is that I was hearing from a lot of people in this community that they believed that they could take a warehouse that they owned or a property that they owned and turn it into a large-scale marijuana grow operation and that there would be no repercussions. I was hearing from very upstanding members of the community that there were plans to do that kind of thing, to take a warehouse that they’d had trouble leasing in west Oakland and to lease it to a marijuana grow operation. I’m gratified to hear that people understand that they can’t do that and feel that nothing will ever happen. Something might happen. There might be a criminal prosecution. There might be an asset forfeiture action. It is illegal, whether you agree with it or not, under federal law, and it’s not something people should take lightly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What do you say to the argument that your actions are preventing seriously ill people from getting their medicine?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are an awful lot of marijuana dispensaries in the Northern District of California, and the number that we have taken action against is relatively small. So I am assuming that people who need access to medical marijuana still have access to it through dispensaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I also think that the Ogden memo and frankly California state law contemplated a much smaller scale with respect to medical marijuana. When I read California state law, when I read the Ogden memo, what those look like to me is that what was contemplated was people believed they need marijuana, or whose doctors believe they could benefit from marijuana, would be growing it personally or a friend or a caregiver or community member or church member would be growing it for them and it would be relatively small scale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What we have seen is an absolute explosion of the marijuana industry in California where it is not at all small scale but instead huge swaths of farmland, huge grow operations in all of the counties north of San Francisco and indoor grow operations in the more urban areas, are really taking over and are really impacting negatively on communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What do you think of calls from Kamala Harris and others for the state to tighten its laws or create a regulatory system when it comes to medical marijuana?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think I have to wait and see what happens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When you took this job in 2010, did you have any idea that a lot of time and attention would be required concerning something like marijuana?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I had absolutely no idea. I can tell you that amount of press attention with respect to medical marijuana is completely disproportionate to the tiny percentage of resources of my office that is used to address it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the most part we’re prosecuting violent gangs, bringing gun and drug cases and gang-related cases, bringing significant white collar cases, bringing public corruption cases against law enforcement officers and others, bringing child exploitations, prosecutions against people who are abusing children, human-trafficking prosecutions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You and the other U.S. attorneys in California have been criticized for taking these enforcement actions against medical marijuana operators. Some people say the feds need to end the war on pot and other drugs. What’s your response?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Melinda Haag\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I certainly read and understand that there are people who disagree with what I’ve done in terms of the enforcement actions we’ve taken. And most of those sentiments conclude that it should just be legalized. That is, “you shouldn’t be doing this, instead it should be legalized.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Pot Dispensary Berkeley Patients Group to Close, Looking to Relocate",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Michael Montgomery and David Downs, \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/prominent-berkeley-marijuana-dispensary-close-shop-15320\">California Watch\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of California’s biggest medical marijuana establishments – embraced by local officials as a model business that donates to the poor and pays millions in taxes – has become the latest target in a statewide crackdown by federal prosecutors. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(\u003cem>Update Friday\u003c/em>: Berkeley Patients Group issued a statement last night clarifying its status, saying “we have been looking to relocate for several years and look forward to announcing our new site, soon.” Read at \u003ca href=\"http://www.berkeleyside.com/2012/03/16/berkeley-patients-group-says-it-is-moving-not-closing/\">Berkeleyside\u003c/a>.) \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_59434\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 191px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/berkeleypatientsgroup.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-59434\" title=\"berkeleypatientsgroup\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/berkeleypatientsgroup-254x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"191\" height=\"225\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Montgomery/California Watch\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.berkeleypatientsgroup.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Berkeley Patients Group\u003c/a>, founded in 1999 by leading names in the state’s medical marijuana movement, will cease operations at its current location later this year, according to an agreement between the dispensary’s owners and the landlord. The document was signed on Feb. 28 by Alameda County Superior Court Judge C. Don Clay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Berkeley Patients Group agrees to cease all cannabis-related activities and remove all cannabis-related property from the premises by May 1, 2012,” the document states. Legal experts said agreements of this kind can be revised, but it was unclear if that was possible in this case.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/03/15/interview-mayor-tom-bates-laments-closing-of-berkeley-patients-group-marijuana-dispensary/\">Interview: Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates laments BPG closure\u003c/a>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The decision to shutter the outlet on San Pablo Avenue was triggered by a warning from Melinda Haag, the U.S. attorney for Northern California. In a letter sent to the owner of the building that houses the dispensary, Haag said federal prosecutors would file a forfeiture action if marijuana continued to be distributed at the location. Berkeley Patients Group has leased the property since 1999 and operates under a city license. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The letter cited violations of federal law and the fact that the outlet is within 1,000 feet of two schools: the Center for Early Intervention on Deafness, which also houses a preschool, and Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley, a French bilingual grade school.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/medical-marijuana/\">\u003cstrong>More on the medical marijuana crackdown in California\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“Marijuana dispensaries are full of cash and they’re full of marijuana, and everybody knows that,” Haag said in an interview. “They are at risk of being robbed, and many of them are robbed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While marijuana is illegal under federal law, Haag said she doesn’t have the resources to target all the medical pot outlets that have proliferated in her district in recent years. So, she said, her office is focusing on protecting children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When a dispensary comes to my attention that is close to a school, a park or a playground or to children, that’s a line I’ve decided to draw, and those are the dispensaries that I’m looking at,” Haag said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since federal prosecutors announced a \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/landlords-property-owners-are-new-targets-anti-pot-strategy-12967\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statewide crackdown\u003c/a> in October, Haag said her office has sent letters to a number of dispensaries, including Berkeley Patients Group and an outlet in Santa Cruz that was \u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19880709\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">robbed by armed gunmen\u003c/a> in February. The outlet is next to a preschool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People in the community may be supportive of the dispensary,” Haag said, “until there’s an armed robbery and people come running out of the dispensary shooting guns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley Patients Group’s owners declined interview requests, but supporters said the outlet has never been the scene of violence or an armed robbery. The group issued a statement reading: “BPG remains committed to providing safe and affordable access to its patient-members, while working to preserve the jobs of its 70+ employees. We are grateful for the level of support we have received from the Berkeley community over the years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dispensary enjoys widespread support among local officials. In 2009, the Berkeley City Council \u003ca href=\"http://www.berkeleypatientsgroup.com/news1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">proclaimed\u003c/a> a special day to honor the group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I tell people that the Berkeley Patients Group is the Brooks Brothers of medical marijuana dispensing,” said Polly Armstrong, co-CEO of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce. She said the dispensary has donated thousands of dollars to the chamber and other civic groups over the years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That sentiment is shared by Jill Ellis, executive director of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ceid.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Center for Early Intervention on Deafness\u003c/a>, one of the schools cited in the warning letter from federal prosecutors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They really have been caring, supportive neighbors, concerned neighbors, clearly very interested in our mission, our families,” Ellis said. “Their security provides a great asset and enhancement to our\u003cbr>\ncommunity. We’ve never had any incidents at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The order to vacate comes at an inopportune time for the dispensary. Berkeley Patients Group still owes the state about $6.3 million in back taxes, interest and fees for marijuana sales from 2004 to 2007.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the group faces a tough real estate market. Adam Peterson, a real estate agent for Cassidy Turley BT Commercial whose expertise includes the Berkeley market, said the dispensary has wanted to move for three years due to redevelopment on San Pablo Avenue, but the owners haven’t found a location.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s almost impossible to relocate, especially under the rules and regulations that the cities and state have in place right now,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only one property in Berkeley meets both state and local guidelines, Peterson said, and it’s not for rent to a dispensary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Dale Gieringer, state coordinator for the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said he thinks the dispensary will find a new home and outlast the latest crackdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s what we’ve seen with previous federal crackdowns,” he said. “They’re disruptive at first, then people move somewhere else or change their business plans.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prominent Oakland medical marijuana activist and businessman Richard Lee has been forced to move his dispensary twice due to warnings from federal prosecutors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Michael Montgomery and David Downs, \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/prominent-berkeley-marijuana-dispensary-close-shop-15320\">California Watch\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of California’s biggest medical marijuana establishments – embraced by local officials as a model business that donates to the poor and pays millions in taxes – has become the latest target in a statewide crackdown by federal prosecutors. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(\u003cem>Update Friday\u003c/em>: Berkeley Patients Group issued a statement last night clarifying its status, saying “we have been looking to relocate for several years and look forward to announcing our new site, soon.” Read at \u003ca href=\"http://www.berkeleyside.com/2012/03/16/berkeley-patients-group-says-it-is-moving-not-closing/\">Berkeleyside\u003c/a>.) \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_59434\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 191px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/berkeleypatientsgroup.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-59434\" title=\"berkeleypatientsgroup\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/berkeleypatientsgroup-254x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"191\" height=\"225\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Montgomery/California Watch\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.berkeleypatientsgroup.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Berkeley Patients Group\u003c/a>, founded in 1999 by leading names in the state’s medical marijuana movement, will cease operations at its current location later this year, according to an agreement between the dispensary’s owners and the landlord. The document was signed on Feb. 28 by Alameda County Superior Court Judge C. Don Clay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Berkeley Patients Group agrees to cease all cannabis-related activities and remove all cannabis-related property from the premises by May 1, 2012,” the document states. Legal experts said agreements of this kind can be revised, but it was unclear if that was possible in this case.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/03/15/interview-mayor-tom-bates-laments-closing-of-berkeley-patients-group-marijuana-dispensary/\">Interview: Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates laments BPG closure\u003c/a>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The decision to shutter the outlet on San Pablo Avenue was triggered by a warning from Melinda Haag, the U.S. attorney for Northern California. In a letter sent to the owner of the building that houses the dispensary, Haag said federal prosecutors would file a forfeiture action if marijuana continued to be distributed at the location. Berkeley Patients Group has leased the property since 1999 and operates under a city license. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The letter cited violations of federal law and the fact that the outlet is within 1,000 feet of two schools: the Center for Early Intervention on Deafness, which also houses a preschool, and Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley, a French bilingual grade school.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/medical-marijuana/\">\u003cstrong>More on the medical marijuana crackdown in California\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“Marijuana dispensaries are full of cash and they’re full of marijuana, and everybody knows that,” Haag said in an interview. “They are at risk of being robbed, and many of them are robbed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While marijuana is illegal under federal law, Haag said she doesn’t have the resources to target all the medical pot outlets that have proliferated in her district in recent years. So, she said, her office is focusing on protecting children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When a dispensary comes to my attention that is close to a school, a park or a playground or to children, that’s a line I’ve decided to draw, and those are the dispensaries that I’m looking at,” Haag said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since federal prosecutors announced a \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/landlords-property-owners-are-new-targets-anti-pot-strategy-12967\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statewide crackdown\u003c/a> in October, Haag said her office has sent letters to a number of dispensaries, including Berkeley Patients Group and an outlet in Santa Cruz that was \u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19880709\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">robbed by armed gunmen\u003c/a> in February. The outlet is next to a preschool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People in the community may be supportive of the dispensary,” Haag said, “until there’s an armed robbery and people come running out of the dispensary shooting guns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley Patients Group’s owners declined interview requests, but supporters said the outlet has never been the scene of violence or an armed robbery. The group issued a statement reading: “BPG remains committed to providing safe and affordable access to its patient-members, while working to preserve the jobs of its 70+ employees. We are grateful for the level of support we have received from the Berkeley community over the years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dispensary enjoys widespread support among local officials. In 2009, the Berkeley City Council \u003ca href=\"http://www.berkeleypatientsgroup.com/news1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">proclaimed\u003c/a> a special day to honor the group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I tell people that the Berkeley Patients Group is the Brooks Brothers of medical marijuana dispensing,” said Polly Armstrong, co-CEO of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce. She said the dispensary has donated thousands of dollars to the chamber and other civic groups over the years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That sentiment is shared by Jill Ellis, executive director of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ceid.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Center for Early Intervention on Deafness\u003c/a>, one of the schools cited in the warning letter from federal prosecutors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They really have been caring, supportive neighbors, concerned neighbors, clearly very interested in our mission, our families,” Ellis said. “Their security provides a great asset and enhancement to our\u003cbr>\ncommunity. We’ve never had any incidents at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The order to vacate comes at an inopportune time for the dispensary. Berkeley Patients Group still owes the state about $6.3 million in back taxes, interest and fees for marijuana sales from 2004 to 2007.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the group faces a tough real estate market. 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"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
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"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
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"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
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"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
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