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"disqusTitle": "In Mendocino County, a Sheriff's Department Split Over Marijuana Permitting",
"title": "In Mendocino County, a Sheriff's Department Split Over Marijuana Permitting",
"headTitle": "News Fix | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57069\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 238px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/02/cohen-4.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-57069\" title=\"cohen 4\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/02/cohen-4-238x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"238\" height=\"300\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Medical marijuana grower Matthew Cohen examines plants at his Mendocino County farm before a raid by federal drug agents last year. (Michael Montgomery/California Watch)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Last Tuesday the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors voted to \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/2012/02/13/146826169/mendocino-ending-its-medical-marijuana-experiment\">end a unique program\u003c/a> that placed medical marijuana cultivation under the supervision of the sheriff’s department, approving a \u003ca href=\"http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCwQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mendocinosheriff.com%2Fmm%2F931SheriffsSummary.pdf&ei=MrRCT86yOsSWiQKfzuDSAQ&usg=AFQjCNGsin9PsGlFzLlISkKNqH-jYT4x4w&sig2=dQ86nnOA1jxjBacKxkmF6g\">watered down version of the ordinance\u003c/a> (pdf), known as 9.31, instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The permit program was the first of its kind in the nation, but it ran afoul of the federal Controlled Substances Act. At least, that’s how US Attorney Melinda Haag’s office saw it. She warned the county that it faced litigation if the program continued, forcing the county’s hand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s not just federal law enforcement that opposed the effort. Mendocino’s own sheriff’s department has been deeply divided over whether to authorize pot growers, even if they are in compliance with state medical marijuana laws and county regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, I spoke with Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman, a strong advocate of the program. While several active deputies have spoken privately about their hostility toward 9.31 and their general view that medical marijuana is a sham, none has been willing to talk on the record. I did, however speak with retired sheriff’s lieutenant Rusty Noe, who did not support the permitting effort while he was head of the department’s investigations unit.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>First, here's an edited transcript of my \u003cstrong>interview with Sheriff Tom Allman\u003c/strong>, who worked closely with some growers to come into \u003ca href=\"http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CEEQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D5%26ved%3D0CEEQFjAE%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.sonomacountyduilawyer.com%252Fpdf%252FmendosheriffreqtsCompliance2010.pdf%26ei%3DrLlCT42kBKWPigKExtiqAQ%26usg%3DAFQjCNHAv4bt6s5nE8DuA9PEkdaX4MtSAA%26sig2%3Dm6zMN06PUV5-gE-ke-EClA&ei=rLlCT42kBKWPigKExtiqAQ&usg=AFQjCNHAv4bt6s5nE8DuA9PEkdaX4MtSAA&sig2=m6zMN06PUV5-gE-ke-EClA\">compliance\u003c/a> with the program. Stipulations included limitations on cultivation locations; limitations on noise, odor, and lighting; fencing requirements, and additional conditions.\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery: What did the program accomplish?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sheriff Allman: What Mendocino County was able to accomplish with the program known as 9.31 was that it allowed people who have been underground in the past to come forward and legitimize their medical marijuana operations. And at the same time pay a substantial amount of money to government for the purpose of inspections on a monthly basis.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\n\u003cp>I'm surprised, based on some of the statements that President Obama and Attorney General Holder have made... that those comments are so contrary to the actions of the US attorneys.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>It also allowed us to comply with former Attorney General Jerry Brown's guidelines of allowing government to oversee marijuana cooperatives. Attorney General Brown was very generous in his opinion of allowing government to step in and say if you're going to have medical marijuana and it has an effect on government operations, then you should be able to get reimbursed for it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anyone who says medical marijuana doesn’t have an impact on local law enforcement, I would gladly debate. 9.31 allowed us to clearly document and clearly inspect and clearly have an idea of where the medical marijuana was being cultivated, so that we didn't have to send a bunch of deputies to every location every time someone called something in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Talk about the culture shift, the idea that the program created this different relationship between growers and law enforcement... \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was clearly a shift. There are people who are pro-marijuana and people who are anti-marijuana. \u003ca href=\"http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_215,_the_Medical_Marijuana_Initiative_%281996%29\">Proposition 215\u003c/a> put law enforcement in the middle. I'm not for it, I'm not against it; it's part of the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No one ever asks me what I think about the speed limit; they just say go out and enforce it. No one every asks whether I like medical marijuana or not; neither side wants to hear my answer. They just want to hear me as sheriff say I have an understanding of what the law is, and that we are going to make the law work as the courts, the judicial branch and the legislative branch have intended it to work. That's what 9.31 accomplished.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are 16 states and the District of Columbia that have said in one way or another that we will deal with medical marijuana. But there's not a consistent law throughout our nation of what medical marijuana is. So there's this huge amount of confusion; you can call it a gray area , you can call it a lack of intestinal fortitude from the legislative branch. Call it whatever you want. But I'm calling it confusion as far as law enforcement goes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We don't get up in the morning and say we want to violate someone's rights. What we do is say let's go enforce the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>9.31 very clearly was allowing us to protect the rights of legitimate medical marijuana growers and enforce the law against those who were growing outside the boundaries of 9.31, cultivating a huge amount of crops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When people hear the words Mendocino County they immediately think of marijuana. I want to remind people that last year alone Mendocino County eradicated almost 650,000 marijuana plants. So we're not embracing marijuana, saying bring us your sick, your ill, and your people who have sore shoulders. I don’t' want people to move to Mendocino County for the purpose of growing medical marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What we're doing is looking at what the legislative branch and the judicial branch through its interpretation of the law, and in this situation the voters, have given us. And we're trying to figure out a way to make it work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Some people, including some of your own officers, say this whole effort was doomed to fail. What do you say to the idea that it never should have even been tried?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">Protecting the rights of our citizens does not depend on whether my deputies are happy or unhappy about it.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>I say that if somebody can come up with a better idea, I am here 24-7. But we're not going to come up with an answer that everyone's going to embrace. If you look at where we are now in 2012 and in California where we were in 1996 when Prop 215 was enacted, things are being accepted now that never would have been accepted then.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We're trying to hone the rough edges of this problem, and get to the point where people say its palatable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We're not going to come up with an answer that 80% of the people agree with. We're going to come up with a solution that 51% of our voters say 'that's a solution I can live with.' And once we get to that point we can deal with some other issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Were you surprised to find the US Attorney had threatened the county with civil action? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I'm surprised, based on some of the statements that President Obama and Attorney General Holder have made at the national level, that those comments are so contrary to the actions of the US attorneys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because I've had US attorneys in this office sitting in that chair right there assuring me that any legitimate medical marijuana program that Mendocino County adopts will be accepted by the US attorney. However, that person's not a US attorney anymore. So we've got a group of four US Attorneys whom I respect, and Melinda Haag -- she and I have had many conversations about other topics that we respect each other on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As far as marijuana goes, I saw her last week and I merely said we can agree to disagree. But I said that this step that the US Attorney's Office took in California, in my humble opinion as an elected sheriff, was a step backwards. We're further away from a solution today than we were two months ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Does part of you feel that all the work you've done on this was for nothing?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not at all. Because I absolutely believe that in the next 8, 10, or 12 months, we're going to get to the point where people say: you know, Mendocino county, you weren't wrong. You were doing it within the boundaries of the law, and we're going to get these files out, blow the dust off the zip ties, and say for 2013 let's take care of the problems we had from 2011. History will show 2012 as a 12-month hiatus in progress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How can the county get around the line that the federal government has drawn? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The one consistent thing we can agree on about marijuana is that the situation is ever-changing. The highest law in the land as we know it is our constitution. We pay nine US justices to interpret that constitution. The best wish I have is for the Supreme Court to interpret the constitution to give these 16 states and the District of Columbia a clear direction. Because if there's one thing that's lacking from this whole conversation, it's a clear direction at a national level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Do you think this move by the county to back away from the program will heal some of the rifts within your own department? You have plenty of deputies that don’t' like the program…\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That hasn't been part of my thought process. I understand what my role is, as an elected sheriff in a rural county in California. That's to fairly enforce the law, protect the rights of my citizens, and to make sure justice is carried out. Protecting the rights of our citizens does not depend on whether my deputies are happy or unhappy about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As I've said many times, I've never smoked marijuana in my entire life, but if 57% of the voters in California have said legitimate medical marijuana will be respected, am I going to say that my deputies don’t think they should respect it so we're not going to? No. And if the voters say well we want a sheriff who goes against marijuana, in 2014 they'll have a chance at that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a sheriff, the constitution reigns. Until someone says that Prop 215 is contrary to the constitution, then we're going to continue respecting the rights of legitimate medical marijuana caregivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Was it hard for you to see the rights of one of your citizens arguably trampled? I’m referring to the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/13/mendocino-county-raid-has-marijuana-advocates-riled/\">DEA raid on Matt Cohen's Northstone Organics\u003c/a>.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It disturbed me. It made me a little bit distrustful, because of one of the US attorneys sitting in this office saying we are going to respect the rights of legitimate medical marijuana caregivers in Mendocino County if they're compliant with our guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the US Attorney 's office had come to me and said hey, we'd like to see this person's file, we would have had a little negotiation, but ultimately I would have sat down with them and said this is what we're doing. If you guys want to go along with us on one of our inspections maybe that could have been worked out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I totally respect the US Attorney's office and the US Attorney General, but I'm hoping that this wasn't intentional saber-rattling -- if we show Mendocino County we mean business, then all of these other counties will back off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Really? Then if that's the will of the legislative and judicial branch, then bring it on. Tell us what the law is. But it's very important that we understand the executive branch, and a prosecuting attorney is part of the executive branch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We don't make the law; we don’t' interpret the law. We enforce the law. And if they're going to come in and enforce federal law, they have my blessing to do so in my county -- they don’t' need it, actually. But I'm asking them to follow through. If they come up and in the name of the federal government eradicate marijuana, then push it all the way up. Maybe this is a case that's going to get to our nine justices and we're going to have an answer. But we're not going to have an answer in 2012.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Law enforcement wants clear direction.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Now here's an edited transcript of my \u003cstrong>interview with retired lieutenant Rusty Noe\u003c/strong>, who opposes 9.31.\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery: A lot of growers thought 9.31 was really a success, and it was a tragedy that the program has to be ended. But what is the view of you and other law enforcement ? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rusty Noe: Marijuana's illegal. When you take the oath and you swear to the badge, you uphold the law, you don't get to pick and choose what the law is. As far as I'm concerned, the board of supervisors can pretty much do what they want, and it's an accepted practice in this area and several other areas around us that marijuana's okay. But it's not. It's against the law. Whether its' federal or state laws on the books that makes it illegal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What about the argument that this program was meant to help law enforcement distinguish between legal medical marijuana and illegal marijuana so it could use limited resources to focus on the big growers.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well I understand that. But 9.31 is allowing cooperatives, and all these cooperatives are is just a license to grow a lot of dope. You can be a cooperative, and I don't really understand all the ways that the laws are written – they're unclear. But if you are going to be a part of a cooperative, seems to me that you should not benefit financially. If sick people need marijuana, I'm all for it. I have no problem with that.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">It's an accepted practice in this area and several other areas around us that marijuana's okay. But it's not. It's against the law.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>But 99 plants, given the way they grow up here, that's far more than anybody's' cooperative should realize. Then you've got people like Matt Cohen -- what is the difference between someone who takes methamphetamine and transports it to San Francisco and Cohen, who transports it to San Francisco and sells it?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You've got these cooperatives and the primary role is to take marijuana, grow it, manicure it, process it and sell it. If you take methamphetamine to San Francisco, you're a drug dealer. You take marijuana to San Francisco and you're making a profit, there's no difference, you're still a drug dealer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you had a program that was low-key... But you start getting these co-ops that are transporting it to the Bay Area and even L.A., then the feds have to deal with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Some people say this is just a modest effort to get a handle on local marijuana cultivation, but you're saying that's not the reality.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The reality is that this is a good opportunity to make money, and a lot of money at that. I understand the history of this whole thing. When they passed Prop 215 it was understood people were going to be allowed to use it and grow it with limitations. But the law was written too ambiguously, so each county could interpret it differently. You could have 5 plants or 500 plants depending on what you were trying to get away with.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then the state passes \u003ca href=\"http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/03-04/bill/sen/sb_0401-0450/sb_420_bill_20031012_chaptered.html\">SB 420\u003c/a>, which says what you can have, which is all law endorsement ever asked, to give us a clear line. Then all of a sudden 420 says unless the county chooses not to abide by these rules. So the voters in Mendocino county said enough is enough because of all the problems they were having, and they did vote to accept the rules of 420. It allowed all these people to move in here from all over the US and grow 100 plants in their backyards and realize thousands and thousands of dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And 9.31 made it a more acceptable practice because the sheriff's office was licensing these people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Just how much marijuana is the 99 plants that were allowed?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The way these cooperatives grow, minimum, a plant is going to produce 3 pounds of marijuana. Even if it's 2 pounds, that's 200 pounds of weed. The normal person, even chronic heavy users of marijuana, cannot physically possibly use more than 16 pounds, because mathematically, if you smoke a joint every hour, it works out to just about 16 pounds. So okay, what are you going to do with the rest?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What was the impact of this program, sanctioned by the sheriff, on the department?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People were upset. My own gut reaction was we shouldn’t have been in that business regardless of what the board of supervisors wanted. It's not the feds vs. California. You took an oath to uphold those laws. I know from all the research I've done and all the cases I've done that 85% of this is criminal activity. There are the poor sick people who have 3 or 4 plants in the backyard. And they're doing the right thing. And when we used to do our raids, we'd knock on somebody's door and say what's up, what's wrong with you and how much do you truly need? We would analyze the problem,\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In my entire career, probably 20 cases out of hundreds were legitimate persons who were using marijuana for some ailment and had the proper amount to do the property thing with it, whether they used a vaporizer or smoked it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Was there an aspect of this thgat had a demoralizing effect on the force?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sure it did. You have the guys who want to go out there and take care of business, because it is a problem. Last year, I had neighbors move in next to me, first time in 16 years I couldn’t sleep with my windows open in the summertime because I couldn't stand that stench. But I couldn't do anything about it, because of 9.31. I think they were 9.31 because I went to Google Earth and did a search and saw that they had 99 plants exactly in their backyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These people were not from here. They were here during the summer, and once the marijuana was harvested they were gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The argument is that Mendocino County was getting a handle on the problem by bringing it into some kind of regulatory control. But you seem to be saying that all it did was attract more people to come in and take advantage of the system.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That's exactly it. Control, taxation, legalization, it's not going to mean anything in my opinion. If a guy's been growing marijuana since 1984 for instance, and he's made a hundreds thousand every year tax free, and all of a sudden you come to him and say you have to pay taxes on that, why would he? It's still illegal in the federal view. Why would he pay taxes to the state of California or Mendocino County? It doesn't legitimize it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When DEA raided Matt Cohen's farm, was there a sense that it was long overdue that someone took action?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">It's the people who are using medical marijuana to get rich and then thumbing their nose at the government and law enforcement, and saying you know what, this is our god given right. Those are the guys we need to deal with.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>It's been an ongoing battle with the DEA doing raids and things like that. What tended to happen is the DEA does a raid and they take people's marijuana. The Hill family, they were just in your face, they were in the New York Times, people coming over every day filming. They were growing these monster plants. They were big advocates. The DEA comes and raids them. Same thing with Matt Cohen, another guy who's in your face. The Feds are telling him don't do it. And the sheriff is saying as far as we're concerned its legal. But he don't run the federal government. So when they did that raid I thought it was overdue. I think they need to take some of these people and prosecute them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So there will be no more permits at least this year, and no more 99-plant exemptions, bringing it down to 25. Is that a positive move in your mind?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No, it's a stopgap measure to avoid any kind of federal prosecution. Is it going to change anything? No, they're still going to grow a hundred plants, permitted or not. There's no way law enforcement can deal with that. It's just too big an area with too many people doing it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The sheriff's dept made $600,000 on fees from the program. Do you consider that dirty money?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sure. It's from illegal gains. Those fees are about six to eight thousand dollars. Wouldn't I go get one of your $8,000 dollar permits so I can make my million dollars?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The argument was that they could use some of that money to target big illicit growers in the Mendocino National Forest...\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That whole national forest thing is kind of a misnomer. Yeah they do grow a lot of marijuana there and nobody likes it. But the federal government has the tendency to throw lots of money at a problem. So if you're in the Mendocino National Forest, they're going to throw a lot of money at that. You don’t' need that 9.31 money because the feds are going to give you the money to combat that problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I don't know where this 9.31 money went, but I told the sheriff I don’t' want anything to do with it. I don't like it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The number of department personnel involved in the program was actually very small, wasn't it? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just about everyone I know in the department didn't want anything to do with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I'm sure you've heard the argument that you're stuck in an old way of thinking, and you need to accept that medical marijuana is here to stay.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I've been listening to that for years and years and have had all kinds of discussions about it. But all the federal government needs to do is reclassify marijuana. And it will take all this guesswork out of it. Reclassify it as a Schedule II prescription drug by a medical doctor. Then you'll have big tobacco coming in and growing and providing it, and the rest of it is illegal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California passed this compassionate use law, but they didn't foresee that there's nothing compassionate about it. If I'm going to grow compassionately and turn around and sell it for $100,000 a year, then I'm not going to be voting for any regulatory effect. Because it's going to take money out of my pocket. 9.31 was a great program for dopers because they could make a million dollars. Now it's gone, boo hoo, everybody's crying. But it's not going to slow them down a bit. The argument that it's bringing illegality back into marijuana is nonsense, because it's already illegal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then you take poor sick grandma and maybe she does get some relief from marijuana. I'm not going to argue with that. But she's only got her two or three plants in the backyard. She gets 2-4 pounds she can use during the year to alleviate her pain. I really don’t care about those people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it's the people who are using medical marijuana to get rich and then thumbing their nose at the government and law enforcement, and saying you know what, this is our god given right. Those are the guys we need to deal with because those are the ones making the money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So you're saying the program overwhelmingly benefited people who wanted to grow as much as they could within a legal framework to make money. Was that the motivating factor, not to help sick people?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exactly. I can't think of anyone in my career who was growing that many plants who was ever actually a compassionate person, who was giving it away or growing it for people who actually needed it.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"description": "Last Tuesday the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors voted to end a unique program that placed medical marijuana cultivation under the supervision of the sheriff’s department, approving a watered down version of the ordinance (pdf), known as 9.31, instead. The permit program was the first of its kind in the nation, but it ran afoul",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57069\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 238px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/02/cohen-4.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-57069\" title=\"cohen 4\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/02/cohen-4-238x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"238\" height=\"300\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Medical marijuana grower Matthew Cohen examines plants at his Mendocino County farm before a raid by federal drug agents last year. (Michael Montgomery/California Watch)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Last Tuesday the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors voted to \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/2012/02/13/146826169/mendocino-ending-its-medical-marijuana-experiment\">end a unique program\u003c/a> that placed medical marijuana cultivation under the supervision of the sheriff’s department, approving a \u003ca href=\"http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCwQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mendocinosheriff.com%2Fmm%2F931SheriffsSummary.pdf&ei=MrRCT86yOsSWiQKfzuDSAQ&usg=AFQjCNGsin9PsGlFzLlISkKNqH-jYT4x4w&sig2=dQ86nnOA1jxjBacKxkmF6g\">watered down version of the ordinance\u003c/a> (pdf), known as 9.31, instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The permit program was the first of its kind in the nation, but it ran afoul of the federal Controlled Substances Act. At least, that’s how US Attorney Melinda Haag’s office saw it. She warned the county that it faced litigation if the program continued, forcing the county’s hand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s not just federal law enforcement that opposed the effort. Mendocino’s own sheriff’s department has been deeply divided over whether to authorize pot growers, even if they are in compliance with state medical marijuana laws and county regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, I spoke with Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman, a strong advocate of the program. While several active deputies have spoken privately about their hostility toward 9.31 and their general view that medical marijuana is a sham, none has been willing to talk on the record. I did, however speak with retired sheriff’s lieutenant Rusty Noe, who did not support the permitting effort while he was head of the department’s investigations unit.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>First, here's an edited transcript of my \u003cstrong>interview with Sheriff Tom Allman\u003c/strong>, who worked closely with some growers to come into \u003ca href=\"http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CEEQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D5%26ved%3D0CEEQFjAE%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.sonomacountyduilawyer.com%252Fpdf%252FmendosheriffreqtsCompliance2010.pdf%26ei%3DrLlCT42kBKWPigKExtiqAQ%26usg%3DAFQjCNHAv4bt6s5nE8DuA9PEkdaX4MtSAA%26sig2%3Dm6zMN06PUV5-gE-ke-EClA&ei=rLlCT42kBKWPigKExtiqAQ&usg=AFQjCNHAv4bt6s5nE8DuA9PEkdaX4MtSAA&sig2=m6zMN06PUV5-gE-ke-EClA\">compliance\u003c/a> with the program. Stipulations included limitations on cultivation locations; limitations on noise, odor, and lighting; fencing requirements, and additional conditions.\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery: What did the program accomplish?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sheriff Allman: What Mendocino County was able to accomplish with the program known as 9.31 was that it allowed people who have been underground in the past to come forward and legitimize their medical marijuana operations. And at the same time pay a substantial amount of money to government for the purpose of inspections on a monthly basis.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\n\u003cp>I'm surprised, based on some of the statements that President Obama and Attorney General Holder have made... that those comments are so contrary to the actions of the US attorneys.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>It also allowed us to comply with former Attorney General Jerry Brown's guidelines of allowing government to oversee marijuana cooperatives. Attorney General Brown was very generous in his opinion of allowing government to step in and say if you're going to have medical marijuana and it has an effect on government operations, then you should be able to get reimbursed for it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anyone who says medical marijuana doesn’t have an impact on local law enforcement, I would gladly debate. 9.31 allowed us to clearly document and clearly inspect and clearly have an idea of where the medical marijuana was being cultivated, so that we didn't have to send a bunch of deputies to every location every time someone called something in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Talk about the culture shift, the idea that the program created this different relationship between growers and law enforcement... \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was clearly a shift. There are people who are pro-marijuana and people who are anti-marijuana. \u003ca href=\"http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_215,_the_Medical_Marijuana_Initiative_%281996%29\">Proposition 215\u003c/a> put law enforcement in the middle. I'm not for it, I'm not against it; it's part of the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No one ever asks me what I think about the speed limit; they just say go out and enforce it. No one every asks whether I like medical marijuana or not; neither side wants to hear my answer. They just want to hear me as sheriff say I have an understanding of what the law is, and that we are going to make the law work as the courts, the judicial branch and the legislative branch have intended it to work. That's what 9.31 accomplished.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are 16 states and the District of Columbia that have said in one way or another that we will deal with medical marijuana. But there's not a consistent law throughout our nation of what medical marijuana is. So there's this huge amount of confusion; you can call it a gray area , you can call it a lack of intestinal fortitude from the legislative branch. Call it whatever you want. But I'm calling it confusion as far as law enforcement goes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We don't get up in the morning and say we want to violate someone's rights. What we do is say let's go enforce the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>9.31 very clearly was allowing us to protect the rights of legitimate medical marijuana growers and enforce the law against those who were growing outside the boundaries of 9.31, cultivating a huge amount of crops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When people hear the words Mendocino County they immediately think of marijuana. I want to remind people that last year alone Mendocino County eradicated almost 650,000 marijuana plants. So we're not embracing marijuana, saying bring us your sick, your ill, and your people who have sore shoulders. I don’t' want people to move to Mendocino County for the purpose of growing medical marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What we're doing is looking at what the legislative branch and the judicial branch through its interpretation of the law, and in this situation the voters, have given us. And we're trying to figure out a way to make it work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Some people, including some of your own officers, say this whole effort was doomed to fail. What do you say to the idea that it never should have even been tried?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">Protecting the rights of our citizens does not depend on whether my deputies are happy or unhappy about it.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>I say that if somebody can come up with a better idea, I am here 24-7. But we're not going to come up with an answer that everyone's going to embrace. If you look at where we are now in 2012 and in California where we were in 1996 when Prop 215 was enacted, things are being accepted now that never would have been accepted then.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We're trying to hone the rough edges of this problem, and get to the point where people say its palatable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We're not going to come up with an answer that 80% of the people agree with. We're going to come up with a solution that 51% of our voters say 'that's a solution I can live with.' And once we get to that point we can deal with some other issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Were you surprised to find the US Attorney had threatened the county with civil action? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I'm surprised, based on some of the statements that President Obama and Attorney General Holder have made at the national level, that those comments are so contrary to the actions of the US attorneys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because I've had US attorneys in this office sitting in that chair right there assuring me that any legitimate medical marijuana program that Mendocino County adopts will be accepted by the US attorney. However, that person's not a US attorney anymore. So we've got a group of four US Attorneys whom I respect, and Melinda Haag -- she and I have had many conversations about other topics that we respect each other on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As far as marijuana goes, I saw her last week and I merely said we can agree to disagree. But I said that this step that the US Attorney's Office took in California, in my humble opinion as an elected sheriff, was a step backwards. We're further away from a solution today than we were two months ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Does part of you feel that all the work you've done on this was for nothing?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not at all. Because I absolutely believe that in the next 8, 10, or 12 months, we're going to get to the point where people say: you know, Mendocino county, you weren't wrong. You were doing it within the boundaries of the law, and we're going to get these files out, blow the dust off the zip ties, and say for 2013 let's take care of the problems we had from 2011. History will show 2012 as a 12-month hiatus in progress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How can the county get around the line that the federal government has drawn? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The one consistent thing we can agree on about marijuana is that the situation is ever-changing. The highest law in the land as we know it is our constitution. We pay nine US justices to interpret that constitution. The best wish I have is for the Supreme Court to interpret the constitution to give these 16 states and the District of Columbia a clear direction. Because if there's one thing that's lacking from this whole conversation, it's a clear direction at a national level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Do you think this move by the county to back away from the program will heal some of the rifts within your own department? You have plenty of deputies that don’t' like the program…\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That hasn't been part of my thought process. I understand what my role is, as an elected sheriff in a rural county in California. That's to fairly enforce the law, protect the rights of my citizens, and to make sure justice is carried out. Protecting the rights of our citizens does not depend on whether my deputies are happy or unhappy about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As I've said many times, I've never smoked marijuana in my entire life, but if 57% of the voters in California have said legitimate medical marijuana will be respected, am I going to say that my deputies don’t think they should respect it so we're not going to? No. And if the voters say well we want a sheriff who goes against marijuana, in 2014 they'll have a chance at that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a sheriff, the constitution reigns. Until someone says that Prop 215 is contrary to the constitution, then we're going to continue respecting the rights of legitimate medical marijuana caregivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Was it hard for you to see the rights of one of your citizens arguably trampled? I’m referring to the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/13/mendocino-county-raid-has-marijuana-advocates-riled/\">DEA raid on Matt Cohen's Northstone Organics\u003c/a>.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It disturbed me. It made me a little bit distrustful, because of one of the US attorneys sitting in this office saying we are going to respect the rights of legitimate medical marijuana caregivers in Mendocino County if they're compliant with our guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the US Attorney 's office had come to me and said hey, we'd like to see this person's file, we would have had a little negotiation, but ultimately I would have sat down with them and said this is what we're doing. If you guys want to go along with us on one of our inspections maybe that could have been worked out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I totally respect the US Attorney's office and the US Attorney General, but I'm hoping that this wasn't intentional saber-rattling -- if we show Mendocino County we mean business, then all of these other counties will back off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Really? Then if that's the will of the legislative and judicial branch, then bring it on. Tell us what the law is. But it's very important that we understand the executive branch, and a prosecuting attorney is part of the executive branch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We don't make the law; we don’t' interpret the law. We enforce the law. And if they're going to come in and enforce federal law, they have my blessing to do so in my county -- they don’t' need it, actually. But I'm asking them to follow through. If they come up and in the name of the federal government eradicate marijuana, then push it all the way up. Maybe this is a case that's going to get to our nine justices and we're going to have an answer. But we're not going to have an answer in 2012.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Law enforcement wants clear direction.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Now here's an edited transcript of my \u003cstrong>interview with retired lieutenant Rusty Noe\u003c/strong>, who opposes 9.31.\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery: A lot of growers thought 9.31 was really a success, and it was a tragedy that the program has to be ended. But what is the view of you and other law enforcement ? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rusty Noe: Marijuana's illegal. When you take the oath and you swear to the badge, you uphold the law, you don't get to pick and choose what the law is. As far as I'm concerned, the board of supervisors can pretty much do what they want, and it's an accepted practice in this area and several other areas around us that marijuana's okay. But it's not. It's against the law. Whether its' federal or state laws on the books that makes it illegal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What about the argument that this program was meant to help law enforcement distinguish between legal medical marijuana and illegal marijuana so it could use limited resources to focus on the big growers.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well I understand that. But 9.31 is allowing cooperatives, and all these cooperatives are is just a license to grow a lot of dope. You can be a cooperative, and I don't really understand all the ways that the laws are written – they're unclear. But if you are going to be a part of a cooperative, seems to me that you should not benefit financially. If sick people need marijuana, I'm all for it. I have no problem with that.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">It's an accepted practice in this area and several other areas around us that marijuana's okay. But it's not. It's against the law.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>But 99 plants, given the way they grow up here, that's far more than anybody's' cooperative should realize. Then you've got people like Matt Cohen -- what is the difference between someone who takes methamphetamine and transports it to San Francisco and Cohen, who transports it to San Francisco and sells it?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You've got these cooperatives and the primary role is to take marijuana, grow it, manicure it, process it and sell it. If you take methamphetamine to San Francisco, you're a drug dealer. You take marijuana to San Francisco and you're making a profit, there's no difference, you're still a drug dealer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you had a program that was low-key... But you start getting these co-ops that are transporting it to the Bay Area and even L.A., then the feds have to deal with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Some people say this is just a modest effort to get a handle on local marijuana cultivation, but you're saying that's not the reality.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The reality is that this is a good opportunity to make money, and a lot of money at that. I understand the history of this whole thing. When they passed Prop 215 it was understood people were going to be allowed to use it and grow it with limitations. But the law was written too ambiguously, so each county could interpret it differently. You could have 5 plants or 500 plants depending on what you were trying to get away with.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then the state passes \u003ca href=\"http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/03-04/bill/sen/sb_0401-0450/sb_420_bill_20031012_chaptered.html\">SB 420\u003c/a>, which says what you can have, which is all law endorsement ever asked, to give us a clear line. Then all of a sudden 420 says unless the county chooses not to abide by these rules. So the voters in Mendocino county said enough is enough because of all the problems they were having, and they did vote to accept the rules of 420. It allowed all these people to move in here from all over the US and grow 100 plants in their backyards and realize thousands and thousands of dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And 9.31 made it a more acceptable practice because the sheriff's office was licensing these people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Just how much marijuana is the 99 plants that were allowed?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The way these cooperatives grow, minimum, a plant is going to produce 3 pounds of marijuana. Even if it's 2 pounds, that's 200 pounds of weed. The normal person, even chronic heavy users of marijuana, cannot physically possibly use more than 16 pounds, because mathematically, if you smoke a joint every hour, it works out to just about 16 pounds. So okay, what are you going to do with the rest?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What was the impact of this program, sanctioned by the sheriff, on the department?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People were upset. My own gut reaction was we shouldn’t have been in that business regardless of what the board of supervisors wanted. It's not the feds vs. California. You took an oath to uphold those laws. I know from all the research I've done and all the cases I've done that 85% of this is criminal activity. There are the poor sick people who have 3 or 4 plants in the backyard. And they're doing the right thing. And when we used to do our raids, we'd knock on somebody's door and say what's up, what's wrong with you and how much do you truly need? We would analyze the problem,\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In my entire career, probably 20 cases out of hundreds were legitimate persons who were using marijuana for some ailment and had the proper amount to do the property thing with it, whether they used a vaporizer or smoked it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Was there an aspect of this thgat had a demoralizing effect on the force?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sure it did. You have the guys who want to go out there and take care of business, because it is a problem. Last year, I had neighbors move in next to me, first time in 16 years I couldn’t sleep with my windows open in the summertime because I couldn't stand that stench. But I couldn't do anything about it, because of 9.31. I think they were 9.31 because I went to Google Earth and did a search and saw that they had 99 plants exactly in their backyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These people were not from here. They were here during the summer, and once the marijuana was harvested they were gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The argument is that Mendocino County was getting a handle on the problem by bringing it into some kind of regulatory control. But you seem to be saying that all it did was attract more people to come in and take advantage of the system.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That's exactly it. Control, taxation, legalization, it's not going to mean anything in my opinion. If a guy's been growing marijuana since 1984 for instance, and he's made a hundreds thousand every year tax free, and all of a sudden you come to him and say you have to pay taxes on that, why would he? It's still illegal in the federal view. Why would he pay taxes to the state of California or Mendocino County? It doesn't legitimize it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>When DEA raided Matt Cohen's farm, was there a sense that it was long overdue that someone took action?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">It's the people who are using medical marijuana to get rich and then thumbing their nose at the government and law enforcement, and saying you know what, this is our god given right. Those are the guys we need to deal with.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>It's been an ongoing battle with the DEA doing raids and things like that. What tended to happen is the DEA does a raid and they take people's marijuana. The Hill family, they were just in your face, they were in the New York Times, people coming over every day filming. They were growing these monster plants. They were big advocates. The DEA comes and raids them. Same thing with Matt Cohen, another guy who's in your face. The Feds are telling him don't do it. And the sheriff is saying as far as we're concerned its legal. But he don't run the federal government. So when they did that raid I thought it was overdue. I think they need to take some of these people and prosecute them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So there will be no more permits at least this year, and no more 99-plant exemptions, bringing it down to 25. Is that a positive move in your mind?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No, it's a stopgap measure to avoid any kind of federal prosecution. Is it going to change anything? No, they're still going to grow a hundred plants, permitted or not. There's no way law enforcement can deal with that. It's just too big an area with too many people doing it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The sheriff's dept made $600,000 on fees from the program. Do you consider that dirty money?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sure. It's from illegal gains. Those fees are about six to eight thousand dollars. Wouldn't I go get one of your $8,000 dollar permits so I can make my million dollars?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The argument was that they could use some of that money to target big illicit growers in the Mendocino National Forest...\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That whole national forest thing is kind of a misnomer. Yeah they do grow a lot of marijuana there and nobody likes it. But the federal government has the tendency to throw lots of money at a problem. So if you're in the Mendocino National Forest, they're going to throw a lot of money at that. You don’t' need that 9.31 money because the feds are going to give you the money to combat that problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I don't know where this 9.31 money went, but I told the sheriff I don’t' want anything to do with it. I don't like it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The number of department personnel involved in the program was actually very small, wasn't it? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just about everyone I know in the department didn't want anything to do with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I'm sure you've heard the argument that you're stuck in an old way of thinking, and you need to accept that medical marijuana is here to stay.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I've been listening to that for years and years and have had all kinds of discussions about it. But all the federal government needs to do is reclassify marijuana. And it will take all this guesswork out of it. Reclassify it as a Schedule II prescription drug by a medical doctor. Then you'll have big tobacco coming in and growing and providing it, and the rest of it is illegal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California passed this compassionate use law, but they didn't foresee that there's nothing compassionate about it. If I'm going to grow compassionately and turn around and sell it for $100,000 a year, then I'm not going to be voting for any regulatory effect. Because it's going to take money out of my pocket. 9.31 was a great program for dopers because they could make a million dollars. Now it's gone, boo hoo, everybody's crying. But it's not going to slow them down a bit. The argument that it's bringing illegality back into marijuana is nonsense, because it's already illegal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then you take poor sick grandma and maybe she does get some relief from marijuana. I'm not going to argue with that. But she's only got her two or three plants in the backyard. She gets 2-4 pounds she can use during the year to alleviate her pain. I really don’t care about those people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it's the people who are using medical marijuana to get rich and then thumbing their nose at the government and law enforcement, and saying you know what, this is our god given right. Those are the guys we need to deal with because those are the ones making the money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So you're saying the program overwhelmingly benefited people who wanted to grow as much as they could within a legal framework to make money. Was that the motivating factor, not to help sick people?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exactly. I can't think of anyone in my career who was growing that many plants who was ever actually a compassionate person, who was giving it away or growing it for people who actually needed it.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "mendocino-county-ends-medical-pot-permitting-program",
"title": "Mendocino County Ends Medical Pot Permitting Program",
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"headTitle": "Mendocino County Ends Medical Pot Permitting Program | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_54429\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/01/MCohen_PostRaid012412.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-54429\" title=\"MCohen_PostRaid012412\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/01/MCohen_PostRaid012412.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matt Cohen, owner of Northstone Organics medical marijuana growers cooperative, discusses a November raid on his farm by the Drug Enforcement Agency. Image courtesy of the Center for Investigative Reporting.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Bowing to \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/01/11/prosecutors-move-to-shut-down-mendocino-pot-permit-program/\">federal pressure\u003c/a>, Mendocino County will no longer issue permits to medical marijuana growers. The County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to end the popular permit program, which was the first of its kind in the nation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The vote also makes it illegal to cultivate more than 25 plants, reducing the amount from the previous limit of 99 plants. The county will not continue to issue permits, but will not prevent growers with existing permits — who are operating under state law — to continue growing a plot of 25 plants or less.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dozens of medical marijuana growers who packed a conference room in Ukiah today expressed passionate support for the permitting program. One speaker who identified himself as Nick said the decision to stop regulating marijuana cultivation would be a boon for illegal growers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With no inspectors, no sheriffs, nothing like that present, it’s just going to bring back an era of lawlessness that we had before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Supervisor Dan Hamburg said a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">threatened lawsuit\u003c/a> by US Attorney Melinda Haag gave the county little choice but to stop issuing permits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I were a private citizen, I would be railing against the federal government, saying ‘we should put every last resource this county has to fighting the feds.’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a fight between Mendocino County and the federal government would make David and Goliath look like a fair fight.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The decision could force the county to lay off sheriff’s deputies due to a loss in fees earned from growers who participated in the permit program. Nearly 100 people signed up for last year’s pot harvest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_54430\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 150px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/01/NsOrg_PostRaid012412.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-54430\" title=\"NsOrg_PostRaid012412\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/01/NsOrg_PostRaid012412.jpg\" alt=\"Destroyed marijuana plant.\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This plant is one of 99 that were destroyed in a November 2011 raid on Northstone Organics. Image courtesy of the Center for Investigative Reporting.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>KQED News and \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/category/special-project/republic-cannabis\">California Watch\u003c/a> have \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/news/bayarea/republicofcannabis/\">collaborated in covering\u003c/a> thriving medical marijuana industry in the state, as well as the federal government’s \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/14/northstone-organics-matt-cohen-mendocino-county-sheriff-tom-allman-on-yesterdays-dea-raid/\">crackdown\u003c/a> on local medical marijuana growers. Mendocino County’s permitting program was the subject of a KQED TV Special, “\u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bFUASotNXk\">The Republic of Cannabis\u003c/a>,” which aired last summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently we conducted \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/01/17/mendocino-county-pot-permit-program/\">extensive interviews\u003c/a> with Tommy LaNier, who directs the White House-funded National Marijuana Initiative and opposes legalized marijuana and \u003ca href=\"http://www.co.mendocino.ca.us/bos/mccowen2009.htm\">John McCowen\u003c/a>, the chairman of the Mendocino Board of Supervisors who helped design the ordinance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in October, the Drug Enforcement Agency raided the growers cooperative \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/northstone-organics/\">Northstone Organics\u003c/a>. This surprised many medical marijuana supporters, in part because Matt Cohen’s was considered to be a model business in the Mendocino County permitting program. Here are post-raid follow up interviews with Cohen, Supervisor McCowen and federal officials:\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"description": "Bowing to federal pressure, Mendocino County will no longer issue permits to medical marijuana growers. The County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to end the popular permit program, which was the first of its kind in the nation. The vote also makes it illegal to cultivate more than 25 plants, reducing the amount from the previous limit of 99 plants. The county will not continue to issue permits, but will not prevent growers with existing permits -- who are operating under state law -- to continue growing a plot of 25 plants or less. Dozens of medical marijuana growers who",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_54429\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/01/MCohen_PostRaid012412.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-54429\" title=\"MCohen_PostRaid012412\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/01/MCohen_PostRaid012412.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Matt Cohen, owner of Northstone Organics medical marijuana growers cooperative, discusses a November raid on his farm by the Drug Enforcement Agency. Image courtesy of the Center for Investigative Reporting.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Bowing to \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/01/11/prosecutors-move-to-shut-down-mendocino-pot-permit-program/\">federal pressure\u003c/a>, Mendocino County will no longer issue permits to medical marijuana growers. The County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to end the popular permit program, which was the first of its kind in the nation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The vote also makes it illegal to cultivate more than 25 plants, reducing the amount from the previous limit of 99 plants. The county will not continue to issue permits, but will not prevent growers with existing permits — who are operating under state law — to continue growing a plot of 25 plants or less.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dozens of medical marijuana growers who packed a conference room in Ukiah today expressed passionate support for the permitting program. One speaker who identified himself as Nick said the decision to stop regulating marijuana cultivation would be a boon for illegal growers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With no inspectors, no sheriffs, nothing like that present, it’s just going to bring back an era of lawlessness that we had before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Supervisor Dan Hamburg said a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">threatened lawsuit\u003c/a> by US Attorney Melinda Haag gave the county little choice but to stop issuing permits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I were a private citizen, I would be railing against the federal government, saying ‘we should put every last resource this county has to fighting the feds.’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a fight between Mendocino County and the federal government would make David and Goliath look like a fair fight.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The decision could force the county to lay off sheriff’s deputies due to a loss in fees earned from growers who participated in the permit program. Nearly 100 people signed up for last year’s pot harvest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_54430\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 150px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/01/NsOrg_PostRaid012412.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-54430\" title=\"NsOrg_PostRaid012412\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/01/NsOrg_PostRaid012412.jpg\" alt=\"Destroyed marijuana plant.\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This plant is one of 99 that were destroyed in a November 2011 raid on Northstone Organics. Image courtesy of the Center for Investigative Reporting.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>KQED News and \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/category/special-project/republic-cannabis\">California Watch\u003c/a> have \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/news/bayarea/republicofcannabis/\">collaborated in covering\u003c/a> thriving medical marijuana industry in the state, as well as the federal government’s \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/14/northstone-organics-matt-cohen-mendocino-county-sheriff-tom-allman-on-yesterdays-dea-raid/\">crackdown\u003c/a> on local medical marijuana growers. Mendocino County’s permitting program was the subject of a KQED TV Special, “\u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bFUASotNXk\">The Republic of Cannabis\u003c/a>,” which aired last summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently we conducted \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/01/17/mendocino-county-pot-permit-program/\">extensive interviews\u003c/a> with Tommy LaNier, who directs the White House-funded National Marijuana Initiative and opposes legalized marijuana and \u003ca href=\"http://www.co.mendocino.ca.us/bos/mccowen2009.htm\">John McCowen\u003c/a>, the chairman of the Mendocino Board of Supervisors who helped design the ordinance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in October, the Drug Enforcement Agency raided the growers cooperative \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/northstone-organics/\">Northstone Organics\u003c/a>. This surprised many medical marijuana supporters, in part because Matt Cohen’s was considered to be a model business in the Mendocino County permitting program. Here are post-raid follow up interviews with Cohen, Supervisor McCowen and federal officials:\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Federal Crackdown Leaves Mendocino's Pot Program Seemingly on Last Legs",
"title": "Federal Crackdown Leaves Mendocino's Pot Program Seemingly on Last Legs",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_53507\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 238px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/01/matthewcohen-1.jpg\">\u003cimg src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/01/matthewcohen-1-238x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"matthewcohen\" width=\"238\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-53507\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Medical marijuana grower Matthew Cohen examines plants at his Mendocino County farm before a raid by federal drug agents last year. (Michael Montgomery, California Watch)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The always-complicated relationship between the federal government and California officials over the issue of medical marijuana became even more strained last October when the four U.S. Attorneys for the state \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">announced an enhanced enforcement strategy\u003c/a> designed to crack down on what they see as abuses of California's legalization of the drug for medical purposes. Legal threats by the government seem to have had the desired effect, with new \u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_19755643\">reports\u003c/a> of \u003ca href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/13/market-street-cooperative-closes_n_1205835.html\">dispensaries shutting down\u003c/a> coming every month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps no federal action has angered and mystified marijuana advocates more than the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/14/northstone-organics-matt-cohen-mendocino-county-sheriff-tom-allman-on-yesterdays-dea-raid/\">federal raid on Northstone Organics\u003c/a>, a Redwood Valley marijuana dispensary and cultivator that had worked closely with local law enforcement and local officials to come into compliance with a unique county permitting program. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program, which operates under the supervision of the sheriff's department, has drawn \u003ca href=\"http://video.pbs.org/video/2165815068/\">national media attention\u003c/a>. It has also been held up by marijuana advocates as an example of the kind of government involvement that could bring new legitimacy to the marijuana industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, sources told Michael Montgomery, who has been covering this story for several years, that Melinda Haag, the US Attorney for California's Northern District, threatened to sue Mendocino County over its marijuana program. The sources said Haag gave the county two weeks to respond and take action. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county's legal counsel has since advised the Board of Supervisors to end the program. Supervisors are scheduled to vote on the counsel's recommendations next Tuesday, and it's widely expected that they will abandon the model program.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, Michael Montgomery spoke with two officials who have starkly different views of the Mendocino's marijuana program: \u003ca href=\"http://www.co.mendocino.ca.us/bos/mccowen2009.htm\">John McCowen\u003c/a>, the chairman of the Mendocino Board of Supervisors who helped design the ordinance; and Tommy LaNier, who directs the White House-funded National Marijuana Initiative and opposes legalized marijuana, for medical or any other purposes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First, here's the interview with LaNier, the federal official and marijuana opponent: \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It seems that the program is being shutdown. My first question is just your response to what has happened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tommy LaNier\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You have to go back to October when the four US Attorneys did the press conference. This is something that was inevitable. Entities, whether a city or county or those involved in the illegal distribution of marijuana through the so-called dispensary program, knew this was going to come. So the counties had fair warning. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are lots of places in California the Feds could focus on since any marijuana cultivation or distribution is illegal under the Controlled Substances Act. Why do you think they took this step to essentially intervene in Mendocino County?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tommy LaNier\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well, each of the US attorneys are taking action within their respective judicial district. Melinda Haag is dealing with a number of things in her area, and one of those areas she is taking action against is Mendocino. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other three US attorneys are also doing the same thing with different counties and cities and have also advised those places where they’re trying to regulate marijuana-- which is illegal under the Control Substances Act —- they cannot do that. This is just another process; Mendocino was on the list to do it in the first part of January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moving forward, now that the feds to some degree have revealed their hand in Mendocino in terms of saying that a local jurisdiction cannot permit or authorize marijuana cultivation, what should we expect in places like San Francisco and Oakland, which also have permit programs for dispensaries? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tommy LaNier\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I can't speak directly for the U.S Attorneys because they're working on individual cases, but I would think it would send a message to those cities that see what's going on in Mendocino and that they're most likely going to be advised that they're in violation of the law if they haven't already. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those discussions I'm sure are going to continue throughout the state, within the various districts. U.S. Attorneys are going to act based on the resources available but those places that really have developed large programs, like in Mendocino, are going to be probably a priority on the list.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Would you say that includes cities in the Bay Area that are permitting dispensaries?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tommy LaNier\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I would say, yeah. I would assume that that's going to include any of the dispensaries as well. One of the things that the U.S. Attorneys stated at the briefing included those people that had dispensaries and/or property owners that facilitated the ability for dispensaries to operate. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So you're not only looking at entities like cities and counties, but you're looking at private property owners and dispensary owners. They're all included in this thing. When you look at the Controlled Substances Act, if you produce, if you distribute, if you sell, you're in violation of federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You run a national organization. Does this help us understand what might happen in states like Colorado that have also set up pretty elaborate state-wide permitting programs? Or is this a California-specific development?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tommy LaNier \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No, I don't think it's a California development. When you look at main Justice (the federal Justice Department), they're looking at the entire program with the 15 states that have (passed laws allowing) marijuana for medicinal use. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colorado is also one of those place that's being looked at. So I would hope that the U.S. Attorney over there is also going to direct his attention to those places where they are permitting, and I think that is going to happen as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, here's an edited transcript of the interview with Supervisor McCowen, who sees no sense in the federal actions in Mendocino. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a city council member you supported a ban on outdoor marijuana cultivation but your views evolved over time. Talk about that…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John McCowen\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My interest has always been in protecting public safety. Prior to the city of Ukiah adopting a ban on outdoor cultivation, people were filling up their residential backyards with scores of plants that created significance nuisance and public safety impacts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So I think a ban on outdoor growing in a residential area was absolutely the right approach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I also helped pass a countywide initiative that put Mendocino County back in line with state limits, an effort to control what had become an out-of-control situation. That narrowly passed, was held up in the courts, and meanwhile people continued to come into the area from outside of California, specifically to grow as much marijuana as they could and make as much money as they could. Our efforts up to that time were futile.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the amendments I supported included a balance of increased restrictions, such as setbacks from property lines, from occupied houses, a ban on growing within sight of the public right of way, balanced with an opportunity for people to apply for a permit from the sheriff to grow up to 99 plants per parcel, subject to compliance with a long list of conditions and inspection by the sheriff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think that resulted in successfully balancing the public safety impacts and environmental protection against the right of medical marijuana patients under California law to have safe access to medical marijuana. It's been a very successful regulatory program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You've said in the past that one aim of the program was to create a bright line between illegal marijuana growing and legal medical marijuana growing, in order to help law enforcement. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John McCowen\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Absolutely. There's so much marijuana being grown out here, and no one has any illusion that we could eradicate it all if we wanted to. The best estimates are that the authorities, federal state and local combined, might be able to eradicate about 10% of the illegal marijuana grown every year. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So it just made sense to me to try to come up with a program that would identify a group of people who were absolutely legal in terms of state and local law. So here we had people who were willing to step forward and comply with a long list of conditions, including that they are paying all their payroll taxes like any other business and they're being inspected by the sheriff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then you have other people outside of that system who are more of a question mark, and some of them are clearly out of bounds. But by creating this separation between what is clearly legal and what is more questionable, it allows law enforcement to focus their efforts on the people who are actually creating the problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Were you surprised by the decision of the US Attorney's office to essentially intervene by threatening the county with litigation over its medical marijuana permit program? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John McCowen\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No I wasn't really surprised. I think we've been aware for some time now that our program has been on the radar of the federal authorities. A lot of people involved in federal narcotics enforcement have a zero tolerance viewpoint on marijuana. They think it's all illegal; they think medical marijuana is a sham. And they have no respect for the ability of states to determine their own position on medical marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Do you see the federal action vis-à-vis Mendocino as interference in the county's political decision-making process? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John McCowen\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I absolutely do. The government that is closest to the people is more in tune with the people and what our local needs are. What might work in Iowa might be very different from what works in Mendocino County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, we had a very successful local, state, and federal program to eradicate marijuana in Mendocino national forest last year. I personally very much welcomed the participation of the federal authorities. They eradicated over 600,000 plants, took out miles of irrigation lines, dozens of illegal dams, tons of garbage. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think there were over 130 arrests, one prosecution. So who are we kidding? The federal government is making no serious effort to prosecute the people who are illegally cultivating marijuana for the black market and who are harming the environment, and instead they're trying to knock down a program that provides for the cultivation of medical marijuana in compliance with state and local law, protection of the environment, protection of neighborhood impacts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If they really want to go after all the marijuana they think is illegal – great. And after they clean up the trespass growers in the national forest who are polluting and destroying the environment, then let's talk about people who are complying with our local program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But otherwise, if you're not going to provide the resources to solve the problem, then don't interfere with our efforts on the local level to bring order out of chaos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because prior to this program, it was like the Wild West. We had people flooding in here from all over the nation and the world, focused on growing as much marijuana as they could without regard to the environment or the local communities. There was complete polarization between the marijuana growers, whether it was on a small scale level or the out of control people…and it was very divisive within the community. It took up a lot of time at the local government level. The courts were clogged; there was no clear resolution to the cases, there was no clear dividing line as to what was legal and what wasn't illegal, and what we should spend our resources on and what not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the program we put in place went a long way in addressing those problems. My concern is that the federal action, whatever their intention, is going to have the effect of driving medical marijuana back underground, which will make it more dangerous, more profitable, and more favorable to the black market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Is it fair to say the program as it's existed is effectively dead right now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John McCowen\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We'll see on January 24, when county counsel brings forward her proposed amendment and the board of supervisors makes its decision. But if the ordinance is to conform to the Pack decision, and the federal threat, then it is likely the program will be effectively dead in terms of the permitting system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Could the county fight this threatened litigation? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John McCowen\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county could fight; I'm not sure that would be wise. For one thing, we've been struggling for the last three years to balance our budget in the face of the economic collapse, and we don't have the resources to take on the federal government. Their budget is probably in worse shape than ours, but they have the luxury of being able to run trillions of dollars of deficit, so they have an open checkbook to pursue a criminal or civil case against us. So we can't match their resources. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the fact is all marijuana is illegal under federal law. Until there's a change in federal law that recognizes the right of states to chart their own course, I think battling the federal government in court is a losing proposition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given the decision by the U.S. Attorney to threaten litigation against Mendocino, what do you think that could mean for other places like Oakland or San Francisco that also have permit programs for distribution? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John McCowen\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal government has already put numerous local jurisdictions on notice that their program or intended programs are in violation of federal law. What we've seen is a lot of the local jurisdictions have adopted bans on dispensaries. Many of those that had regulations have replaced them with bans. The programs for cultivation in several cases have been dropped or greatly reduced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think it's clear that the federal government on several fronts has been going after any above-ground method of cultivating or dispensing medical marijuana. It's almost as if there was a conscious effort to drive it all back underground. My opinion is that's going to further endanger public safety and the environment – the federal government doesn't seem to care about that.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_53507\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 238px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/01/matthewcohen-1.jpg\">\u003cimg src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/01/matthewcohen-1-238x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"matthewcohen\" width=\"238\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-53507\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Medical marijuana grower Matthew Cohen examines plants at his Mendocino County farm before a raid by federal drug agents last year. (Michael Montgomery, California Watch)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The always-complicated relationship between the federal government and California officials over the issue of medical marijuana became even more strained last October when the four U.S. Attorneys for the state \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">announced an enhanced enforcement strategy\u003c/a> designed to crack down on what they see as abuses of California's legalization of the drug for medical purposes. Legal threats by the government seem to have had the desired effect, with new \u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_19755643\">reports\u003c/a> of \u003ca href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/13/market-street-cooperative-closes_n_1205835.html\">dispensaries shutting down\u003c/a> coming every month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps no federal action has angered and mystified marijuana advocates more than the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/14/northstone-organics-matt-cohen-mendocino-county-sheriff-tom-allman-on-yesterdays-dea-raid/\">federal raid on Northstone Organics\u003c/a>, a Redwood Valley marijuana dispensary and cultivator that had worked closely with local law enforcement and local officials to come into compliance with a unique county permitting program. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program, which operates under the supervision of the sheriff's department, has drawn \u003ca href=\"http://video.pbs.org/video/2165815068/\">national media attention\u003c/a>. It has also been held up by marijuana advocates as an example of the kind of government involvement that could bring new legitimacy to the marijuana industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, sources told Michael Montgomery, who has been covering this story for several years, that Melinda Haag, the US Attorney for California's Northern District, threatened to sue Mendocino County over its marijuana program. The sources said Haag gave the county two weeks to respond and take action. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county's legal counsel has since advised the Board of Supervisors to end the program. Supervisors are scheduled to vote on the counsel's recommendations next Tuesday, and it's widely expected that they will abandon the model program.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, Michael Montgomery spoke with two officials who have starkly different views of the Mendocino's marijuana program: \u003ca href=\"http://www.co.mendocino.ca.us/bos/mccowen2009.htm\">John McCowen\u003c/a>, the chairman of the Mendocino Board of Supervisors who helped design the ordinance; and Tommy LaNier, who directs the White House-funded National Marijuana Initiative and opposes legalized marijuana, for medical or any other purposes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First, here's the interview with LaNier, the federal official and marijuana opponent: \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It seems that the program is being shutdown. My first question is just your response to what has happened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tommy LaNier\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You have to go back to October when the four US Attorneys did the press conference. This is something that was inevitable. Entities, whether a city or county or those involved in the illegal distribution of marijuana through the so-called dispensary program, knew this was going to come. So the counties had fair warning. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are lots of places in California the Feds could focus on since any marijuana cultivation or distribution is illegal under the Controlled Substances Act. Why do you think they took this step to essentially intervene in Mendocino County?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tommy LaNier\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well, each of the US attorneys are taking action within their respective judicial district. Melinda Haag is dealing with a number of things in her area, and one of those areas she is taking action against is Mendocino. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other three US attorneys are also doing the same thing with different counties and cities and have also advised those places where they’re trying to regulate marijuana-- which is illegal under the Control Substances Act —- they cannot do that. This is just another process; Mendocino was on the list to do it in the first part of January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moving forward, now that the feds to some degree have revealed their hand in Mendocino in terms of saying that a local jurisdiction cannot permit or authorize marijuana cultivation, what should we expect in places like San Francisco and Oakland, which also have permit programs for dispensaries? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tommy LaNier\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I can't speak directly for the U.S Attorneys because they're working on individual cases, but I would think it would send a message to those cities that see what's going on in Mendocino and that they're most likely going to be advised that they're in violation of the law if they haven't already. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those discussions I'm sure are going to continue throughout the state, within the various districts. U.S. Attorneys are going to act based on the resources available but those places that really have developed large programs, like in Mendocino, are going to be probably a priority on the list.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Would you say that includes cities in the Bay Area that are permitting dispensaries?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tommy LaNier\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I would say, yeah. I would assume that that's going to include any of the dispensaries as well. One of the things that the U.S. Attorneys stated at the briefing included those people that had dispensaries and/or property owners that facilitated the ability for dispensaries to operate. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So you're not only looking at entities like cities and counties, but you're looking at private property owners and dispensary owners. They're all included in this thing. When you look at the Controlled Substances Act, if you produce, if you distribute, if you sell, you're in violation of federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You run a national organization. Does this help us understand what might happen in states like Colorado that have also set up pretty elaborate state-wide permitting programs? Or is this a California-specific development?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tommy LaNier \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No, I don't think it's a California development. When you look at main Justice (the federal Justice Department), they're looking at the entire program with the 15 states that have (passed laws allowing) marijuana for medicinal use. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colorado is also one of those place that's being looked at. So I would hope that the U.S. Attorney over there is also going to direct his attention to those places where they are permitting, and I think that is going to happen as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, here's an edited transcript of the interview with Supervisor McCowen, who sees no sense in the federal actions in Mendocino. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a city council member you supported a ban on outdoor marijuana cultivation but your views evolved over time. Talk about that…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John McCowen\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My interest has always been in protecting public safety. Prior to the city of Ukiah adopting a ban on outdoor cultivation, people were filling up their residential backyards with scores of plants that created significance nuisance and public safety impacts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So I think a ban on outdoor growing in a residential area was absolutely the right approach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I also helped pass a countywide initiative that put Mendocino County back in line with state limits, an effort to control what had become an out-of-control situation. That narrowly passed, was held up in the courts, and meanwhile people continued to come into the area from outside of California, specifically to grow as much marijuana as they could and make as much money as they could. Our efforts up to that time were futile.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the amendments I supported included a balance of increased restrictions, such as setbacks from property lines, from occupied houses, a ban on growing within sight of the public right of way, balanced with an opportunity for people to apply for a permit from the sheriff to grow up to 99 plants per parcel, subject to compliance with a long list of conditions and inspection by the sheriff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think that resulted in successfully balancing the public safety impacts and environmental protection against the right of medical marijuana patients under California law to have safe access to medical marijuana. It's been a very successful regulatory program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You've said in the past that one aim of the program was to create a bright line between illegal marijuana growing and legal medical marijuana growing, in order to help law enforcement. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John McCowen\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Absolutely. There's so much marijuana being grown out here, and no one has any illusion that we could eradicate it all if we wanted to. The best estimates are that the authorities, federal state and local combined, might be able to eradicate about 10% of the illegal marijuana grown every year. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So it just made sense to me to try to come up with a program that would identify a group of people who were absolutely legal in terms of state and local law. So here we had people who were willing to step forward and comply with a long list of conditions, including that they are paying all their payroll taxes like any other business and they're being inspected by the sheriff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then you have other people outside of that system who are more of a question mark, and some of them are clearly out of bounds. But by creating this separation between what is clearly legal and what is more questionable, it allows law enforcement to focus their efforts on the people who are actually creating the problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Were you surprised by the decision of the US Attorney's office to essentially intervene by threatening the county with litigation over its medical marijuana permit program? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John McCowen\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No I wasn't really surprised. I think we've been aware for some time now that our program has been on the radar of the federal authorities. A lot of people involved in federal narcotics enforcement have a zero tolerance viewpoint on marijuana. They think it's all illegal; they think medical marijuana is a sham. And they have no respect for the ability of states to determine their own position on medical marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Do you see the federal action vis-à-vis Mendocino as interference in the county's political decision-making process? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John McCowen\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I absolutely do. The government that is closest to the people is more in tune with the people and what our local needs are. What might work in Iowa might be very different from what works in Mendocino County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, we had a very successful local, state, and federal program to eradicate marijuana in Mendocino national forest last year. I personally very much welcomed the participation of the federal authorities. They eradicated over 600,000 plants, took out miles of irrigation lines, dozens of illegal dams, tons of garbage. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think there were over 130 arrests, one prosecution. So who are we kidding? The federal government is making no serious effort to prosecute the people who are illegally cultivating marijuana for the black market and who are harming the environment, and instead they're trying to knock down a program that provides for the cultivation of medical marijuana in compliance with state and local law, protection of the environment, protection of neighborhood impacts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If they really want to go after all the marijuana they think is illegal – great. And after they clean up the trespass growers in the national forest who are polluting and destroying the environment, then let's talk about people who are complying with our local program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But otherwise, if you're not going to provide the resources to solve the problem, then don't interfere with our efforts on the local level to bring order out of chaos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because prior to this program, it was like the Wild West. We had people flooding in here from all over the nation and the world, focused on growing as much marijuana as they could without regard to the environment or the local communities. There was complete polarization between the marijuana growers, whether it was on a small scale level or the out of control people…and it was very divisive within the community. It took up a lot of time at the local government level. The courts were clogged; there was no clear resolution to the cases, there was no clear dividing line as to what was legal and what wasn't illegal, and what we should spend our resources on and what not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the program we put in place went a long way in addressing those problems. My concern is that the federal action, whatever their intention, is going to have the effect of driving medical marijuana back underground, which will make it more dangerous, more profitable, and more favorable to the black market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Is it fair to say the program as it's existed is effectively dead right now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John McCowen\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We'll see on January 24, when county counsel brings forward her proposed amendment and the board of supervisors makes its decision. But if the ordinance is to conform to the Pack decision, and the federal threat, then it is likely the program will be effectively dead in terms of the permitting system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Could the county fight this threatened litigation? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John McCowen\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county could fight; I'm not sure that would be wise. For one thing, we've been struggling for the last three years to balance our budget in the face of the economic collapse, and we don't have the resources to take on the federal government. Their budget is probably in worse shape than ours, but they have the luxury of being able to run trillions of dollars of deficit, so they have an open checkbook to pursue a criminal or civil case against us. So we can't match their resources. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the fact is all marijuana is illegal under federal law. Until there's a change in federal law that recognizes the right of states to chart their own course, I think battling the federal government in court is a losing proposition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given the decision by the U.S. Attorney to threaten litigation against Mendocino, what do you think that could mean for other places like Oakland or San Francisco that also have permit programs for distribution? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>John McCowen\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal government has already put numerous local jurisdictions on notice that their program or intended programs are in violation of federal law. What we've seen is a lot of the local jurisdictions have adopted bans on dispensaries. Many of those that had regulations have replaced them with bans. The programs for cultivation in several cases have been dropped or greatly reduced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think it's clear that the federal government on several fronts has been going after any above-ground method of cultivating or dispensing medical marijuana. It's almost as if there was a conscious effort to drive it all back underground. My opinion is that's going to further endanger public safety and the environment – the federal government doesn't seem to care about that.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"headTitle": "Prosecutors Move to Shut Down Mendocino Pot Permit Program | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_52751\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 304px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/01/matthewcohen-.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-52751\" title=\"matthewcohen\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/01/matthewcohen-.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"304\" height=\"382\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Medical marijuana grower Matthew Cohen examines plants at his Mendocino County farm before a raid by federal drug agents last year. (Michael Montgomery, California Watch)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>From \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/prosecutors-move-shut-down-mendocino-pot-permit-program-14399\">\u003cem>California Watch\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mendocino County’s ambitious effort to regulate marijuana production – the first of its kind in California and the nation – is facing growing uncertainty following new threats of legal action by federal prosecutors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The controversial program, which began two years ago, authorizes growers to cultivate up to 99 marijuana plants, provided they follow local and state medical marijuana rules, pay thousands of dollars in fees to the county and submit to inspections by sheriff’s deputies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program has proven popular with growers seeking a safe harbor – nearly 100 registered for last fall’s harvest – and county officials assert that drawing a bright line between legal and illegal marijuana growing benefits the safety of the wider public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to bring order from chaos,” County Supervisor John McCowen said in a 2011 interview. McCowen earlier had sought to ban marijuana cultivation, but soon realized it was a losing proposition in a county where pot – legal and illegal – is widely seen as the biggest cash crop. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But just as the program has gained local acceptance, it’s facing growing pressure from federal law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, DEA agents \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/public-safety/mendocino-county-marijuana-program-risk-after-dea-raids-permitted-farm-13408\">raided a farm\u003c/a> near Ukiah owned by Matthew Cohen, a well-known medical marijuana grower who helped draft the county’s cultivation ordinance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/13/mendocino-county-raid-has-marijuana-advocates-riled/\">agents destroyed dozens of marijuana plants\u003c/a> and seized permits and other documents issued by county officials. According to Cohen, one agent involved in the raid said Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman deserved jail time for cooperating with growers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, federal prosecutors stepped up the pressure further by informing Mendocino officials that the program was in violation of federal drug laws and that the county faced litigation and other enforcement actions if it continued, according to drug enforcement officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They told the county to shut the program down,” said one official who was briefed on the matter. The official said Melinda Haag, U.S. attorney for California’s Northern District, gave the county two weeks to take action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesman for Haag declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At an Oct. 7 \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">press conference announcing a statewide pushback on California’s marijuana industry\u003c/a>, Haag raised concerns about cities and counties that were “licensing and ostensibly authorizing the commercial and very profitable cultivation and distribution of marijuana.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In our view, these licensing schemes are inconsistent with federal law,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haag stopped short of threatening to prosecute local officials who authorize marijuana cultivation, but federal prosecutors in other states have warned that anyone who facilitates commercial pot production –including elected officials – risked possible criminal penalties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mendocino County officials, who were expected to discuss the matter during yesterday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, declined to answer questions about the new warnings from the U.S. Justice Department. According to an agenda posted on Mendocino County’s website, the board met in closed session with legal counsel Jeanine Nadel to discuss “significant exposure to litigation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As of this moment, no decision has been made to suspend the program,” McCowen said following yesterday’s meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nadel did not return phone calls, but in an interview last month, she pointed to a recent court case that raised questions about the future of the county’s program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/B228781.PDF\">Pack v. Long Beach\u003c/a>, the state Court of Appeals ruled that authorizing marijuana production or distribution through a permit program placed a local government in violation of federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Medical marijuana advocates have asked the California Supreme Court to review the decision, but so far, judges have not decided whether to hear the case. If the ruling stands, legal experts say it could force many medical marijuana operators out of business and spur Mendocino to stop regulating medical marijuana production.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If the Pack decision stands, I think we would have issue with our permitting procedure,” \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2012/01/medical_marijuana_license_fees.php\">Nadel told SF Weekly\u003c/a>. Allman, Mendocino’s sheriff, said that his office has no pending permit applications but that they usually arrive closer to the start of the growing season in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the October press conference, Haag expressed hope that the Pack decision would draw local governments into closer compliance with the federal Controlled Substances Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My guess is that there are many cities and counties around the state right now that are analyzing the Pack decision,” she said. “And they will hopefully be making some changes as a result.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Michael Montgomery is an investigative journalist for KQED News and \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/\">California Watch\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"description": "From California Watch Mendocino County’s ambitious effort to regulate marijuana production – the first of its kind in California and the nation – is facing growing uncertainty following new threats of legal action by federal prosecutors. The controversial program, which began two years ago, authorizes growers to cultivate up to 99 marijuana plants, provided they",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_52751\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 304px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/01/matthewcohen-.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-52751\" title=\"matthewcohen\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/01/matthewcohen-.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"304\" height=\"382\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Medical marijuana grower Matthew Cohen examines plants at his Mendocino County farm before a raid by federal drug agents last year. (Michael Montgomery, California Watch)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>From \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/prosecutors-move-shut-down-mendocino-pot-permit-program-14399\">\u003cem>California Watch\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mendocino County’s ambitious effort to regulate marijuana production – the first of its kind in California and the nation – is facing growing uncertainty following new threats of legal action by federal prosecutors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The controversial program, which began two years ago, authorizes growers to cultivate up to 99 marijuana plants, provided they follow local and state medical marijuana rules, pay thousands of dollars in fees to the county and submit to inspections by sheriff’s deputies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program has proven popular with growers seeking a safe harbor – nearly 100 registered for last fall’s harvest – and county officials assert that drawing a bright line between legal and illegal marijuana growing benefits the safety of the wider public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to bring order from chaos,” County Supervisor John McCowen said in a 2011 interview. McCowen earlier had sought to ban marijuana cultivation, but soon realized it was a losing proposition in a county where pot – legal and illegal – is widely seen as the biggest cash crop. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But just as the program has gained local acceptance, it’s facing growing pressure from federal law enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, DEA agents \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/public-safety/mendocino-county-marijuana-program-risk-after-dea-raids-permitted-farm-13408\">raided a farm\u003c/a> near Ukiah owned by Matthew Cohen, a well-known medical marijuana grower who helped draft the county’s cultivation ordinance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/13/mendocino-county-raid-has-marijuana-advocates-riled/\">agents destroyed dozens of marijuana plants\u003c/a> and seized permits and other documents issued by county officials. According to Cohen, one agent involved in the raid said Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman deserved jail time for cooperating with growers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, federal prosecutors stepped up the pressure further by informing Mendocino officials that the program was in violation of federal drug laws and that the county faced litigation and other enforcement actions if it continued, according to drug enforcement officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They told the county to shut the program down,” said one official who was briefed on the matter. The official said Melinda Haag, U.S. attorney for California’s Northern District, gave the county two weeks to take action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesman for Haag declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At an Oct. 7 \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">press conference announcing a statewide pushback on California’s marijuana industry\u003c/a>, Haag raised concerns about cities and counties that were “licensing and ostensibly authorizing the commercial and very profitable cultivation and distribution of marijuana.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In our view, these licensing schemes are inconsistent with federal law,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haag stopped short of threatening to prosecute local officials who authorize marijuana cultivation, but federal prosecutors in other states have warned that anyone who facilitates commercial pot production –including elected officials – risked possible criminal penalties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mendocino County officials, who were expected to discuss the matter during yesterday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, declined to answer questions about the new warnings from the U.S. Justice Department. According to an agenda posted on Mendocino County’s website, the board met in closed session with legal counsel Jeanine Nadel to discuss “significant exposure to litigation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As of this moment, no decision has been made to suspend the program,” McCowen said following yesterday’s meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nadel did not return phone calls, but in an interview last month, she pointed to a recent court case that raised questions about the future of the county’s program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/B228781.PDF\">Pack v. Long Beach\u003c/a>, the state Court of Appeals ruled that authorizing marijuana production or distribution through a permit program placed a local government in violation of federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Medical marijuana advocates have asked the California Supreme Court to review the decision, but so far, judges have not decided whether to hear the case. If the ruling stands, legal experts say it could force many medical marijuana operators out of business and spur Mendocino to stop regulating medical marijuana production.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If the Pack decision stands, I think we would have issue with our permitting procedure,” \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2012/01/medical_marijuana_license_fees.php\">Nadel told SF Weekly\u003c/a>. Allman, Mendocino’s sheriff, said that his office has no pending permit applications but that they usually arrive closer to the start of the growing season in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the October press conference, Haag expressed hope that the Pack decision would draw local governments into closer compliance with the federal Controlled Substances Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My guess is that there are many cities and counties around the state right now that are analyzing the Pack decision,” she said. “And they will hopefully be making some changes as a result.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Michael Montgomery is an investigative journalist for KQED News and \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/\">California Watch\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>from \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/marijuana-prices-rising-after-federal-pushback-13949\">California Watch\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A crackdown by federal prosecutors is casting a long shadow over the state’s marijuana industry, but there is one bright spot, at least for some Northern California growers willing to risk prison time: Wholesale prices appear to be on the rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_49491\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 240px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/12/marijuanaplants.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-49491\" title=\"marijuanaplants\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/12/marijuanaplants.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"192\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Flickr\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After slumping \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126806429\">precipitously\u003c/a>, prices for a pound of high-grade, outdoor-grown marijuana are stabilizing and in some areas are up between 20 and 40 percent, according to interviews with growers, law enforcement agents and analysts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been a downward thrust since 1996, but this year, prices have been up,” said \u003ca href=\"http://kymkemp.lostcoastoutpost.com/\">Kym Kemp\u003c/a>, a Humboldt-based blogger who closely follows Northern California’s marijuana scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People are saying, ‘Maybe this isn’t our last season,’ ” she said. “I don’t think people are ready to be optimistic, but they’re less depressed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent years, California’s booming medical marijuana industry attracted a rush of new players who harvested increasingly large amounts of pot – for storefront dispensaries and the black market. Some longtime operators responded by also “growing big.” \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Surging production pushed down prices for some strains to less than $1,000 per pound. This led more growers to illegally ship their marijuana out of state, where they can double or triple their profits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this year, production levels have dropped, in part because of rainy weather and a “bumper crop of mold,” said medical marijuana grower and activist Charley Custer. “It was a perfect storm,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">Data collected by local law enforcement and a federally funded drug task force indicate street prices have nearly doubled in some parts of the state.\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t just the weather. Stepped-up enforcement actions by local and federal law enforcement led some growers to lay low and reduce their plant counts to double digits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some growers decided to keep it small this year,” said Dale Gieringer, state director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With marijuana supplies under pressure, prices responded as they would with any other commodity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the fall harvest, Northern California growers have seen prices jump to between $2,000 and $2,500 per pound for \"good-quality\" marijuana, according to Kemp.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Law enforcement agencies say it’s too early to get a clear read on this year’s harvest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Marijuana remains readily available in California, and we have not noticed a substantial change in prices,” said Casey McEnry of the Drug Enforcement Administration's San Francisco office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But data collected by local law enforcement and a federally funded drug task force indicate street prices have nearly doubled in some parts of the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Supply is down, so prices are up,” said Tommy LaNier, director of the White House-funded National Marijuana Initiative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>LaNier credited the shift in prices to new law enforcement tactics, including the use of more informants, undercover agents and wiretaps and an aggressive effort to intercept marijuana being shipped in vehicles and through commercial carriers like FedEx and UPS. He also said recent \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/landlords-property-owners-are-new-targets-anti-pot-strategy-12967\">actions\u003c/a> by the state’s four U.S. attorneys have shaken the marijuana industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The market is significantly disrupted,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>LaNier said creating market disruptions has been a top priority for law enforcement because it could make marijuana less affordable for minors. But law enforcement agencies are not the only groups welcoming the changes. Black market growers say rising prices mean a return to higher profits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a relief, since my margins were getting very thin,” said one Bay Area grower, who asked that his name be withheld because he is operating outside of state medical marijuana laws. Because of the profit margins, he said he had given up trying to sell his product in California. Instead, he’s been delivering it to the East Coast concealed in private vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The grower said he might return to the California market if prices continue to rise. “I’d rather not take the extra risk of shipping out of state,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Tim Blake, a Mendocino-based medical marijuana grower, activist and \u003ca href=\"http://www.area101.org/\">impresario\u003c/a>, said it is an outrage that illegal growers stand to benefit from the federal crackdown while medical marijuana operators are the targets of raids and forfeitures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Prices are going up, but the people who will cash in are the men hiding in the mountains,” he said. “If this continues, the people who are trying to follow medical marijuana laws won’t get anything because they’ll be out of business, thanks to the feds.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Michael Montgomery is an investigative journalist for KQED News and \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/\">California Watch\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"description": "from California Watch A crackdown by federal prosecutors is casting a long shadow over the state’s marijuana industry, but there is one bright spot, at least for some Northern California growers willing to risk prison time: Wholesale prices appear to be on the rise. After slumping precipitously, prices for a pound of high-grade, outdoor-grown marijuana",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>from \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/marijuana-prices-rising-after-federal-pushback-13949\">California Watch\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A crackdown by federal prosecutors is casting a long shadow over the state’s marijuana industry, but there is one bright spot, at least for some Northern California growers willing to risk prison time: Wholesale prices appear to be on the rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_49491\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 240px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/12/marijuanaplants.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-49491\" title=\"marijuanaplants\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/12/marijuanaplants.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"192\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Flickr\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After slumping \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126806429\">precipitously\u003c/a>, prices for a pound of high-grade, outdoor-grown marijuana are stabilizing and in some areas are up between 20 and 40 percent, according to interviews with growers, law enforcement agents and analysts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been a downward thrust since 1996, but this year, prices have been up,” said \u003ca href=\"http://kymkemp.lostcoastoutpost.com/\">Kym Kemp\u003c/a>, a Humboldt-based blogger who closely follows Northern California’s marijuana scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People are saying, ‘Maybe this isn’t our last season,’ ” she said. “I don’t think people are ready to be optimistic, but they’re less depressed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent years, California’s booming medical marijuana industry attracted a rush of new players who harvested increasingly large amounts of pot – for storefront dispensaries and the black market. Some longtime operators responded by also “growing big.” \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Surging production pushed down prices for some strains to less than $1,000 per pound. This led more growers to illegally ship their marijuana out of state, where they can double or triple their profits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this year, production levels have dropped, in part because of rainy weather and a “bumper crop of mold,” said medical marijuana grower and activist Charley Custer. “It was a perfect storm,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">Data collected by local law enforcement and a federally funded drug task force indicate street prices have nearly doubled in some parts of the state.\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t just the weather. Stepped-up enforcement actions by local and federal law enforcement led some growers to lay low and reduce their plant counts to double digits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some growers decided to keep it small this year,” said Dale Gieringer, state director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With marijuana supplies under pressure, prices responded as they would with any other commodity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the fall harvest, Northern California growers have seen prices jump to between $2,000 and $2,500 per pound for \"good-quality\" marijuana, according to Kemp.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Law enforcement agencies say it’s too early to get a clear read on this year’s harvest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Marijuana remains readily available in California, and we have not noticed a substantial change in prices,” said Casey McEnry of the Drug Enforcement Administration's San Francisco office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But data collected by local law enforcement and a federally funded drug task force indicate street prices have nearly doubled in some parts of the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Supply is down, so prices are up,” said Tommy LaNier, director of the White House-funded National Marijuana Initiative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>LaNier credited the shift in prices to new law enforcement tactics, including the use of more informants, undercover agents and wiretaps and an aggressive effort to intercept marijuana being shipped in vehicles and through commercial carriers like FedEx and UPS. He also said recent \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/landlords-property-owners-are-new-targets-anti-pot-strategy-12967\">actions\u003c/a> by the state’s four U.S. attorneys have shaken the marijuana industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The market is significantly disrupted,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>LaNier said creating market disruptions has been a top priority for law enforcement because it could make marijuana less affordable for minors. But law enforcement agencies are not the only groups welcoming the changes. Black market growers say rising prices mean a return to higher profits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a relief, since my margins were getting very thin,” said one Bay Area grower, who asked that his name be withheld because he is operating outside of state medical marijuana laws. Because of the profit margins, he said he had given up trying to sell his product in California. Instead, he’s been delivering it to the East Coast concealed in private vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The grower said he might return to the California market if prices continue to rise. “I’d rather not take the extra risk of shipping out of state,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Tim Blake, a Mendocino-based medical marijuana grower, activist and \u003ca href=\"http://www.area101.org/\">impresario\u003c/a>, said it is an outrage that illegal growers stand to benefit from the federal crackdown while medical marijuana operators are the targets of raids and forfeitures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Prices are going up, but the people who will cash in are the men hiding in the mountains,” he said. “If this continues, the people who are trying to follow medical marijuana laws won’t get anything because they’ll be out of business, thanks to the feds.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Michael Montgomery is an investigative journalist for KQED News and \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/\">California Watch\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Raid on Mendocino's Pot Co-Op Northstone Instills Fear That \"No One is Safe\"; Interview With County Supervisor; Federal Memo on Enforcement Criteria",
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"content": "\u003cp>Yesterday on PBS NewsHour, KQED and California Watch’s Michael Montgomery took a look at the fallout over the DEA raid of \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/northstone-organics/\">Northstone Organics\u003c/a>, a county-sanctioned medical marijuana co-op in Mendocino. \u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VUBRRZcQPc&feature=player_embedded#!\">Watch the segment\u003c/a>, which includes an interview with Cohen, below:\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center\">\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"480\" height=\"274\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/8VUBRRZcQPc\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, these are anxious times for California pot suppliers and those who advocate for medical marijuana, which is legal under state law but remains prohibited under the federal Controlled Substances Act. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, the four U.S. Attorneys in California \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">announced they would target\u003c/a> not only medical marijuana dispensaries and growers, but also the owners of buildings where marijuana is sold. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The enforcement initiative appears to be getting results, as \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/10/21/national/a013402D88.DTL\">dozens of clinics have shut down\u003c/a> in the state, including \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2011/10/feds_medical_marijuana_offensi.php\">some in the Bay Area\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates feel the Obama administration has gone back on its word to lay off California’s medical marijuana industry, established in 1996 under \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_215_%281996%29\">Proposition 215\u003c/a>, which legalized medical cannabis growth and distribution. In 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Dept would reverse Bush administration police and no longer conduct raids on medical marijuana dispensaries. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From a Mar 18, 2009 \u003ca href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/us/19holder.html\">New York Times report\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Wednesday outlined a shift in the enforcement of federal drug laws, saying the administration would effectively end the Bush administration’s frequent raids on distributors of medical marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking with reporters, Mr. Holder provided few specifics but said the Justice Department’s enforcement policy would now be restricted to traffickers who falsely masqueraded as medical dispensaries and “use medical marijuana laws as a shield.”\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>However, KQED’s Michael Montgomery, who has done extensive reporting on the marijuana issue, says despite what Holder may have said publicly, Justice Dept. memos outlining enforcement policy only address informal waivers from prosecution for the terminally ill. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The feds will not use limited resources to go after seriously ill people or their care providers in terms of medical marijuana,” says Montgomery. “But that’s the only thing they stated unambiguously in these memos. In terms of businesses, they never said they wouldn’t go after them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The problem for California is the industry has grown quite large. The categories, in terms of illnesses that allow you to get a medical marijuana recommendation are very wide. So most of the people getting medical marijuana in California are not terminally ill. If you look at the language the Justice Dept. continues to use, they talk about people with serious or terminal illnesses. Those are the people who get the informal waivers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Feb 2011 memo (\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/11/09/anxious-times-for-medical-marijuana-industry-raid-on-mendocinos-northstone-organics-causes-fear-that-no-one-is-safe/#memo\">click here for full text\u003c/a>), obtained by Montgomery, specifies “factors that all four California U.S. Attorneys Offices agree may render a particular marijuana case suitable for federal prosecution.” While the evidence against Northstone Organics is unknown, on the surface the co-op would seem to fall outside at least some of the criteria for prosecution set out by the federal government, such as production thresholds. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, last month, the Drug Enforcement Agency raided Northstone, shocking pot advocates around the nation, as well as local officials who had worked extensively with Northstone’s owner, Matt Cohen, to come into compliance with a unique county permitting program under which marijuana businesses can operate. The program stipulates \u003ca href=\"http://www.mendocinosheriff.com/services/medicalmarijuana/inspectors.html\">inspections\u003c/a> and cultivation limits under a strict regulatory regime. In return, participants can grow up to 99 plants. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That could be half-a-million dollars worth of marijuana at a modest wholesale price,” says Montgomery. He says some local growers criticize the county for setting the growth limit too high, thus arousing the wrath of the feds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cohen’s compliance with county rules, at least, did not protect him. “They came in guns blazing,” Cohen said of the raid. From the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_19111535\">Ukiah Daily Journal\u003c/a>: \u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The agents arrived at 6 a.m., handcuffed Cohen and his wife and stayed until about 2 p.m., taking 99 marijuana plants, computers and testing equipment, according to Cohen. He said the agents threatened to file federal charges against him, but made no arrests during the raid…\n\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Michael Montgomery spoke in mid-October to Mendocino County Supervisor John McCowen, an avid defender of the county’s permitting program (called 9.3.1), about the raid and the effect it may have on a variety of social ills associated with illicit marijuana cultivation and sales. Here is an edited transcript: \u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What was original intent of program? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The original intent was to bring order out of chaos. We had a situation of total polarization between the medical marijuana community and the general community. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We had people growing as much marijuana as they could in residential areas without regard to the neighbors, community, the environment. There was no real effective way of separating out the people who were creating problems from the people who were not creating problems. So the \u003ca href=\"http://www.mendocinosheriff.com/pdfs/99PermitApplication20110101.pdf\">9.3.1 program\u003c/a> was intended to do that. It did create an allowance for people to grow more than the 25 plant per parcel that was previously allowed, with a permit from the sheriff, with an inspection and in compliance with a long list of conditions designed to protect the environment and the community. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, as a tradeoff for going up to 99 plants, we were able to get protections written into the ordinance that hadn’t been there before, providing setbacks from the property line, setbacks from neighboring residents, that required that the plants not be visible from the public right of way or a publicly traveled road. And these are all things that now apply to anyone growing a single marijuana plant; they have to be in compliance. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the effect of this is to greatly reduce the amount of neighborhood conflicts. The program has been very successful. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\nSo in fact the program was controversial but mainly from some growers who thought it was too extreme.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fears people had have not played out. A lawsuit was defeated. The program was found to be legal under California law. It’s still not accepted by a few diehards at either end of the spectrum, but for the great majority of people I think we’ve come up with something that is working. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>This season you had significantly more growers joining up. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To me that’s a sign that the growers have confidence in the program. That if they work with law enforcement in an open and above-board way, law enforcement will reciprocate. What makes the program a success is not so much the numbers involved but the fact that we have reduced the neighborhood conflicts. Marijuana is not nearly as controversial as it used to be, and frankly we’ve got a lot of other issues we need to devote our attention to. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What impact has this had socially?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When marijuana was completely illegal or even quasi-illegal, people were very interested in being below the radar. They wouldn’t register to vote, they would put up high fences, have guard dogs. Even in some rural communities where marijuana cultivation was generally accepted people were really alienated from each other in lots of cases and certainly from the larger community. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the advent of this program we’ve seen a lot of that start to change, to the degree that last year a murder was actually solved as a result of the confidence a grower had in a member of law enforcement who he had gotten acquainted with through the program. He felt comfortable reporting a murder that law enforcement didn’t yet know about. He and his attorney arranged for the murderer to surrender. That person eventually pled guilty to the charges. That’s a phone call that wouldn’t have been made a year ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How did you hear about the raid on Matt Cohen’s farm?\u003c/strong> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I received an email from the program administrator. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What did you do? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I really didn’t do anything. I was a little stunned. From the first day that I met Matt Cohen, he was the first marijuana advocate that I’d met who was strongly in favor of regulation, and he especially emphasized the need to prevent black-market diversion. That you need to have a system of accountability all the way through so you can prove to the greatest degree possible that you are not growing marijuana that’s going to wind up on the black market. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ve seen his processing operation and he is true to his word. I believe he can account for every ounce of marijuana that he grows and show you where it went. And it’s going to patients who have a physician recommendation. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What kind of a mood is there now among folks in the program? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a lot of concern. People are wondering what’s behind this, what happens next, am I personally at risk? Because we do have a situation where we have an individual who is doing everything he can possible do to be as legal as they could with local and state law. Adhering strictly to the letter of the law all the way down the line. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So if the federal authorities are going to raid Matt Cohen, no one is safe. And of course that’s the reality of federal prohibition. As long as marijuana is federally illegal, there is a risk that anyone can be targeted by the feds. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Is it possible they went there not knowing he was in the program? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I have heard they were very interested in any documentation concerning the program, so that tends to imply that perhaps they were targeting the program. I know that there are highly placed federal enforcement officials who are involved in drug interdiction who really don’t’ like our program. So there is a potential that someone back in Washington made a decision that we want to go after this program. And if that was the intent where better to start than with Matt Cohen? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What could be the impact of this one raid? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think the impact to the extent that it creates a ripple effect – whatever the intention of the federal authorities – will be to drive the production of medical marijuana back underground. And taken in concert with the other actions that have been accounted regarding dispensaries, like the IRS actions to disallow normal costs of operating – all of that together has the impact of making marijuana more illegal, more dangerous, more profitable for the black market operators. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think the raid further endangers public safety. Our program, by bringing the production of medical marijuana above-ground into a strictly regulated program where it’s inspected by the sheriff, arguably tremendously increases public safety and environmental protection. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the raid drives people out of the program and back underground, it will have the opposite effect. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What do you say to the idea that, look we’re enforcing the controlled substances act and we’re entitled to go after Matt Cohen? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s absolutely true, but I would hope they’d prioritize who they’re going after and why. I think there are plenty of growers out there who have no intention of complying with any system of regulation and who are growing on a large scale with no concern for the community, public safety, or environmental impacts. Why not start with those folks? And if you get all of them cleaned up, then maybe you can work your way down to someone like Matt Cohen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Is it frustrating to see in possibly one fell swoop all of that threatened in the name of enforcing the law? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is really frustrating. I didn’t start out as a medical marijuana advocate, I started out as a public safety advocate. I helped enact a ban of outdoor growing in the city of Ukiah, helped to repeal Measure G, which allowed anyone to have 25 pots for any reason, medical or otherwise. I’ve come into this regulation of marijuana through the 9.31 program really with the intent to limit the public safety impacts. And I think its working. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And now we have a situation apparently where the program is under attack, and I’m trying to understand what purpose they think this will serve. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I showed you excerpts from an internal US attorney’s document which outlines a statewide enforcement strategy on marijuana. Anything jump out at you from that document? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ve read the document. It has very detailed guidelines regarding the factors that would warrant federal prosecution. In the case of Matt Cohen, he doesn’t meet a single criteria, either the plant numbers or the guidelines that they identify. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The county interacts with federal law enforcement all the time. What’s the impact of this raid on that relationship? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I don’t think there will be a significant impact. I believe the sheriff’s office will continue to work with federal authorities. Certainly \u003ca href=\"http://www.eastbayexpress.com/LegalizationNation/archives/2011/08/09/mendocinos-full-court-press-on-marijuana-yields-132-arrests\">Full Court Press\u003c/a> [a marijuana eradication and seizure operation conducted in August] was a great example of cooperation between federal state and local authorities. I’m hopeful that we can continue that program next year if we have the resources. I think expanding it to private property to eradicate every trespass growth that we can would be great. I don’t see this raid as threatening local-federal cooperation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Do you trust the federal government at this point? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not a question of trust, I’m just wondering what the intention was? Because if the intention was to go after people that are out of bounds, creating problems, I’m concerned that the raid on someone like Matt Cohen, who is legally as compliant as can be, sends the opposite message, and will have the effect of driving legitimate medical marijuana underground, further endangering public safety and the environment. I can’t believe that’s what we want to do. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of now we intend to continue with the program. Matt Cohen was the strongest advocate for doing more in terms of tracking the marijuana that is produced to make sure we prevent black-market diversion. That’s one of the greatest ironies of this – he’s been the most insistent on tightening the program up. \u003c/p>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"memo\">Here is the full text of a February 2011 memo, obtained by Michael Montgomery, outlining US Attorneys’ guidelines for federal marijuana prosecution in California.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\nTo: DEA, HIDTA, Federal task force partners in California for internal law enforcement use only. Not for public use or circulation\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From: California United States Attorneys\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This memorandum outlines factors that all four California U.S. Attorneys Offices (the USAOs) agree may render a particular marijuana case suitable for federal prosecution. Indefication of these factors is intended to assist federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in determining whether a particular marijuana case has significant potential for federal prosecution and conducting investigations in a manner that develops the best evidence to support federal prosecution (footnote 1). The USAOS will consider for federal prosecution cases investigated by federal, state or local law enforcement agencies that implicate federal interests as reflected in the factors. Cases investigated by federal agencies will generally be given priority over cases adopted from state or local investigations. The factors listed below are relevant to the USAOs consideration of whether a marijuana case should be prosecuted federally but the presence or absence of one or more of the factors will not guarantee or preclude federal prosecution in any case. In general the federal interest will be greater in prosecuting leaders and organizers of the criminal activity as opposed to lower level workers. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The memorandum is intended as prospective guidance only, is not intended to have the force of law and is not intended to, does not, and may not be relied on to create any right, privilege or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable by any person or entity against any type of the USAOs, DOJ or the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(page 2)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>1. Domestic distribution cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal prosecution of a case of domestic distribution of marijuana should generally involve at least 200 or more kilograms of marijuana and also include additional factors that reflect a clear federal interest in prosecution (Footnote 2—This guidance for domestic distribution cases does not apply to cases involving distribution within smuggling into a federal prison. 18 USC 1791). Typically the more marijuana above 200 kilograms the better the potential for federal prosecution. Domestic distribution cases involving quantities of marijuana below 200 kilograms should demonstrate an especially strong federal interest or should not be prosecuted with marijuana distribution as the sole federal charge. Set forth below is a non-exhaustive list of factors that USAOs believe indicate a federal interest in a domestic distribution case. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Distribution by an individual or organization with provable ties to an international drug cartel or a poly-drug trafficking organization. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Distribution of significant quantities to persons or organizations outside California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Distribution by individuals with significant prior criminal histories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Distribution by individuals with provable ties to a street gang that engages in drug trafficking involving violent conduct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Distribution for the purpose of funding other criminal activities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Distribution near protected locations or involving underage or vulnerable people (e.g. in violation of 21 USC 859 persons under 21, 860 near schools, playground and colleges, 861 employment of persons under 18).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Distribution involving the use or presence of firearms or other dangerous weapons including cases that would support charges under 18 USC 924c.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Distribution generating significant profits that are used or concealed in ways that would support charges of federal financial crimes such as tax evasion, money laundering or structuring. Note: Generation of significant profits alone generally will not be viewed as a factor weighing in favor of federal prosecution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Distribution in conjunction with other federal crimes involving violence or intimidation. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Page 3)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>2. Cultivation cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal prosecution of a marijuana case involving cultivation on non-federal or non-tribal land, indoor or outdoor, should generally involve at least 1,000 marijuana plants so that they quantity necessary to trigger the ten-year mandatory minimum sentence can be clearly proven and also include additional factors that reflect a clear federal interest in prosecution. Typically, the more marijuana above 1,000 plants, the better the potential for federal prosecution. Non-federal or non-tribal land cases involving quantities below 1,000 plants should demonstrate an especially strong federal interest or should not be prosecuted with marijuana cultivation as the sole federal charge. Federal prosecution of a marijuana case involving cultivation on federal or tribal land should generally involve at least 500 marijuana plants and also include additional factors that reflect a clear federal interest in prosecution. Cases on federal or tribal land involving quantities below 500 plants will be considered if they demonstrate a strong federal interest, if the cultivation has caused significant damage to federal or tribal lands or has occurred in an area of exclusive federal jurisdiction (Footnote 3– The USAOs will consider the totality of circumstances with respect to all marijuana plant quantities in these guidelines. For example, the presence of especially mature, large or robust plants will generally weigh in favor of prosecution while the presence of seedlings or immature plants will generally weigh against prosecution). Set forth below is a non-exhaustive list of factors that the USAOs believe indicate a federal interest that may justify federal prosecution of a marijuana case involving cultivation whether on federal, tribal or other lands. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Cultivation causing significant environmental damage, risk to human health or interference with particularly sensitive land or significant recreational interests, ie damage to wilderness area or wildlife, danger to innocent families using a 8recreation area or use of toxic or dangerous chemicals. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cultivation by an individual or organization with provable ties to an international drug cartel or poly-drug trafficking organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Cultivation of significant quantities on behalf or persons or organizations outside California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Cultivation by individuals with significant prior criminal histories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Cultivation by individuals with provable ties to a street gang that engages in drug trafficking involving violent conduct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Cultivation for the purpose of funding other criminal activities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Page 4)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Cultivation near protected locations or involving under-age or vulnerable people (eg in violation…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Cultivation involving the use or presence of fire-arms, booby traps or other dangerous weapons including cases that would support charges under 18 USC 924c.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Cultivation generating significant profits that are used or concealed in ways that would support charges for federal financial crimes such as tax evasion, money laundering or structuring. Note—g eneration of significant profits alone will not be viewed as a factor weighing in favor of federal prosecution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Cultivation in conjunction with other federal crimes involving violence or intimidation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>3. Dispensary cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given California state law, prosecution of marijuana stores or “dispensaries” purporting to comply with state law face additional challenges. Federal prosecution of a case involving a marijuana store should generally involve a) provable sales through seizures or records of over 200 kilograms or 1000 plants per year. b)sales clearly in violation of state law, eg sales to persons without legitimate doctors’ recommendations, side-sales occurring outside of the store or shipping to persons outside of California (Note—selling for profit, though a violation of state law, typically alone will not alone satisfy this requirement), and c) additional factors that reflect a federal interest in prosecution. Set forth below is a non-exhaustive list of such additional factors. Nothing herein should be taken as a limitation on investigation by federal law enforcement to determine the existence of these factors. However, search warrants or other more intrusive investigative techniques directed as marijuana stores should be closely coordinated with the USAOs. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Marijuana “inventory” obtained from cultivation on federal or tribal land>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Targets involved in cultivation involved in cultivation or distribution outside of dispensary that merits federal prosecution based on consideration of factors set forth in sections 1 and 2 above.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Targets using profits from dispensary to support other criminal activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Store linked to physician providing marijuana recommendations without plausible legitimate justification, eg doctor on site providing recommendation with no on-site examinations or legitimate medical procedures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Targets have significant prior criminal histories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Targets have provable ties to a street gang that engages in drug trafficking involving violent conduct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Store operations involve the use or presence or firearms or other dangerous weapons including cases that would support charges under 18 USC 924.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Page 5)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Store generates significant profits that are used/concealed in ways that would support charges for federal financial crimes such as tax evasion, money laundering or structuring. Note–generation of significant profits alone generally will not be viewed as a factor weighing in favor of federal prosecution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Store operations in conjunction with other federal crimes involving violence or intimidation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Store employs minors under 18 and/or sells a significant portion of marijuana to minors under the age of 21 especially where evidence that minors aren’t using for medical purposes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>4. Civil forfeiture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The USAOs general preference is to pursue forfeiture through criminal forfeiture or civil forfeiture filed in parallel with a criminal case. Nevertheless circumstances may arise in which civil forfeiture alone is the best option. Those cases will generally involve one or more of the following:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Significant forfeitable assets clearly traceable to marijuana trafficking in violation of federal criminal law that would merit federal prosecution based on consideration of factors set forth in sections 1-3 above.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Significant forfeitable assets clearly traceable to non-marijuana related violations of federal law such as structuring or money-laundering. Large scale “medical marijuana” cultivation operations that 1) are operating in violation of state law 2)involve real property that has been the subject of a warning letter or similar prior notice or 3) involve real property that has been the subject of a prior forfeiture proceeding arising from marijuana cultivation or a property owner who has been a claimant in such proceedings or individual targets not subject to criminal prosecution eg fugitives or persons whose involvement in marijuana trafficking is too marginal to justify criminal prosecution including off-site land lords and non-resident owners falsely claiming ignorance of tenant’s marijuana trafficking.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\n",
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"title": "Raid on Mendocino's Pot Co-Op Northstone Instills Fear That \"No One is Safe\"; Interview With County Supervisor; Federal Memo on Enforcement Criteria | KQED",
"description": "Yesterday on PBS NewsHour, KQED and California Watch’s Michael Montgomery took a look at the fallout over the DEA raid of Northstone Organics, a county-sanctioned medical marijuana co-op in Mendocino. Watch the segment, which includes an interview with Cohen, below: Indeed, these are anxious times for California pot suppliers and those who advocate for medical",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Yesterday on PBS NewsHour, KQED and California Watch’s Michael Montgomery took a look at the fallout over the DEA raid of \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/northstone-organics/\">Northstone Organics\u003c/a>, a county-sanctioned medical marijuana co-op in Mendocino. \u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VUBRRZcQPc&feature=player_embedded#!\">Watch the segment\u003c/a>, which includes an interview with Cohen, below:\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center\">\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"480\" height=\"274\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/8VUBRRZcQPc\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, these are anxious times for California pot suppliers and those who advocate for medical marijuana, which is legal under state law but remains prohibited under the federal Controlled Substances Act. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, the four U.S. Attorneys in California \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">announced they would target\u003c/a> not only medical marijuana dispensaries and growers, but also the owners of buildings where marijuana is sold. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The enforcement initiative appears to be getting results, as \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/10/21/national/a013402D88.DTL\">dozens of clinics have shut down\u003c/a> in the state, including \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2011/10/feds_medical_marijuana_offensi.php\">some in the Bay Area\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates feel the Obama administration has gone back on its word to lay off California’s medical marijuana industry, established in 1996 under \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_215_%281996%29\">Proposition 215\u003c/a>, which legalized medical cannabis growth and distribution. In 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Dept would reverse Bush administration police and no longer conduct raids on medical marijuana dispensaries. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From a Mar 18, 2009 \u003ca href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/us/19holder.html\">New York Times report\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Wednesday outlined a shift in the enforcement of federal drug laws, saying the administration would effectively end the Bush administration’s frequent raids on distributors of medical marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking with reporters, Mr. Holder provided few specifics but said the Justice Department’s enforcement policy would now be restricted to traffickers who falsely masqueraded as medical dispensaries and “use medical marijuana laws as a shield.”\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>However, KQED’s Michael Montgomery, who has done extensive reporting on the marijuana issue, says despite what Holder may have said publicly, Justice Dept. memos outlining enforcement policy only address informal waivers from prosecution for the terminally ill. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The feds will not use limited resources to go after seriously ill people or their care providers in terms of medical marijuana,” says Montgomery. “But that’s the only thing they stated unambiguously in these memos. In terms of businesses, they never said they wouldn’t go after them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The problem for California is the industry has grown quite large. The categories, in terms of illnesses that allow you to get a medical marijuana recommendation are very wide. So most of the people getting medical marijuana in California are not terminally ill. If you look at the language the Justice Dept. continues to use, they talk about people with serious or terminal illnesses. Those are the people who get the informal waivers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Feb 2011 memo (\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/11/09/anxious-times-for-medical-marijuana-industry-raid-on-mendocinos-northstone-organics-causes-fear-that-no-one-is-safe/#memo\">click here for full text\u003c/a>), obtained by Montgomery, specifies “factors that all four California U.S. Attorneys Offices agree may render a particular marijuana case suitable for federal prosecution.” While the evidence against Northstone Organics is unknown, on the surface the co-op would seem to fall outside at least some of the criteria for prosecution set out by the federal government, such as production thresholds. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, last month, the Drug Enforcement Agency raided Northstone, shocking pot advocates around the nation, as well as local officials who had worked extensively with Northstone’s owner, Matt Cohen, to come into compliance with a unique county permitting program under which marijuana businesses can operate. The program stipulates \u003ca href=\"http://www.mendocinosheriff.com/services/medicalmarijuana/inspectors.html\">inspections\u003c/a> and cultivation limits under a strict regulatory regime. In return, participants can grow up to 99 plants. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That could be half-a-million dollars worth of marijuana at a modest wholesale price,” says Montgomery. He says some local growers criticize the county for setting the growth limit too high, thus arousing the wrath of the feds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cohen’s compliance with county rules, at least, did not protect him. “They came in guns blazing,” Cohen said of the raid. From the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_19111535\">Ukiah Daily Journal\u003c/a>: \u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The agents arrived at 6 a.m., handcuffed Cohen and his wife and stayed until about 2 p.m., taking 99 marijuana plants, computers and testing equipment, according to Cohen. He said the agents threatened to file federal charges against him, but made no arrests during the raid…\n\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Michael Montgomery spoke in mid-October to Mendocino County Supervisor John McCowen, an avid defender of the county’s permitting program (called 9.3.1), about the raid and the effect it may have on a variety of social ills associated with illicit marijuana cultivation and sales. Here is an edited transcript: \u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What was original intent of program? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The original intent was to bring order out of chaos. We had a situation of total polarization between the medical marijuana community and the general community. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We had people growing as much marijuana as they could in residential areas without regard to the neighbors, community, the environment. There was no real effective way of separating out the people who were creating problems from the people who were not creating problems. So the \u003ca href=\"http://www.mendocinosheriff.com/pdfs/99PermitApplication20110101.pdf\">9.3.1 program\u003c/a> was intended to do that. It did create an allowance for people to grow more than the 25 plant per parcel that was previously allowed, with a permit from the sheriff, with an inspection and in compliance with a long list of conditions designed to protect the environment and the community. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, as a tradeoff for going up to 99 plants, we were able to get protections written into the ordinance that hadn’t been there before, providing setbacks from the property line, setbacks from neighboring residents, that required that the plants not be visible from the public right of way or a publicly traveled road. And these are all things that now apply to anyone growing a single marijuana plant; they have to be in compliance. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the effect of this is to greatly reduce the amount of neighborhood conflicts. The program has been very successful. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\nSo in fact the program was controversial but mainly from some growers who thought it was too extreme.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fears people had have not played out. A lawsuit was defeated. The program was found to be legal under California law. It’s still not accepted by a few diehards at either end of the spectrum, but for the great majority of people I think we’ve come up with something that is working. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>This season you had significantly more growers joining up. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To me that’s a sign that the growers have confidence in the program. That if they work with law enforcement in an open and above-board way, law enforcement will reciprocate. What makes the program a success is not so much the numbers involved but the fact that we have reduced the neighborhood conflicts. Marijuana is not nearly as controversial as it used to be, and frankly we’ve got a lot of other issues we need to devote our attention to. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What impact has this had socially?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When marijuana was completely illegal or even quasi-illegal, people were very interested in being below the radar. They wouldn’t register to vote, they would put up high fences, have guard dogs. Even in some rural communities where marijuana cultivation was generally accepted people were really alienated from each other in lots of cases and certainly from the larger community. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the advent of this program we’ve seen a lot of that start to change, to the degree that last year a murder was actually solved as a result of the confidence a grower had in a member of law enforcement who he had gotten acquainted with through the program. He felt comfortable reporting a murder that law enforcement didn’t yet know about. He and his attorney arranged for the murderer to surrender. That person eventually pled guilty to the charges. That’s a phone call that wouldn’t have been made a year ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How did you hear about the raid on Matt Cohen’s farm?\u003c/strong> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I received an email from the program administrator. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What did you do? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I really didn’t do anything. I was a little stunned. From the first day that I met Matt Cohen, he was the first marijuana advocate that I’d met who was strongly in favor of regulation, and he especially emphasized the need to prevent black-market diversion. That you need to have a system of accountability all the way through so you can prove to the greatest degree possible that you are not growing marijuana that’s going to wind up on the black market. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ve seen his processing operation and he is true to his word. I believe he can account for every ounce of marijuana that he grows and show you where it went. And it’s going to patients who have a physician recommendation. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What kind of a mood is there now among folks in the program? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a lot of concern. People are wondering what’s behind this, what happens next, am I personally at risk? Because we do have a situation where we have an individual who is doing everything he can possible do to be as legal as they could with local and state law. Adhering strictly to the letter of the law all the way down the line. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So if the federal authorities are going to raid Matt Cohen, no one is safe. And of course that’s the reality of federal prohibition. As long as marijuana is federally illegal, there is a risk that anyone can be targeted by the feds. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Is it possible they went there not knowing he was in the program? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I have heard they were very interested in any documentation concerning the program, so that tends to imply that perhaps they were targeting the program. I know that there are highly placed federal enforcement officials who are involved in drug interdiction who really don’t’ like our program. So there is a potential that someone back in Washington made a decision that we want to go after this program. And if that was the intent where better to start than with Matt Cohen? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What could be the impact of this one raid? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think the impact to the extent that it creates a ripple effect – whatever the intention of the federal authorities – will be to drive the production of medical marijuana back underground. And taken in concert with the other actions that have been accounted regarding dispensaries, like the IRS actions to disallow normal costs of operating – all of that together has the impact of making marijuana more illegal, more dangerous, more profitable for the black market operators. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think the raid further endangers public safety. Our program, by bringing the production of medical marijuana above-ground into a strictly regulated program where it’s inspected by the sheriff, arguably tremendously increases public safety and environmental protection. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the raid drives people out of the program and back underground, it will have the opposite effect. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What do you say to the idea that, look we’re enforcing the controlled substances act and we’re entitled to go after Matt Cohen? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s absolutely true, but I would hope they’d prioritize who they’re going after and why. I think there are plenty of growers out there who have no intention of complying with any system of regulation and who are growing on a large scale with no concern for the community, public safety, or environmental impacts. Why not start with those folks? And if you get all of them cleaned up, then maybe you can work your way down to someone like Matt Cohen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Is it frustrating to see in possibly one fell swoop all of that threatened in the name of enforcing the law? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is really frustrating. I didn’t start out as a medical marijuana advocate, I started out as a public safety advocate. I helped enact a ban of outdoor growing in the city of Ukiah, helped to repeal Measure G, which allowed anyone to have 25 pots for any reason, medical or otherwise. I’ve come into this regulation of marijuana through the 9.31 program really with the intent to limit the public safety impacts. And I think its working. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And now we have a situation apparently where the program is under attack, and I’m trying to understand what purpose they think this will serve. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I showed you excerpts from an internal US attorney’s document which outlines a statewide enforcement strategy on marijuana. Anything jump out at you from that document? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ve read the document. It has very detailed guidelines regarding the factors that would warrant federal prosecution. In the case of Matt Cohen, he doesn’t meet a single criteria, either the plant numbers or the guidelines that they identify. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The county interacts with federal law enforcement all the time. What’s the impact of this raid on that relationship? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I don’t think there will be a significant impact. I believe the sheriff’s office will continue to work with federal authorities. Certainly \u003ca href=\"http://www.eastbayexpress.com/LegalizationNation/archives/2011/08/09/mendocinos-full-court-press-on-marijuana-yields-132-arrests\">Full Court Press\u003c/a> [a marijuana eradication and seizure operation conducted in August] was a great example of cooperation between federal state and local authorities. I’m hopeful that we can continue that program next year if we have the resources. I think expanding it to private property to eradicate every trespass growth that we can would be great. I don’t see this raid as threatening local-federal cooperation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Do you trust the federal government at this point? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not a question of trust, I’m just wondering what the intention was? Because if the intention was to go after people that are out of bounds, creating problems, I’m concerned that the raid on someone like Matt Cohen, who is legally as compliant as can be, sends the opposite message, and will have the effect of driving legitimate medical marijuana underground, further endangering public safety and the environment. I can’t believe that’s what we want to do. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of now we intend to continue with the program. Matt Cohen was the strongest advocate for doing more in terms of tracking the marijuana that is produced to make sure we prevent black-market diversion. That’s one of the greatest ironies of this – he’s been the most insistent on tightening the program up. \u003c/p>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"memo\">Here is the full text of a February 2011 memo, obtained by Michael Montgomery, outlining US Attorneys’ guidelines for federal marijuana prosecution in California.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\nTo: DEA, HIDTA, Federal task force partners in California for internal law enforcement use only. Not for public use or circulation\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From: California United States Attorneys\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This memorandum outlines factors that all four California U.S. Attorneys Offices (the USAOs) agree may render a particular marijuana case suitable for federal prosecution. Indefication of these factors is intended to assist federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in determining whether a particular marijuana case has significant potential for federal prosecution and conducting investigations in a manner that develops the best evidence to support federal prosecution (footnote 1). The USAOS will consider for federal prosecution cases investigated by federal, state or local law enforcement agencies that implicate federal interests as reflected in the factors. Cases investigated by federal agencies will generally be given priority over cases adopted from state or local investigations. The factors listed below are relevant to the USAOs consideration of whether a marijuana case should be prosecuted federally but the presence or absence of one or more of the factors will not guarantee or preclude federal prosecution in any case. In general the federal interest will be greater in prosecuting leaders and organizers of the criminal activity as opposed to lower level workers. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The memorandum is intended as prospective guidance only, is not intended to have the force of law and is not intended to, does not, and may not be relied on to create any right, privilege or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable by any person or entity against any type of the USAOs, DOJ or the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(page 2)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>1. Domestic distribution cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal prosecution of a case of domestic distribution of marijuana should generally involve at least 200 or more kilograms of marijuana and also include additional factors that reflect a clear federal interest in prosecution (Footnote 2—This guidance for domestic distribution cases does not apply to cases involving distribution within smuggling into a federal prison. 18 USC 1791). Typically the more marijuana above 200 kilograms the better the potential for federal prosecution. Domestic distribution cases involving quantities of marijuana below 200 kilograms should demonstrate an especially strong federal interest or should not be prosecuted with marijuana distribution as the sole federal charge. Set forth below is a non-exhaustive list of factors that USAOs believe indicate a federal interest in a domestic distribution case. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Distribution by an individual or organization with provable ties to an international drug cartel or a poly-drug trafficking organization. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Distribution of significant quantities to persons or organizations outside California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Distribution by individuals with significant prior criminal histories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Distribution by individuals with provable ties to a street gang that engages in drug trafficking involving violent conduct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Distribution for the purpose of funding other criminal activities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Distribution near protected locations or involving underage or vulnerable people (e.g. in violation of 21 USC 859 persons under 21, 860 near schools, playground and colleges, 861 employment of persons under 18).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Distribution involving the use or presence of firearms or other dangerous weapons including cases that would support charges under 18 USC 924c.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Distribution generating significant profits that are used or concealed in ways that would support charges of federal financial crimes such as tax evasion, money laundering or structuring. Note: Generation of significant profits alone generally will not be viewed as a factor weighing in favor of federal prosecution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Distribution in conjunction with other federal crimes involving violence or intimidation. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Page 3)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>2. Cultivation cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal prosecution of a marijuana case involving cultivation on non-federal or non-tribal land, indoor or outdoor, should generally involve at least 1,000 marijuana plants so that they quantity necessary to trigger the ten-year mandatory minimum sentence can be clearly proven and also include additional factors that reflect a clear federal interest in prosecution. Typically, the more marijuana above 1,000 plants, the better the potential for federal prosecution. Non-federal or non-tribal land cases involving quantities below 1,000 plants should demonstrate an especially strong federal interest or should not be prosecuted with marijuana cultivation as the sole federal charge. Federal prosecution of a marijuana case involving cultivation on federal or tribal land should generally involve at least 500 marijuana plants and also include additional factors that reflect a clear federal interest in prosecution. Cases on federal or tribal land involving quantities below 500 plants will be considered if they demonstrate a strong federal interest, if the cultivation has caused significant damage to federal or tribal lands or has occurred in an area of exclusive federal jurisdiction (Footnote 3– The USAOs will consider the totality of circumstances with respect to all marijuana plant quantities in these guidelines. For example, the presence of especially mature, large or robust plants will generally weigh in favor of prosecution while the presence of seedlings or immature plants will generally weigh against prosecution). Set forth below is a non-exhaustive list of factors that the USAOs believe indicate a federal interest that may justify federal prosecution of a marijuana case involving cultivation whether on federal, tribal or other lands. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Cultivation causing significant environmental damage, risk to human health or interference with particularly sensitive land or significant recreational interests, ie damage to wilderness area or wildlife, danger to innocent families using a 8recreation area or use of toxic or dangerous chemicals. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cultivation by an individual or organization with provable ties to an international drug cartel or poly-drug trafficking organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Cultivation of significant quantities on behalf or persons or organizations outside California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Cultivation by individuals with significant prior criminal histories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Cultivation by individuals with provable ties to a street gang that engages in drug trafficking involving violent conduct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Cultivation for the purpose of funding other criminal activities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Page 4)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Cultivation near protected locations or involving under-age or vulnerable people (eg in violation…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Cultivation involving the use or presence of fire-arms, booby traps or other dangerous weapons including cases that would support charges under 18 USC 924c.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Cultivation generating significant profits that are used or concealed in ways that would support charges for federal financial crimes such as tax evasion, money laundering or structuring. Note—g eneration of significant profits alone will not be viewed as a factor weighing in favor of federal prosecution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Cultivation in conjunction with other federal crimes involving violence or intimidation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>3. Dispensary cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given California state law, prosecution of marijuana stores or “dispensaries” purporting to comply with state law face additional challenges. Federal prosecution of a case involving a marijuana store should generally involve a) provable sales through seizures or records of over 200 kilograms or 1000 plants per year. b)sales clearly in violation of state law, eg sales to persons without legitimate doctors’ recommendations, side-sales occurring outside of the store or shipping to persons outside of California (Note—selling for profit, though a violation of state law, typically alone will not alone satisfy this requirement), and c) additional factors that reflect a federal interest in prosecution. Set forth below is a non-exhaustive list of such additional factors. Nothing herein should be taken as a limitation on investigation by federal law enforcement to determine the existence of these factors. However, search warrants or other more intrusive investigative techniques directed as marijuana stores should be closely coordinated with the USAOs. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Marijuana “inventory” obtained from cultivation on federal or tribal land>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Targets involved in cultivation involved in cultivation or distribution outside of dispensary that merits federal prosecution based on consideration of factors set forth in sections 1 and 2 above.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Targets using profits from dispensary to support other criminal activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Store linked to physician providing marijuana recommendations without plausible legitimate justification, eg doctor on site providing recommendation with no on-site examinations or legitimate medical procedures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Targets have significant prior criminal histories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Targets have provable ties to a street gang that engages in drug trafficking involving violent conduct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Store operations involve the use or presence or firearms or other dangerous weapons including cases that would support charges under 18 USC 924.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Page 5)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Store generates significant profits that are used/concealed in ways that would support charges for federal financial crimes such as tax evasion, money laundering or structuring. Note–generation of significant profits alone generally will not be viewed as a factor weighing in favor of federal prosecution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Store operations in conjunction with other federal crimes involving violence or intimidation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Store employs minors under 18 and/or sells a significant portion of marijuana to minors under the age of 21 especially where evidence that minors aren’t using for medical purposes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>4. Civil forfeiture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The USAOs general preference is to pursue forfeiture through criminal forfeiture or civil forfeiture filed in parallel with a criminal case. Nevertheless circumstances may arise in which civil forfeiture alone is the best option. Those cases will generally involve one or more of the following:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Significant forfeitable assets clearly traceable to marijuana trafficking in violation of federal criminal law that would merit federal prosecution based on consideration of factors set forth in sections 1-3 above.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>*Significant forfeitable assets clearly traceable to non-marijuana related violations of federal law such as structuring or money-laundering. Large scale “medical marijuana” cultivation operations that 1) are operating in violation of state law 2)involve real property that has been the subject of a warning letter or similar prior notice or 3) involve real property that has been the subject of a prior forfeiture proceeding arising from marijuana cultivation or a property owner who has been a claimant in such proceedings or individual targets not subject to criminal prosecution eg fugitives or persons whose involvement in marijuana trafficking is too marginal to justify criminal prosecution including off-site land lords and non-resident owners falsely claiming ignorance of tenant’s marijuana trafficking.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "A.M. Splash: PG&E May Have \"Junked\" Pipe in System; Medical Marijuana - Tenderloin Clinic Probably to Close, Sacto Suspends Permit Process",
"title": "A.M. Splash: PG&E May Have \"Junked\" Pipe in System; Medical Marijuana - Tenderloin Clinic Probably to Close, Sacto Suspends Permit Process",
"headTitle": "News Fix | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-567\" title=\"coffee \" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2010/10/89687195-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"100\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2011/10/20/MNIK1LJ4RK.DTL\">State: PG&E could have 'junked' pipe in its system\u003c/a> (SF Chronicle)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>State regulators have uncovered evidence that suggests Pacific Gas and Electric Co. installed \"salvaged or junked transmission pipe\" on its natural-gas system in the 1940s and '50s, raising fears that a problem like the one that caused the San Bruno disaster could be lurking undetected, officials said in a regulatory filing Wednesday. \u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/bay-area/2011/10/bart-could-adopt-official-cellphone-policy-meeting-next-week\">BART could adopt official cellphone policy at meeting next week\u003c/a> (SF Examiner)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Cellphone service could still be shut down in BART stations — but only under extraordinary circumstances — if a policy resolution is approved next week by the agency’s board of directors.\n\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/20/BABE1LJNNH.DTL\">Tenderloin medical pot dispensary expects to close\u003c/a> (SF Chronicle)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>As two San Francisco legislators denounced the Obama administration's attack on medical marijuana suppliers in California, the president of a Tenderloin district dispensary said Tuesday he will probably close shop in three weeks because of a threatening letter from the U.S. attorney. Charlie Pappas said the Divinity Tree Patients' Wellness Cooperative at 958 Geary St. is a nonprofit that supplies medical marijuana to almost 3,000 users and has followed state and local laws since it opened seven years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/20/3990368/sacramento-suspends-permit-process.html\">Sacramento suspends permit process for medical pot stores\u003c/a> (Sacramento Bee)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The city of Sacramento, unnerved by a federal crackdown on marijuana dispensaries, has abruptly suspended its process for issuing permits to medical pot stores.\n\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/10/sf-cellphone-radiation-label-debate-reaches-courtroom\">SF cellphone radiation label debate reaches courtroom\u003c/a> (SF Examiner)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>San Francisco’s plan to require wireless vendors to display posters about the possible health impacts of cellphone usage could be stalled for months if a federal judge sides today with a trade group suing The City.\n\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.baycitizen.org/policing/story/support-fades-tax-pay-police/\">Support Fades for Tax to Pay for More Police\u003c/a> (Bay Citizen)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>As Oakland voters are deciding whether to approve a parcel tax that would give the city millions of dollars to hire more police officers, key city officials, including City Council members, business leaders and the police union have decided not to support the initiative.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19153449\">State report ripped Longmire for Bey investigation\u003c/a> (Chauncey Bailey Project)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Police Sgt. Derwin Longmire's investigation of journalist Chauncey Bailey's 2007 murder was so inadequate that a high-ranking commander said Longmire never should have been a homicide detective in the first place, according to a 2009 state Department of Justice report that was just released. The 66-page document, which police and city officials refused to release for more than two years, is now public as part of a federal lawsuit. It paints a sweeping picture of Longmire's colleagues' concerns that he \"neglected to do ... just basic routine homicide 101\" investigative steps on the Bailey case that were rote for other detectives.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19154819\">Authorities capture security guard who opened fire in Richmond, Concord\u003c/a> (Contra Costa Times)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>A disgruntled security guard was arrested near the Nevada border this morning after an overnight spree where he got in a shootout with his supervisor at a Richmond apartment complex, but not before he unleashed a volley of shots into his neighbor's home in Concord, where he barely missed hitting a young child, police said.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.insidebayarea.com/top-stories/ci_19150648\">Oakland Occupy residents struggle with internal security issues\u003c/a> (Oakland Tribune)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>...The tent city that has sprung up on the steps of Oakland City Hall has attracted a diverse range of people, many with competing ideologies and world views. Homeless people, ex-convicts, at least one registered sex offender, students, unemployed hotel workers, anarchists and reform-minded activists freely mingle together in what amounts to a democracy free-for-all. \u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.insidebayarea.com/top-stories/ci_19148957\">The destruction was just the first wave of pain for many survivors of the Oakland hills fire\u003c/a> (Oakland Tribune)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>...As communities across the East Bay gather this week to commemorate the victims of the 1991 Oakland hills fire that killed 25 people and destroyed more than 3,800 homes, they will also be remembering their own struggle to survive and learn from the fire. \u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.baycitizen.org/solyndra/story/solyndra-tax-break-not-going-away/\">Solyndra Tax Break Not Going Away\u003c/a> (Bay Citizen)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>State Treasurer Bill Lockyer told lawmakers Wednesday that he continued to support a law that grants large tax breaks to alternative-energy companies — even though the bankrupt solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra was its first and largest recipient.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"description": "State: PG&E could have 'junked' pipe in its system (SF Chronicle) State regulators have uncovered evidence that suggests Pacific Gas and Electric Co. installed "salvaged or junked transmission pipe" on its natural-gas system in the 1940s and '50s, raising fears that a problem like the one that caused the San Bruno disaster could be lurking",
"title": "A.M. Splash: PG&E May Have \"Junked\" Pipe in System; Medical Marijuana - Tenderloin Clinic Probably to Close, Sacto Suspends Permit Process | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-567\" title=\"coffee \" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2010/10/89687195-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"100\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2011/10/20/MNIK1LJ4RK.DTL\">State: PG&E could have 'junked' pipe in its system\u003c/a> (SF Chronicle)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>State regulators have uncovered evidence that suggests Pacific Gas and Electric Co. installed \"salvaged or junked transmission pipe\" on its natural-gas system in the 1940s and '50s, raising fears that a problem like the one that caused the San Bruno disaster could be lurking undetected, officials said in a regulatory filing Wednesday. \u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/bay-area/2011/10/bart-could-adopt-official-cellphone-policy-meeting-next-week\">BART could adopt official cellphone policy at meeting next week\u003c/a> (SF Examiner)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Cellphone service could still be shut down in BART stations — but only under extraordinary circumstances — if a policy resolution is approved next week by the agency’s board of directors.\n\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/20/BABE1LJNNH.DTL\">Tenderloin medical pot dispensary expects to close\u003c/a> (SF Chronicle)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>As two San Francisco legislators denounced the Obama administration's attack on medical marijuana suppliers in California, the president of a Tenderloin district dispensary said Tuesday he will probably close shop in three weeks because of a threatening letter from the U.S. attorney. Charlie Pappas said the Divinity Tree Patients' Wellness Cooperative at 958 Geary St. is a nonprofit that supplies medical marijuana to almost 3,000 users and has followed state and local laws since it opened seven years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/20/3990368/sacramento-suspends-permit-process.html\">Sacramento suspends permit process for medical pot stores\u003c/a> (Sacramento Bee)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The city of Sacramento, unnerved by a federal crackdown on marijuana dispensaries, has abruptly suspended its process for issuing permits to medical pot stores.\n\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/10/sf-cellphone-radiation-label-debate-reaches-courtroom\">SF cellphone radiation label debate reaches courtroom\u003c/a> (SF Examiner)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>San Francisco’s plan to require wireless vendors to display posters about the possible health impacts of cellphone usage could be stalled for months if a federal judge sides today with a trade group suing The City.\n\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.baycitizen.org/policing/story/support-fades-tax-pay-police/\">Support Fades for Tax to Pay for More Police\u003c/a> (Bay Citizen)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>As Oakland voters are deciding whether to approve a parcel tax that would give the city millions of dollars to hire more police officers, key city officials, including City Council members, business leaders and the police union have decided not to support the initiative.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19153449\">State report ripped Longmire for Bey investigation\u003c/a> (Chauncey Bailey Project)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Police Sgt. Derwin Longmire's investigation of journalist Chauncey Bailey's 2007 murder was so inadequate that a high-ranking commander said Longmire never should have been a homicide detective in the first place, according to a 2009 state Department of Justice report that was just released. The 66-page document, which police and city officials refused to release for more than two years, is now public as part of a federal lawsuit. It paints a sweeping picture of Longmire's colleagues' concerns that he \"neglected to do ... just basic routine homicide 101\" investigative steps on the Bailey case that were rote for other detectives.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19154819\">Authorities capture security guard who opened fire in Richmond, Concord\u003c/a> (Contra Costa Times)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>A disgruntled security guard was arrested near the Nevada border this morning after an overnight spree where he got in a shootout with his supervisor at a Richmond apartment complex, but not before he unleashed a volley of shots into his neighbor's home in Concord, where he barely missed hitting a young child, police said.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.insidebayarea.com/top-stories/ci_19150648\">Oakland Occupy residents struggle with internal security issues\u003c/a> (Oakland Tribune)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>...The tent city that has sprung up on the steps of Oakland City Hall has attracted a diverse range of people, many with competing ideologies and world views. Homeless people, ex-convicts, at least one registered sex offender, students, unemployed hotel workers, anarchists and reform-minded activists freely mingle together in what amounts to a democracy free-for-all. \u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.insidebayarea.com/top-stories/ci_19148957\">The destruction was just the first wave of pain for many survivors of the Oakland hills fire\u003c/a> (Oakland Tribune)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>...As communities across the East Bay gather this week to commemorate the victims of the 1991 Oakland hills fire that killed 25 people and destroyed more than 3,800 homes, they will also be remembering their own struggle to survive and learn from the fire. \u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.baycitizen.org/solyndra/story/solyndra-tax-break-not-going-away/\">Solyndra Tax Break Not Going Away\u003c/a> (Bay Citizen)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>State Treasurer Bill Lockyer told lawmakers Wednesday that he continued to support a law that grants large tax breaks to alternative-energy companies — even though the bankrupt solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra was its first and largest recipient.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "northstone-organics-matt-cohen-mendocino-county-sheriff-tom-allman-on-yesterdays-dea-raid",
"title": "Northstone Organics' Matt Cohen, Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman on Yesterday's DEA Raid",
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"headTitle": "Northstone Organics’ Matt Cohen, Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman on Yesterday’s DEA Raid | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_43110\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 210px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/northstoneorganics1.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/northstoneorganics1.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"northstoneorganics\" width=\"210\" height=\"144\" class=\"size-full wp-image-43110\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Raided yesterday by the DEA, despite being in compliance with Mendocino County law.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Update Monday, Oct 17: From the Ukiah Daily Journal, late Friday night: \u003ca href=\"http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_19119773\">Northstone dispensary workers facing charges in Sonoma Co.\u003c/a> \u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Two employees of Northstone Organics, a Redwood Valley medical marijuana dispensary raided Thursday by federal agents, face charges in Sonoma County Superior Court of transporting and possessing pot for sale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daniel Harwood, 33, of Willits, and Timothy Tangney, 29, of Lucerne, were stopped twice in October by a Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy who smelled marijuana and seized about three pounds of processed pot they were reportedly delivering to patients in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They are due in court Oct. 24 for a continued preliminary hearing, which began Sept. 15. \u003ca href=\"http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_19119773\">Full article\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Friday’s post\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\nMendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman was interviewed yesterday by Dave Brooksher of local \u003ca href=\"http://kzyx.org/joomla/\">KZYX News\u003c/a> about the DEA raid on Northstone Organics, the medical marijuana grower and co-op licensed by the county. Allman’s department inspects growers operating under the only ordinance in California that makes it legal to be a cannabis farmer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Legal, that is, locally and in the state of California. The \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">federal government sees things a little differently\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An edited transcript follows the audio:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[audio:http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/mendocinoallman.mp3|titles=mendocinoallman]\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/mendocinoallman.mp3\">Listen to \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mendocinosheriff.com/\">Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/mendocinoallman.mp3\"> speak about the DEA’s raid on Northstone Organics\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sheriff Allman\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think there’s lot of unknowns here. We do know that Northstone Organics is a registered 9.31 collective through the Mendocino county ordinance. [9.31 is the Mendocino County Health and Safety law \u003ca href=\"http://www.mendocinocountry.com/independent/1cannabis/2policy/9.31passes.html\">passed by the county board of supervisors\u003c/a> in March, 2010, by a vote of 3-2.] And we also know that the DEA did a raid on Northstone Organics today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As far as I know, Matt Cohen and Northstone Organics were following all of the state laws and local ordinances that are in place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Obviously we all know that there’s a big difference between what the state law is and what the federal law is. This was a federal search warrant signed by a federal magistrate, executed by the DEA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sheriffs’s office did have one of our deputies there. I’ve always encouraged our deputies to be at federal search warrants so when there’s a question about what happened I can have an employee tell me directly. I talked to the employee today; he stated that he was informed last night there was going to be a federal warrant today, and he went to a briefing this morning and found out where it was going to be.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\n\u003cp>I hope people don’t’ believe that [local law] is going to protect them if the federal government makes a decision to execute a search warrant and investigate.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>What I heard, to the best of my knowledge, is Matt Cohen was not arrested. I believe 99 plants were eradicated. They took some of his personal property. That’s normal in the execution of a search warrant. That’s for the most part all I know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I spoke to Matt Cohen briefly, and he basically told me what I just told you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dave Brooksher\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ve gotten a number of calls and emails today from people around the county who are genuinely scared about what’s happening today. Do you have anything you’d like to tell other 9.31 operators?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sheriff Allman\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m not exactly sure where to go on this. I hope people don’t’ believe that 9.31 is going to protect them if the federal government makes a decision to execute a search warrant and investigate. That’s clearly told up front that the state and local governments have no authority to direct the federal government not to participate in an investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It all boils down to the difference between federal law and state law. Somehow this needs to be determined by the highest court in the land, if the 10th amendment, state’s rights, is the law of the land for marijuana, or if federal law is going to be enforced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our constitution clearly differentiates between state law and federal law and who can enforce it. In this situation, we had federal officers enforcing federal law and it’s going to be submitted to the U.S. Attorney for review.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m not sure I can answer the question and say, gee, everything’s going to be okay, because the federal government has their own policies and laws they enforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’d like to encourage people to really and truly think about where we are with marijuana laws right now. Take the emotions away from marijuana laws and look at the black and white differences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I hope there’s someone out there that can come up with a logical answer of where we’re going to go on this. As sheriff of Mendocino County, I really wish I didn’t have to spend 30% of my time dealing with marijuana. And the voters have clearly said in California and in Mendocino County that medical marijuana is what they want. But the federal government has not accepted that. Sooner or later this is going to come to a head and we have to get to a decision so law enforcement has clear direction from the courts.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, \u003ca href=\"http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_19111535\">\u003cstrong>Matt Cohen, the operator of Northstone Organics, spoke to the Ukiah Daily Journal about the raid\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>“They came in, guns blazing,” Cohen said of the Thursday morning raid. “They calmed down and were pleasant at the end, but they came in with machine guns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agents arrived at 6 a.m., handcuffed Cohen and his wife and stayed until about 2 p.m., taking 99 marijuana plants, computers and testing equipment, according to Cohen. He said the agents threatened to file federal charges against him, but made no arrests during the raid…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They came in, guns blazing,” Cohen said of the Thursday morning raid. “They calmed down and were pleasant at the end, but they came in with machine guns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agents arrived at 6 a.m., handcuffed Cohen and his wife and stayed until about 2 p.m., taking 99 marijuana plants, computers and testing equipment, according to Cohen. He said the agents threatened to file federal charges against him, but made no arrests during the raid. \u003ca href=\"//www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_19111535\">Full article\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>For more on the raid and the issue of medical marijuana in California, see our \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/14/northstone-organics-matt-cohen-mendocino-county-sheriff-tom-allman-on-yesterdays-dea-raid/\">\u003cstrong>post from yesterday\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "Northstone Organics' Matt Cohen, Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman on Yesterday's DEA Raid | KQED",
"description": "Update Monday, Oct 17: From the Ukiah Daily Journal, late Friday night: Northstone dispensary workers facing charges in Sonoma Co. Two employees of Northstone Organics, a Redwood Valley medical marijuana dispensary raided Thursday by federal agents, face charges in Sonoma County Superior Court of transporting and possessing pot for sale. Daniel Harwood, 33, of Willits,",
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"headline": "Northstone Organics' Matt Cohen, Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman on Yesterday's DEA Raid",
"datePublished": "2011-10-14T16:00:54-07:00",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_43110\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 210px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/northstoneorganics1.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/northstoneorganics1.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"northstoneorganics\" width=\"210\" height=\"144\" class=\"size-full wp-image-43110\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Raided yesterday by the DEA, despite being in compliance with Mendocino County law.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Update Monday, Oct 17: From the Ukiah Daily Journal, late Friday night: \u003ca href=\"http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_19119773\">Northstone dispensary workers facing charges in Sonoma Co.\u003c/a> \u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Two employees of Northstone Organics, a Redwood Valley medical marijuana dispensary raided Thursday by federal agents, face charges in Sonoma County Superior Court of transporting and possessing pot for sale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daniel Harwood, 33, of Willits, and Timothy Tangney, 29, of Lucerne, were stopped twice in October by a Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy who smelled marijuana and seized about three pounds of processed pot they were reportedly delivering to patients in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They are due in court Oct. 24 for a continued preliminary hearing, which began Sept. 15. \u003ca href=\"http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_19119773\">Full article\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Friday’s post\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\nMendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman was interviewed yesterday by Dave Brooksher of local \u003ca href=\"http://kzyx.org/joomla/\">KZYX News\u003c/a> about the DEA raid on Northstone Organics, the medical marijuana grower and co-op licensed by the county. Allman’s department inspects growers operating under the only ordinance in California that makes it legal to be a cannabis farmer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Legal, that is, locally and in the state of California. The \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">federal government sees things a little differently\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An edited transcript follows the audio:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/mendocinoallman.mp3\">Listen to \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mendocinosheriff.com/\">Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/mendocinoallman.mp3\"> speak about the DEA’s raid on Northstone Organics\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sheriff Allman\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think there’s lot of unknowns here. We do know that Northstone Organics is a registered 9.31 collective through the Mendocino county ordinance. [9.31 is the Mendocino County Health and Safety law \u003ca href=\"http://www.mendocinocountry.com/independent/1cannabis/2policy/9.31passes.html\">passed by the county board of supervisors\u003c/a> in March, 2010, by a vote of 3-2.] And we also know that the DEA did a raid on Northstone Organics today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As far as I know, Matt Cohen and Northstone Organics were following all of the state laws and local ordinances that are in place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Obviously we all know that there’s a big difference between what the state law is and what the federal law is. This was a federal search warrant signed by a federal magistrate, executed by the DEA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sheriffs’s office did have one of our deputies there. I’ve always encouraged our deputies to be at federal search warrants so when there’s a question about what happened I can have an employee tell me directly. I talked to the employee today; he stated that he was informed last night there was going to be a federal warrant today, and he went to a briefing this morning and found out where it was going to be.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\n\u003cp>I hope people don’t’ believe that [local law] is going to protect them if the federal government makes a decision to execute a search warrant and investigate.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>What I heard, to the best of my knowledge, is Matt Cohen was not arrested. I believe 99 plants were eradicated. They took some of his personal property. That’s normal in the execution of a search warrant. That’s for the most part all I know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I spoke to Matt Cohen briefly, and he basically told me what I just told you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dave Brooksher\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ve gotten a number of calls and emails today from people around the county who are genuinely scared about what’s happening today. Do you have anything you’d like to tell other 9.31 operators?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sheriff Allman\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m not exactly sure where to go on this. I hope people don’t’ believe that 9.31 is going to protect them if the federal government makes a decision to execute a search warrant and investigate. That’s clearly told up front that the state and local governments have no authority to direct the federal government not to participate in an investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It all boils down to the difference between federal law and state law. Somehow this needs to be determined by the highest court in the land, if the 10th amendment, state’s rights, is the law of the land for marijuana, or if federal law is going to be enforced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our constitution clearly differentiates between state law and federal law and who can enforce it. In this situation, we had federal officers enforcing federal law and it’s going to be submitted to the U.S. Attorney for review.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m not sure I can answer the question and say, gee, everything’s going to be okay, because the federal government has their own policies and laws they enforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’d like to encourage people to really and truly think about where we are with marijuana laws right now. Take the emotions away from marijuana laws and look at the black and white differences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I hope there’s someone out there that can come up with a logical answer of where we’re going to go on this. As sheriff of Mendocino County, I really wish I didn’t have to spend 30% of my time dealing with marijuana. And the voters have clearly said in California and in Mendocino County that medical marijuana is what they want. But the federal government has not accepted that. Sooner or later this is going to come to a head and we have to get to a decision so law enforcement has clear direction from the courts.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, \u003ca href=\"http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_19111535\">\u003cstrong>Matt Cohen, the operator of Northstone Organics, spoke to the Ukiah Daily Journal about the raid\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>“They came in, guns blazing,” Cohen said of the Thursday morning raid. “They calmed down and were pleasant at the end, but they came in with machine guns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agents arrived at 6 a.m., handcuffed Cohen and his wife and stayed until about 2 p.m., taking 99 marijuana plants, computers and testing equipment, according to Cohen. He said the agents threatened to file federal charges against him, but made no arrests during the raid…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They came in, guns blazing,” Cohen said of the Thursday morning raid. “They calmed down and were pleasant at the end, but they came in with machine guns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agents arrived at 6 a.m., handcuffed Cohen and his wife and stayed until about 2 p.m., taking 99 marijuana plants, computers and testing equipment, according to Cohen. He said the agents threatened to file federal charges against him, but made no arrests during the raid. \u003ca href=\"//www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_19111535\">Full article\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>For more on the raid and the issue of medical marijuana in California, see our \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/14/northstone-organics-matt-cohen-mendocino-county-sheriff-tom-allman-on-yesterdays-dea-raid/\">\u003cstrong>post from yesterday\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "DEA Raids Pot Grower Licensed by Mendocino County; \"They Came in Guns Blazing,\" Says Grower",
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"headTitle": "DEA Raids Pot Grower Licensed by Mendocino County; “They Came in Guns Blazing,” Says Grower | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_42966\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/potredding.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-42966\" title=\"potredding\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/potredding.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"187\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A drug agent stands in a field of marijuana outside of Redding last year. (Photo: Michael Montgomery/California Watch)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Update Friday, 4:20 p.m.\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/14/northstone-organics-matt-cohen-mendocino-county-sheriff-tom-allman-on-yesterdays-dea-raid/\">Click here for an interview with Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Update Friday, 1:10 p.m.\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_19111535\">Northstone Organics owner Matthew Cohen spoke to the Ukiah Daily Journal\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>“They came in, guns blazing,” Cohen said of the Thursday morning raid. “They calmed down and were pleasant at the end, but they came in with machine guns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agents arrived at 6 a.m., handcuffed Cohen and his wife and stayed until about 2 p.m., taking 99 marijuana plants, computers and testing equipment, according to Cohen. He said the agents threatened to file federal charges against him, but made no arrests during the raid…\u003c/p>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Cohen was operating within Mendocino County’s licensing program for medical marijuana growers. As KQED’s Michael Montgomery \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201107081630/b\">reported for The California Report\u003c/a> in July, Mendocino County is the “only place in California with an ordinance that makes it legal to be a cannabis farmer.” Montgomery even tagged along on a sheriff department’s visit to Cohen’s farm:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\nAt an organic farm set in the sun-baked hills north of Ukiah, Mendocino sheriff Lieutenant Randy Johnson is having a most unusual meeting with the farm’s owner, Matt Cohen…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two men walk toward rows of bushy, bright green marijuana plants bulging out of a fenced compound at the back of Cohen’s farm. Just a couple years ago, Johnson most likely would have been cutting down these plants and hauling them away as evidence. But today he’s here to inspect them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each plant on Cohen’s farm has a red tag, stamped with a unique number that’s registered with the sheriff’s department. Under a county ordinance, Cohen can have up to 99 of these plants, and each can yield up to 15 pounds of dry bud. He delivers the processed marijuana to customers in the Bay Area who have a doctor’s recommendation as required by state law. The program costs pot farmers like Cohen up to $10,000 a year, and they must submit to monthly inspections by deputies like Johnson…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cohen says the program allows marijuana growers to work and live more openly. “You meet somebody at the coffee shop and they say what do you do? Hey, I’m a cannabis farmer. It’s a big difference.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mendocino is the only place in California with an ordinance that makes it legal to be a cannabis farmer…Allman says county supervisors started the program out of frustration with the state’s medical-marijuana law, which doesn’t spell out how the industry should be regulated. So Allman says it’s been hard for everyone, from growers to law enforcement, to know what’s legal and what isn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I could put a subtitle on what we are doing, we are trying to remove the grey area,” says Allman. “And if we can remove the inconsistencies, if we can have people not confused about the marijuana laws then I have succeeded.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Allman says the fees collected from legal growers help pay the department to hunt down illegal ones. But Tommy LaNier of the National Marijuana Initiative doesn’t see a distinction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All marijuana is illegal. There’s no question about it,” says LaNier. “Tom’s got a tough problem, but in my point of view it’s illegal.” LaNier helps coordinate enforcement actions under the White House Office of Drug Control Policy. He insists that neither California’s marijuana law, nor the Mendocino licensing program, are allowed under the federal Controlled Substances Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You need to be extremely careful when you enact laws that are in violation of the federal statues, because it won’t fly,” says LaNier… (He) says a federal crackdown could be coming. The Justice Department recently warned that local governments — and officials — who run permit programs like Mendocino’s could face federal prosecution, regardless of state law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those entities, whether it be a city or county that facilitates in the allowance of that through some type of mechanism, whether it’s a permit program or something like that, could be a target? They could be a target.”\n\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Indeed. Last Friday, at a joint press conference of the four U.S. Attorneys for California, Melinda Haag, the U.S. Attorney for Northern California, said the following: \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Another challenge in the Northern District of California and around the state is the phenomena of cities and counties assisting in the proliferation of marijuana shops and grow operations by licensing and ostensibly authorizing the commercial and very profitable cultivation and distribution of marijuana. In our view these licensing schemes are inconsistent with federal law.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OiUEq-1BYs&feature=player_embedded#!\">video of Matt Cohen speaking about Northstone Organics\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center\">\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/4OiUEq-1BYs\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Yesterday’s posts\u003c/em>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Update 8:50 p.m.\u003c/em> The \u003ca href=\"http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20111013/ARTICLES/111019773/1350?Title=Feds-raid-medical-pot-co-op-near-Ukiah\">\u003cstrong>Santa Rosa Press Democrat has the story up\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>U.S. Drug Enforcement Agents on Thursday raided a medical marijuana cooperative that holds a Mendocino County Sheriff’s permit to grow medicinal pot, further demonstrating the gaping discrepancy between state and federal marijuana laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The seizure of 99 pot plants came less than a week after U.S. Justice Department prosecutors in California attorneys announced they would be cracking down on medical marijuana, which continues to be illegal under federal law 15 years after the state’s voters approved it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DEA officials declined to comment on the raid on Northstone Organics, located about 10 miles north of Ukiah in Redwood Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The early morning operation shook the medical marijuana community because Northstone has been a model of compliance with local and state laws. \u003ca href=\"http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20111013/ARTICLES/111019773/1350?Title=Feds-raid-medical-pot-co-op-near-Ukiah\">Full article\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Update: 5:08 p.m.\u003c/em> William Panzer, attorney for Matt Cohen of marijuana co-op Northstone Organics, told us the raid on Northstone, first publicized by marijuana advocacy group California NORML, has indeed occurred. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Yes, it happened at Northstone Organics, and yes it happened at a residence,” said Panzer this afternoon. Panzer is on the \u003ca href=\"http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7835\">NORML Board of Directors\u003c/a> and is the co-author of the 1996 California initiative that legalized medical marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This dispensary does not have a storefront, but operates on a delivery-only basis, he said. “And Mr. Cohen lives on the same property where the medicine is cultivated.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Panzer said there were eight agents total, including six DEA agents, one Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement agent, and one Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputy, who oversaw the operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said he had not yet seen the search warrant — because agents confiscated Cohen’s computers — but the agents cut down all of the marijuana plants and confiscated records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier, a DEA spokesperson would only confirm to us that the agency was in Ukiah “conducting an enforcement action,” and said no specifics would be given until documents related to the search are unsealed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Northstone Organics’ web site is down, but you can see it at the \u003ca href=\"http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:LmygcvZj6CYJ:www.northstoneorganics.com/+northstone+organics&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a\">Google cache\u003c/a> from October 7. And here’s the \u003ca href=\"http://twitter.com/#!/search/northstone%20organics\">latest on Twitter\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>(Matthew Cohen was featured in Frontline television special, produced in collaboration with KQED and the Center for Investigative Reporting. Skip to 1:51 to see Cohen working with a Sheriff’s Deputy on a routine inspection.)\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-size: 11px;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #808080;margin-top: 5px;background: transparent;text-align: center;width: 512px\">Watch \u003ca href=\"http://video.pbs.org/video/2068861722\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">One Sheriff’s Radical Experiment\u003c/a> on PBS. See more from \u003ca href=\"http://www.pbs.org/frontline/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FRONTLINE.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\nLast Wednesday, Melinda Haag, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, along with the three other California U.S. Attorneys, \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">announced coming law enforcement actions against medical marijuana dispensaries and growers\u003c/a>.\n\u003cp>Here’s part of what Haag said about the proliferation of California marijuana dispensaries at the joint press conference:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp> What we are finding is that people are using the cover of medical marijuana to make extraordinary amounts of money. In short to engage in drug trafficking. And many of these drug trafficking operations are in plain site. In many communities like mine you can’t walk a mile without seeing multiple retail marijuana stores, sometimes surrounded by fences and patrolled by security guards. If you sit and watch for a moment, you see cars pulling over, seemingly young healthy people jumping out of the cars, running into the store, and emerging with paper bags full of marijuana.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Earlier post\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\nFrom the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_19106498\">Ukiah Journal\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Responding to several reports that federal agents raided the medical marijuana cooperative Northstone Organics Thursday morning, the DEA confirmed it was conducting enforcement operations in Ukiah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Casey McEnry, a spokeswoman for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, said Thursday that the operations were ongoing at about noon, and that she could not reveal further information because the documents were under court seal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) reported Thursday morning that Northstone Organics was raided, and called the cooperative “a pioneering participant in Mendocino County’s innovative zip-tie’ program to license medical marijuana gardens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program, through the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, issues zip ties to growers whose marijuana gardens meet state and county guidelines for medical grows, so the growers can affix them to the plants to show compliance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Calls to the local cooperative, located on South State Street in Ukiah, were unanswered shortly after noon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McEnry said DEA agents were not at Northstone Organics, but were at a Ukiah residence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local authorities, including the MCSO and Mendocino Major Crimes Task Force, knew of marijuana enforcement operations in the Ukiah Valley Thursday morning but did not confirm the location.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>DEA Public information Officer Casey McEnry told KQED’s Sasha Khoka that she could only confirm the agency is “in Ukiah today conducting an enforcement action,” but wouldn’t give any more specifics until documents related to the search are unsealed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The web site of \u003ca href=\"https://www.northstoneorganics.com/\">Northstone Organics\u003c/a>, which \u003ca href=\"http://kymkemp.com/2011/10/13/campaign-of-terror-feds-raid-northstone-organics-today-and-threaten-media-outlets/\">medical marijuana advocates believe is the target of the raid\u003c/a>, is currently down, and no one is answering the phone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As you can see below, the purported raid on Northstone Organics is being widely distributed on Twitter. The “Medical Cannabis Patient Compassionate Center” \u003ca href=\"http://www.facebook.com/axisoflove\">Axis of Love\u003c/a> in San Francisco is calling for a demonstration tomorrow to protest the action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In July, Matthew Cohen of Northstone Organics was featured on KQED TV’s special on the pot-growing boom, \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/07/08/video-watch-republic-of-cannabis-about-calif-pot-growing-boom-and-federal-pushback/\">Republic of Cannabis\u003c/a>. As the show depicts, Cohen has registered with the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department and is operating with the department’s permission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/07/08/video-watch-republic-of-cannabis-about-calif-pot-growing-boom-and-federal-pushback/\">Watch the show here\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center\">\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/2bFUASotNXk\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"274\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last Wednesday, Melinda Haag, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, along with the three other California U.S. Attorneys, \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">announced coming law enforcement actions against medical marijuana dispensaries and growers\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s part of what Haag said about the proliferation of California marijuana dispensaries at the joint press conference:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>What we are finding is that people are using the cover of medical marijuana to make extraordinary amounts of money. In short to engage in drug trafficking. And many of these drug trafficking operations are in plain site. In many communities like mine you can’t walk a mile without seeing multiple retail marijuana stores, sometimes surrounded by fences and patrolled by security guards. If you sit and watch for a moment, you see cars pulling over, seemingly young healthy people jumping out of the cars, running into the store, and emerging with paper bags full of marijuana.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/#audio\">Audio and a transcript of Haag’s comments\u003c/a> at the joint announcement last week.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "DEA Raids Pot Grower Licensed by Mendocino County; \"They Came in Guns Blazing,\" Says Grower | KQED",
"description": "Update Friday, 4:20 p.m. Click here for an interview with Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman. Update Friday, 1:10 p.m. Northstone Organics owner Matthew Cohen spoke to the Ukiah Daily Journal: “They came in, guns blazing,” Cohen said of the Thursday morning raid. “They calmed down and were pleasant at the end, but they came in",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_42966\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/potredding.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-42966\" title=\"potredding\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/potredding.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"187\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A drug agent stands in a field of marijuana outside of Redding last year. (Photo: Michael Montgomery/California Watch)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Update Friday, 4:20 p.m.\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/14/northstone-organics-matt-cohen-mendocino-county-sheriff-tom-allman-on-yesterdays-dea-raid/\">Click here for an interview with Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Update Friday, 1:10 p.m.\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_19111535\">Northstone Organics owner Matthew Cohen spoke to the Ukiah Daily Journal\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>“They came in, guns blazing,” Cohen said of the Thursday morning raid. “They calmed down and were pleasant at the end, but they came in with machine guns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agents arrived at 6 a.m., handcuffed Cohen and his wife and stayed until about 2 p.m., taking 99 marijuana plants, computers and testing equipment, according to Cohen. He said the agents threatened to file federal charges against him, but made no arrests during the raid…\u003c/p>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Cohen was operating within Mendocino County’s licensing program for medical marijuana growers. As KQED’s Michael Montgomery \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201107081630/b\">reported for The California Report\u003c/a> in July, Mendocino County is the “only place in California with an ordinance that makes it legal to be a cannabis farmer.” Montgomery even tagged along on a sheriff department’s visit to Cohen’s farm:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\nAt an organic farm set in the sun-baked hills north of Ukiah, Mendocino sheriff Lieutenant Randy Johnson is having a most unusual meeting with the farm’s owner, Matt Cohen…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two men walk toward rows of bushy, bright green marijuana plants bulging out of a fenced compound at the back of Cohen’s farm. Just a couple years ago, Johnson most likely would have been cutting down these plants and hauling them away as evidence. But today he’s here to inspect them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each plant on Cohen’s farm has a red tag, stamped with a unique number that’s registered with the sheriff’s department. Under a county ordinance, Cohen can have up to 99 of these plants, and each can yield up to 15 pounds of dry bud. He delivers the processed marijuana to customers in the Bay Area who have a doctor’s recommendation as required by state law. The program costs pot farmers like Cohen up to $10,000 a year, and they must submit to monthly inspections by deputies like Johnson…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cohen says the program allows marijuana growers to work and live more openly. “You meet somebody at the coffee shop and they say what do you do? Hey, I’m a cannabis farmer. It’s a big difference.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mendocino is the only place in California with an ordinance that makes it legal to be a cannabis farmer…Allman says county supervisors started the program out of frustration with the state’s medical-marijuana law, which doesn’t spell out how the industry should be regulated. So Allman says it’s been hard for everyone, from growers to law enforcement, to know what’s legal and what isn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I could put a subtitle on what we are doing, we are trying to remove the grey area,” says Allman. “And if we can remove the inconsistencies, if we can have people not confused about the marijuana laws then I have succeeded.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Allman says the fees collected from legal growers help pay the department to hunt down illegal ones. But Tommy LaNier of the National Marijuana Initiative doesn’t see a distinction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All marijuana is illegal. There’s no question about it,” says LaNier. “Tom’s got a tough problem, but in my point of view it’s illegal.” LaNier helps coordinate enforcement actions under the White House Office of Drug Control Policy. He insists that neither California’s marijuana law, nor the Mendocino licensing program, are allowed under the federal Controlled Substances Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You need to be extremely careful when you enact laws that are in violation of the federal statues, because it won’t fly,” says LaNier… (He) says a federal crackdown could be coming. The Justice Department recently warned that local governments — and officials — who run permit programs like Mendocino’s could face federal prosecution, regardless of state law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those entities, whether it be a city or county that facilitates in the allowance of that through some type of mechanism, whether it’s a permit program or something like that, could be a target? They could be a target.”\n\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Indeed. Last Friday, at a joint press conference of the four U.S. Attorneys for California, Melinda Haag, the U.S. Attorney for Northern California, said the following: \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Another challenge in the Northern District of California and around the state is the phenomena of cities and counties assisting in the proliferation of marijuana shops and grow operations by licensing and ostensibly authorizing the commercial and very profitable cultivation and distribution of marijuana. In our view these licensing schemes are inconsistent with federal law.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OiUEq-1BYs&feature=player_embedded#!\">video of Matt Cohen speaking about Northstone Organics\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center\">\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/4OiUEq-1BYs\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Yesterday’s posts\u003c/em>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Update 8:50 p.m.\u003c/em> The \u003ca href=\"http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20111013/ARTICLES/111019773/1350?Title=Feds-raid-medical-pot-co-op-near-Ukiah\">\u003cstrong>Santa Rosa Press Democrat has the story up\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>U.S. Drug Enforcement Agents on Thursday raided a medical marijuana cooperative that holds a Mendocino County Sheriff’s permit to grow medicinal pot, further demonstrating the gaping discrepancy between state and federal marijuana laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The seizure of 99 pot plants came less than a week after U.S. Justice Department prosecutors in California attorneys announced they would be cracking down on medical marijuana, which continues to be illegal under federal law 15 years after the state’s voters approved it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DEA officials declined to comment on the raid on Northstone Organics, located about 10 miles north of Ukiah in Redwood Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The early morning operation shook the medical marijuana community because Northstone has been a model of compliance with local and state laws. \u003ca href=\"http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20111013/ARTICLES/111019773/1350?Title=Feds-raid-medical-pot-co-op-near-Ukiah\">Full article\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Update: 5:08 p.m.\u003c/em> William Panzer, attorney for Matt Cohen of marijuana co-op Northstone Organics, told us the raid on Northstone, first publicized by marijuana advocacy group California NORML, has indeed occurred. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Yes, it happened at Northstone Organics, and yes it happened at a residence,” said Panzer this afternoon. Panzer is on the \u003ca href=\"http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7835\">NORML Board of Directors\u003c/a> and is the co-author of the 1996 California initiative that legalized medical marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This dispensary does not have a storefront, but operates on a delivery-only basis, he said. “And Mr. Cohen lives on the same property where the medicine is cultivated.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Panzer said there were eight agents total, including six DEA agents, one Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement agent, and one Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputy, who oversaw the operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said he had not yet seen the search warrant — because agents confiscated Cohen’s computers — but the agents cut down all of the marijuana plants and confiscated records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier, a DEA spokesperson would only confirm to us that the agency was in Ukiah “conducting an enforcement action,” and said no specifics would be given until documents related to the search are unsealed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Northstone Organics’ web site is down, but you can see it at the \u003ca href=\"http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:LmygcvZj6CYJ:www.northstoneorganics.com/+northstone+organics&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a\">Google cache\u003c/a> from October 7. And here’s the \u003ca href=\"http://twitter.com/#!/search/northstone%20organics\">latest on Twitter\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>(Matthew Cohen was featured in Frontline television special, produced in collaboration with KQED and the Center for Investigative Reporting. Skip to 1:51 to see Cohen working with a Sheriff’s Deputy on a routine inspection.)\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-size: 11px;font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color: #808080;margin-top: 5px;background: transparent;text-align: center;width: 512px\">Watch \u003ca href=\"http://video.pbs.org/video/2068861722\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">One Sheriff’s Radical Experiment\u003c/a> on PBS. See more from \u003ca href=\"http://www.pbs.org/frontline/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FRONTLINE.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\nLast Wednesday, Melinda Haag, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, along with the three other California U.S. Attorneys, \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">announced coming law enforcement actions against medical marijuana dispensaries and growers\u003c/a>.\n\u003cp>Here’s part of what Haag said about the proliferation of California marijuana dispensaries at the joint press conference:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp> What we are finding is that people are using the cover of medical marijuana to make extraordinary amounts of money. In short to engage in drug trafficking. And many of these drug trafficking operations are in plain site. In many communities like mine you can’t walk a mile without seeing multiple retail marijuana stores, sometimes surrounded by fences and patrolled by security guards. If you sit and watch for a moment, you see cars pulling over, seemingly young healthy people jumping out of the cars, running into the store, and emerging with paper bags full of marijuana.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Earlier post\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\nFrom the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_19106498\">Ukiah Journal\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Responding to several reports that federal agents raided the medical marijuana cooperative Northstone Organics Thursday morning, the DEA confirmed it was conducting enforcement operations in Ukiah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Casey McEnry, a spokeswoman for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, said Thursday that the operations were ongoing at about noon, and that she could not reveal further information because the documents were under court seal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) reported Thursday morning that Northstone Organics was raided, and called the cooperative “a pioneering participant in Mendocino County’s innovative zip-tie’ program to license medical marijuana gardens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program, through the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, issues zip ties to growers whose marijuana gardens meet state and county guidelines for medical grows, so the growers can affix them to the plants to show compliance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Calls to the local cooperative, located on South State Street in Ukiah, were unanswered shortly after noon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McEnry said DEA agents were not at Northstone Organics, but were at a Ukiah residence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local authorities, including the MCSO and Mendocino Major Crimes Task Force, knew of marijuana enforcement operations in the Ukiah Valley Thursday morning but did not confirm the location.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>DEA Public information Officer Casey McEnry told KQED’s Sasha Khoka that she could only confirm the agency is “in Ukiah today conducting an enforcement action,” but wouldn’t give any more specifics until documents related to the search are unsealed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The web site of \u003ca href=\"https://www.northstoneorganics.com/\">Northstone Organics\u003c/a>, which \u003ca href=\"http://kymkemp.com/2011/10/13/campaign-of-terror-feds-raid-northstone-organics-today-and-threaten-media-outlets/\">medical marijuana advocates believe is the target of the raid\u003c/a>, is currently down, and no one is answering the phone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As you can see below, the purported raid on Northstone Organics is being widely distributed on Twitter. The “Medical Cannabis Patient Compassionate Center” \u003ca href=\"http://www.facebook.com/axisoflove\">Axis of Love\u003c/a> in San Francisco is calling for a demonstration tomorrow to protest the action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In July, Matthew Cohen of Northstone Organics was featured on KQED TV’s special on the pot-growing boom, \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/07/08/video-watch-republic-of-cannabis-about-calif-pot-growing-boom-and-federal-pushback/\">Republic of Cannabis\u003c/a>. As the show depicts, Cohen has registered with the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department and is operating with the department’s permission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/07/08/video-watch-republic-of-cannabis-about-calif-pot-growing-boom-and-federal-pushback/\">Watch the show here\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center\">\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/2bFUASotNXk\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"274\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last Wednesday, Melinda Haag, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, along with the three other California U.S. Attorneys, \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">announced coming law enforcement actions against medical marijuana dispensaries and growers\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s part of what Haag said about the proliferation of California marijuana dispensaries at the joint press conference:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>What we are finding is that people are using the cover of medical marijuana to make extraordinary amounts of money. In short to engage in drug trafficking. And many of these drug trafficking operations are in plain site. In many communities like mine you can’t walk a mile without seeing multiple retail marijuana stores, sometimes surrounded by fences and patrolled by security guards. If you sit and watch for a moment, you see cars pulling over, seemingly young healthy people jumping out of the cars, running into the store, and emerging with paper bags full of marijuana.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/#audio\">Audio and a transcript of Haag’s comments\u003c/a> at the joint announcement last week.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Feds to Target Newspapers, Radio Stations That Run Marijuana Ads",
"title": "Feds to Target Newspapers, Radio Stations That Run Marijuana Ads",
"headTitle": "News Fix | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>From \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/feds-target-newspapers-radio-marijuana-ads-13049\">\u003cstrong>California Watch\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_42771\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 268px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/sacNews_and_review.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-42771\" title=\"SNR_420pg01_041411\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/sacNews_and_review.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"268\" height=\"300\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Sacramento News & Review published a special section of pot dispensary ads in April.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Federal prosecutors are preparing to target newspapers, radio stations and other media outlets that advertise medical marijuana dispensaries in California, another escalation in the Obama administration's newly invigorated war against the state's pot industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This month, U.S. attorneys representing four districts in California announced that the government would single out \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/landlords-property-owners-are-new-targets-anti-pot-strategy-12967\">landlords and property owners\u003c/a> who rent buildings or land where dispensaries sell or cultivators grow marijuana. Now, newspapers and other media outlets could be next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy, whose district includes Imperial and San Diego counties, said marijuana advertising is the next area she's \"going to be moving onto as part of the enforcement efforts in Southern California.\" Duffy said she could not speak for the three other U.S. attorneys covering the state, but noted their efforts have been coordinated so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'm not just seeing print advertising,\" Duffy said in an interview with California Watch and KQED. \"I'm actually hearing radio and seeing TV advertising. It's gone mainstream. Not only is it inappropriate – one has to wonder what kind of message we're sending to our children – it's against the law.\" \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal law prohibits people from placing ads for illegal drugs, including marijuana, in \"any newspaper, magazine, handbill or other publication.\" The law could conceivably extend to online ads; the U.S. Department of Justice recently extracted a $500 million settlement from Google for selling illegal ads linking to online Canadian pharmacies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Duffy said her effort against TV, radio or print outlets would first include \"going after these folks with ... notification that they are in violation of federal law.\" She noted that she also has the power to seize property or prosecute in civil and criminal court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>William G. Panzer, an attorney who specializes in marijuana defense cases, said publishers may have a reason to worry. Federal law singles out anyone who \"places\" an illegal ad in a newspaper or publication. Nevertheless, Panzer said he is not aware of a single appellate case dealing with this section of the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Technically, if I'm running the newspaper and somebody gives me money and says, 'Here's the ad,' I'm the one who is physically putting the ad in my newspaper,\" he said. \"I think this could be brought against the actual newspaper. Certainly, it's arguable, but the statute is not entirely clear on that.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 298px\">\u003cimg title=\"Medical Marijuana Ads in the SF Bay Guardian\" src=\"//u.s.kqed.org/2011/10/12/MJAds2101211.jpg\" alt=\"Medical Marijuana Ads\" width=\"298\" height=\"198\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The San Francisco Bay Guardian is one of many alternative weekly newspapers that runs dozens of ads for medical marijuana. Sarah Terry-Cobo/KQED\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Panzer said the penalty for a first offense is a maximum four years in prison and eight years for someone with a prior felony conviction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the federal law, an exception is made for ads that advocate the use of illegal drugs but don't explicitly offer them for sale or distribution. Newspapers, Panzer said, could argue that they have a right under the First Amendment to run the ads, and any \"prior restraint\" before publication is itself illegal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Duffy said she believes the law gives her the right to prosecute newspaper publishers or TV station owners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If I own a newspaper ... or I own a TV station, and I'm going to take in your money to place these ads, I'm the person who is placing these ads,\" Duffy said. \"I am willing to read (the law) expansively and if a court wants to more narrowly define it, that would be up to the court.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seven states, including California, allow for medical marijuana to be distributed in dispensaries, though more than 200 California cities and nearly two dozen counties have bans or moratoriums in place on storefront pot businesses. The industry has otherwise exploded in recent years, including a marked increase in \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/public-safety/marijuana-delivery-services-evade-bans-dispensaries-spreading-across-california\">delivery services\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ngaio Bealum, publisher of West Coast Cannabis, \u003ca href=\"http://calpotnews.com/west-coast-cannabis-publisher-to-appear-at-comedy-benefit/\">described\u003c/a> as \"the Sunset magazine of weed,\" said he receives a significant portion of his revenue from dispensary ads, though he has tough competition from alternative newspapers and even The Sacramento Bee, which \u003ca href=\"http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/romenesko/144086/sacramento-bee-begins-running-medical-marijuna-ads/\">began running\u003c/a> print advertisements for dispensaries this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bealum said it was \"misguided for the Department of Justice to come after people who are following state law and doing well for the economy in a recession.\" He disputed the notion that marijuana ads target children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We're just in doctor's offices and cannabis collectives, where you have to be 18 years old or where you have to be a patient,\" he said. \"We're not targeting anyone but cannabis patients.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Duffy said Proposition 215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act, passed by California voters in 1996 has transformed from an effort to supply marijuana to sick people through nonprofit groups into a profit-making industry. She said the advertising is part of that – and \"it's illegal.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 298px\">\u003cimg title=\"The San Diego Reader special section\" src=\"http://californiawatch.org/files/imagecache/image-insert-right-align/Screen%20shot%202011-10-12%20at%2010.21.20%20AM.png\" alt=\"Medical Marijuana Ads\" width=\"298\" height=\"198\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The San Diego Reader website includes a special section devoted to marijuana dispensaries\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Duffy said she's seen marijuana stores advertise coupons, bring-a-friend deals, extra samples for buying a certain amount of marijuana, magazines devoted entirely to the industry, T-shirts for sale, marijuana linked to video games – all things, she said, \"in large part directed at our youth and children.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The good intentions behind that law,\" she said, \"have almost completely been taken over by people who are trying to use that permission law to get rich, to distribute marijuana and traffic drugs to people who aren't sick, to our youth and to people who are using drugs on a recreational basis.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's clear that alternative newspapers throughout the state have benefited from the increased business, even as other advertising sources have dwindled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April, the Sacramento News & Review published a \u003ca href=\"http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/420-guide/content?oid=1957035\">special supplement devoted exclusively to marijuana dispensaries\u003c/a>. \"This year’s edition includes more than 100 regional medical-cannabis dispensaries, physicians, and med-delivery and hydroponics shops for the 2011 Green Pages,\" the newspaper wrote. Marijuana dispensary ads, which have in the past cost $2,000 for a full page, allowed the News & Review to hire additional reporters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I don’t see how the News & Review running medical-marijuana ads is any different from TV stations running massive amounts of commercials for pharmaceutical companies selling drugs,\" Jeff vonKaenel, CEO and majority owner of the News & Review, wrote in aMay 2010 column about the advertising.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview about Duffy's statement, vonKaenel said he was \"stunned by that interpretation of the First Amendment.\" He said his publications \"receive quite a bit of revenue from (dispensaries) and it would have a detrimental impact\" if he was forced to stop publishing the ads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Panzer said he doesn't think the federal government can effectively shut down the marijuana industry, even if it makes short-term gains by targeting high-profile dispensaries and newspapers. Given the government's lack of resources and the huge size of the marijuana industry, Panzer said officials' efforts are \"a losing proposition.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The government is trying to put the genie back in the bottle,\" Panzer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Circumventing the law on advertising the sale of illegal drugs can bring expensive consequences. In August, Google \u003ca href=\"http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904787404576528332418595052.html\">agreed to pay a $500 million settlement\u003c/a> for accepting illegal advertisements from online Canadian pharmacies. Employees of the company had been working with pharmacies to bypass Google's own internal controls, even as Google executives testified before Congress, claiming the company had clamped down on the illegal ads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fine was one of the largest ever from a U.S. company. At the time of the settlement, Google said in a statement that \"it's obvious with hindsight that we shouldn't have allowed these ads on Google in the first place.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is not the only state struggling with the issue of marijuana ads. In Colorado, the city of Boulder recently voted to ban medical marijuana ads that target young people or recreational users. Now, the city clerk will decide if the tone of the ads crosses the line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal government's recent crackdown on the marijuana industry coincides with a February 2011 memorandum written by the state’s four top federal prosecutors, outlining a uniform approach to enforcing federal marijuana laws in California. The document, reviewed by California Watch, places an emphasis on federal investigations that target “leaders and organizers of the criminal activity as opposed to lower-level workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The memorandum sets thresholds that make investigations more likely to be prosecuted. Those include distributors caught with at least 200 kilograms of marijuana, including distribution near schools, playgrounds and colleges; cultivators with gardens of at least 1,000 plants that are not on federal land and at least 500 plants on federal or tribal land or where there is significant damage; and dispensaries that sell more than 200 kilograms or 1,000 plants annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Related:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">California U.S. Attorneys Target Pot Growers, Retailers\u003c/a> (News Fix)\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Michael Montgomery is an investigative reporter with KQED News and California Watch. Read more from California Watch \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"description": "From California Watch Federal prosecutors are preparing to target newspapers, radio stations and other media outlets that advertise medical marijuana dispensaries in California, another escalation in the Obama administration's newly invigorated war against the state's pot industry. This month, U.S. attorneys representing four districts in California announced that the government would single out landlords and",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>From \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/feds-target-newspapers-radio-marijuana-ads-13049\">\u003cstrong>California Watch\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_42771\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 268px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/sacNews_and_review.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-42771\" title=\"SNR_420pg01_041411\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/sacNews_and_review.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"268\" height=\"300\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Sacramento News & Review published a special section of pot dispensary ads in April.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Federal prosecutors are preparing to target newspapers, radio stations and other media outlets that advertise medical marijuana dispensaries in California, another escalation in the Obama administration's newly invigorated war against the state's pot industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This month, U.S. attorneys representing four districts in California announced that the government would single out \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/landlords-property-owners-are-new-targets-anti-pot-strategy-12967\">landlords and property owners\u003c/a> who rent buildings or land where dispensaries sell or cultivators grow marijuana. Now, newspapers and other media outlets could be next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy, whose district includes Imperial and San Diego counties, said marijuana advertising is the next area she's \"going to be moving onto as part of the enforcement efforts in Southern California.\" Duffy said she could not speak for the three other U.S. attorneys covering the state, but noted their efforts have been coordinated so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'm not just seeing print advertising,\" Duffy said in an interview with California Watch and KQED. \"I'm actually hearing radio and seeing TV advertising. It's gone mainstream. Not only is it inappropriate – one has to wonder what kind of message we're sending to our children – it's against the law.\" \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal law prohibits people from placing ads for illegal drugs, including marijuana, in \"any newspaper, magazine, handbill or other publication.\" The law could conceivably extend to online ads; the U.S. Department of Justice recently extracted a $500 million settlement from Google for selling illegal ads linking to online Canadian pharmacies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Duffy said her effort against TV, radio or print outlets would first include \"going after these folks with ... notification that they are in violation of federal law.\" She noted that she also has the power to seize property or prosecute in civil and criminal court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>William G. Panzer, an attorney who specializes in marijuana defense cases, said publishers may have a reason to worry. Federal law singles out anyone who \"places\" an illegal ad in a newspaper or publication. Nevertheless, Panzer said he is not aware of a single appellate case dealing with this section of the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Technically, if I'm running the newspaper and somebody gives me money and says, 'Here's the ad,' I'm the one who is physically putting the ad in my newspaper,\" he said. \"I think this could be brought against the actual newspaper. Certainly, it's arguable, but the statute is not entirely clear on that.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 298px\">\u003cimg title=\"Medical Marijuana Ads in the SF Bay Guardian\" src=\"//u.s.kqed.org/2011/10/12/MJAds2101211.jpg\" alt=\"Medical Marijuana Ads\" width=\"298\" height=\"198\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The San Francisco Bay Guardian is one of many alternative weekly newspapers that runs dozens of ads for medical marijuana. Sarah Terry-Cobo/KQED\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Panzer said the penalty for a first offense is a maximum four years in prison and eight years for someone with a prior felony conviction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the federal law, an exception is made for ads that advocate the use of illegal drugs but don't explicitly offer them for sale or distribution. Newspapers, Panzer said, could argue that they have a right under the First Amendment to run the ads, and any \"prior restraint\" before publication is itself illegal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Duffy said she believes the law gives her the right to prosecute newspaper publishers or TV station owners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If I own a newspaper ... or I own a TV station, and I'm going to take in your money to place these ads, I'm the person who is placing these ads,\" Duffy said. \"I am willing to read (the law) expansively and if a court wants to more narrowly define it, that would be up to the court.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seven states, including California, allow for medical marijuana to be distributed in dispensaries, though more than 200 California cities and nearly two dozen counties have bans or moratoriums in place on storefront pot businesses. The industry has otherwise exploded in recent years, including a marked increase in \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/public-safety/marijuana-delivery-services-evade-bans-dispensaries-spreading-across-california\">delivery services\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ngaio Bealum, publisher of West Coast Cannabis, \u003ca href=\"http://calpotnews.com/west-coast-cannabis-publisher-to-appear-at-comedy-benefit/\">described\u003c/a> as \"the Sunset magazine of weed,\" said he receives a significant portion of his revenue from dispensary ads, though he has tough competition from alternative newspapers and even The Sacramento Bee, which \u003ca href=\"http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/romenesko/144086/sacramento-bee-begins-running-medical-marijuna-ads/\">began running\u003c/a> print advertisements for dispensaries this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bealum said it was \"misguided for the Department of Justice to come after people who are following state law and doing well for the economy in a recession.\" He disputed the notion that marijuana ads target children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We're just in doctor's offices and cannabis collectives, where you have to be 18 years old or where you have to be a patient,\" he said. \"We're not targeting anyone but cannabis patients.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Duffy said Proposition 215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act, passed by California voters in 1996 has transformed from an effort to supply marijuana to sick people through nonprofit groups into a profit-making industry. She said the advertising is part of that – and \"it's illegal.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 298px\">\u003cimg title=\"The San Diego Reader special section\" src=\"http://californiawatch.org/files/imagecache/image-insert-right-align/Screen%20shot%202011-10-12%20at%2010.21.20%20AM.png\" alt=\"Medical Marijuana Ads\" width=\"298\" height=\"198\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The San Diego Reader website includes a special section devoted to marijuana dispensaries\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Duffy said she's seen marijuana stores advertise coupons, bring-a-friend deals, extra samples for buying a certain amount of marijuana, magazines devoted entirely to the industry, T-shirts for sale, marijuana linked to video games – all things, she said, \"in large part directed at our youth and children.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The good intentions behind that law,\" she said, \"have almost completely been taken over by people who are trying to use that permission law to get rich, to distribute marijuana and traffic drugs to people who aren't sick, to our youth and to people who are using drugs on a recreational basis.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's clear that alternative newspapers throughout the state have benefited from the increased business, even as other advertising sources have dwindled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In April, the Sacramento News & Review published a \u003ca href=\"http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/420-guide/content?oid=1957035\">special supplement devoted exclusively to marijuana dispensaries\u003c/a>. \"This year’s edition includes more than 100 regional medical-cannabis dispensaries, physicians, and med-delivery and hydroponics shops for the 2011 Green Pages,\" the newspaper wrote. Marijuana dispensary ads, which have in the past cost $2,000 for a full page, allowed the News & Review to hire additional reporters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I don’t see how the News & Review running medical-marijuana ads is any different from TV stations running massive amounts of commercials for pharmaceutical companies selling drugs,\" Jeff vonKaenel, CEO and majority owner of the News & Review, wrote in aMay 2010 column about the advertising.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview about Duffy's statement, vonKaenel said he was \"stunned by that interpretation of the First Amendment.\" He said his publications \"receive quite a bit of revenue from (dispensaries) and it would have a detrimental impact\" if he was forced to stop publishing the ads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Panzer said he doesn't think the federal government can effectively shut down the marijuana industry, even if it makes short-term gains by targeting high-profile dispensaries and newspapers. Given the government's lack of resources and the huge size of the marijuana industry, Panzer said officials' efforts are \"a losing proposition.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The government is trying to put the genie back in the bottle,\" Panzer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Circumventing the law on advertising the sale of illegal drugs can bring expensive consequences. In August, Google \u003ca href=\"http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904787404576528332418595052.html\">agreed to pay a $500 million settlement\u003c/a> for accepting illegal advertisements from online Canadian pharmacies. Employees of the company had been working with pharmacies to bypass Google's own internal controls, even as Google executives testified before Congress, claiming the company had clamped down on the illegal ads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fine was one of the largest ever from a U.S. company. At the time of the settlement, Google said in a statement that \"it's obvious with hindsight that we shouldn't have allowed these ads on Google in the first place.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is not the only state struggling with the issue of marijuana ads. In Colorado, the city of Boulder recently voted to ban medical marijuana ads that target young people or recreational users. Now, the city clerk will decide if the tone of the ads crosses the line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal government's recent crackdown on the marijuana industry coincides with a February 2011 memorandum written by the state’s four top federal prosecutors, outlining a uniform approach to enforcing federal marijuana laws in California. The document, reviewed by California Watch, places an emphasis on federal investigations that target “leaders and organizers of the criminal activity as opposed to lower-level workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The memorandum sets thresholds that make investigations more likely to be prosecuted. Those include distributors caught with at least 200 kilograms of marijuana, including distribution near schools, playgrounds and colleges; cultivators with gardens of at least 1,000 plants that are not on federal land and at least 500 plants on federal or tribal land or where there is significant damage; and dispensaries that sell more than 200 kilograms or 1,000 plants annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Related:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">California U.S. Attorneys Target Pot Growers, Retailers\u003c/a> (News Fix)\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Michael Montgomery is an investigative reporter with KQED News and California Watch. Read more from California Watch \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "California U.S. Attorneys Target Pot Growers, Retailers; Letter to Landlord of SF Dispensary Threatening Property Seizure ",
"title": "California U.S. Attorneys Target Pot Growers, Retailers; Letter to Landlord of SF Dispensary Threatening Property Seizure ",
"headTitle": "News Fix | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_42333\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/pot21.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-42333\" title=\"pot2\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/pot21-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"187\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A drug agent stands in a field of marijuana outside of Redding. Photo: Michael Montgomery/California Watch\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry#letter\">\u003cstrong>US Attorney letter threatening property seizure sent to owner of SF building where dispensary operates\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry#audio\">\u003cstrong>Audio, transcript: N. Calif US Attorney comments on going after large growers and marijuana retail establishments near schools and parks\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Yesterday Andrew Becker and Michael Montgomery \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/06/landlords-property-owners-are-new-targets-in-anti-pot-strategy/\">previewed\u003c/a> the federal government's intention to:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>...smother California’s pot industry by targeting not only medical marijuana dispensaries and growers, but also those who do business with them. The latest possible targets: landlords and property owners who rent buildings or land where dispensaries sell or cultivators grow marijuana....\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>William Panzer, an Oakland attorney who co-authored \u003ca href=\"http://www.google.com/search?q=proposition+215\">Proposition 215\u003c/a>, the 1996 ballot initiative that legalized medical marijuana in California, said the days are numbered for the current model for medical marijuana dispensaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's an effective strategy because they're basically saying to landlords, 'If you don't do this, then you lose your property, and we could also come after you criminally,' \" he said.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Today, the four U.S. Attorneys for the state of California -- Benjamin B. Wagner of the Eastern District, André Birotte Jr. of the Central District, Laura E. Duffy of the Southern District, and Melinda Haag of the Northern District -- released a joint statement making it official. At a press conference in Sacramento, they delineated enforcement actions being taken, along with justifications for the harder line on marijuana dispensaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the enforcement steps announced was \"letters of warning to the owners and lienholders of properties where illegal marijuana sales are taking place.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"letter\">Michael Montgomery obtained one such \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/US-Attorney-marijuana-letter.pdf\">\u003cstrong>letter sent from Northern California U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag to the owner of property where a San Francisco marijuana dispensary is operating\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>. Here is the closing paragraph:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"letter\">\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/usattypot3.gif\">\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-42355\" title=\"usattypot\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/usattypot3.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"574\" height=\"156\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And here is the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/US-Attorney-marijuana-letter.pdf\">full letter\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pot-crackdown-20111007,0,313880.story?\">LA Times has talked to another letter recipient, the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Fairfax\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Landlords for some dispensaries have already received letters, including the owner of the building that houses the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana inFairfax, Calif., the oldest dispensary in the country. \"I assume the story you're calling about is: Obama takes resources away from fighting terrorists and goes after old ladies with glaucoma,\" said Greg Anton, a lawyer who represents the dispensary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The letter to the Marin Alliance notes that the dispensary is within a prohibited distance of a park, raising the possibility that enforcement will zero in on stores within 1,000 feet of schools and playgrounds, a distance that can bring enhanced penalties for illegal drug sales. But letters received by dispensaries in San Diego make no mention of such prohibitions. \"We're trying to figure this out,\" said Jessica C. McElfresh, who represents some dispensaries in the city. \"I am surprised at the size of this. I am surprised by the vast amount of planning that has clearly gone into it.\"\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.insidebayarea.com/twitter/ci_19056051\">On the San Jose front\u003c/a>, from the Oakland Tribune this morning:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Activists said they weren't aware of any notices received yet in the San Jose area. The San Jose City Council last month approved regulations allowing up to 10 marijuana collectives in a city now believed to have as many as 140, and requiring them to grow all their product on site rather than buying it wholesale from growers -- a requirement that some complained would invite federal drug raids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marijuana collectives complain the city's rules would effectively force all of them to close, and so they have launched a drive to collect the required 30,000 signatures of city voters needed to qualify a referendum to repeal the city laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rich Robinson, a San Jose political consultant advising the city referendum drive, said the effort would continue unabated. He called the federal prosecutors' letters a \"scare tactic to get as many clubs to close down as possible\" and predicted it would fail because \"there's too many to enforce.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Jose City Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio, who led the city effort to regulate and tax medical marijuana shops, suspected the move stemmed from President Obama's concerns his administration's previous tolerance for medical marijuana in states that allow it may hurt his re-election chances. His predecessor, George W. Bush, and other presidents have strongly opposed state efforts to legalize marijuana use even for the sick.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here's audio of Melinda Haag, US Attorney for Northern California, speaking today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"audio\">\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/pothaag.mp3\">\u003cstrong>Audio: Full statement of Northern California U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag on new marijuana enforcement actions\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n[audio:http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/pothaag.mp3|titles=pothaag]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Edited transcript of Haag's statement:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>More than 40 years ago our elected federal representatives determined that various substances have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use in the United States. Based on these findings, Congress passed laws making it unlawful for people in this country to manufacture, cultivate or distribute various drugs, including heroine, MDA, LSD, and marijuana, among others. In sum, these substances are illegal under federal law. And US Attorneys in California and across the US have an obligation to uphold federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2009, the Department of Justice has given the US Attorneys guidance with respect to marijuana prosecutions and how best to use our limited resources in the marijuana context. For example we will not likely use our limited resources towards individuals with cancer or other serious illnesses or their caregivers who use marijuana based on a doctor's recommendations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Attorney General has already made clear, however, that the prosecution of significant traffickers including those involved in the commercial cultivation and distribution of marijuana remains a core priority.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">..the law has been hijacked by profiteers who are motivated not by compassion, but by money.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>One of the reasons we are making these announcements today is to try to put to rest the notion that large marijuana businesses can shelter themselves under state law and operate w/o fear of federal enforcement. Many in the marijuana industry have portrayed the Oct 2009 Dept of Justice guidance as giving a free pass to any marijuana business that invokes state law or calls its customers patients. That was frankly never correct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dept Attorney General James Cole issued guidance on Jun 29 of this year clarifying that the dept is committed to enforcing the Controlled Substances Act in all states and that the 2009 memo was never intended to shield commercial marijuana operations or industrial -sized grows from enforcement actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the N. District of Calif. marijuana cultivators are converting our public lands and pristine forests into large-scale clandestine marijuana grow operat ions. They are cutting down trees and plants, they are diverting streams, polluting the water table, and the land with toxic pesticides. They are starting wildfires, bringing in undocumented workers from Mexico, some of whom may be the victims of human trafficking. Many of these workers who guard the grow operations do so with firearms, thereby endangering hikers who might unwittingly stumble in.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">In many communities like mine you can't walk a mile without seeing multiple retail marijuana stores, sometimes surrounded by fences and patrolled by security guards.\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>[And when the growers are through] they harvest their crops and leave behind literally tons of trash, unused pesticides, hundreds of miles of plastic piping, camping equipment and human waste…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Residents and visitors…are increasingly intimidated by the prospect of armed drug traffickers and illegal cultivation sites. sites. People sadly know not to go hiking in certain areas during the summer months because they're likely to encounter illegal grow operations.…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another challenge ..is the proliferation of retail marijuana stores. I think it's safe to say there are more than a thousand of them in my district alone. The California Compassionate Use Act was intended to help seriously ill people. But the law has been hijacked by profiteers who are motivated not by compassion, but by money. Even under Calif law, marijuana cultivation is supposed to be not for profit. What we are finding is that people are using the cover of medical marijuana to make extraordinary amounts of money. In short to engage in drug trafficking. And many of these drug trafficking operations are in plain site. In many communities like mine you can't walk a mile without seeing multiple retail marijuana stores, sometimes surrounded by fences and patrolled by security guards. If you sit and watch for a moment, you see cars pulling over, seemingly young healthy people jumping out of the cars, running into the store, and emerging with paper bags full of marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of these operations allow their customers to smoke marijuana while on the premises. Presumably at least some of them get back into their cars and drive away impaired. There's a reason for the security guards and fences; where there's marijuana there's money and lots of it. these places are prime targets for robberies and violence...\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[Because of limited resources] I have decided to focus initially on stores that sell marijuana and allow people to smoke marijuana very close to schools, parks and other places where children learn and play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week we sent letters to the landlords and lien holders of these stores, putting them on notice that marijuana is being sold and used on their property in close proximity to children and that the operations must cease. I understand that there are people in California who believe that marijuana stores should be allowed to exist. But I trust these same people would all agree we don't need marijuana retail outlets across the street from playgrounds and schools and little league fields.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And from today's press release by the state's U.S. Attorneys:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>SACRAMENTO, Calif.October 7, 2011 – The four California-based United States Attorneys today announced coordinated enforcement actions targeting the illegal operations of the commercial marijuana industry in California. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The statewide enforcement effort is aimed at curtailing the large, for-profit marijuana industry that has developed since the passage of California's Proposition 215 in 1996. That industry has swelled to include numerous drug-trafficking enterprises that operate commercial grow operations, intricate distribution systems and hundreds of marijuana stores across the state — even though the federal Controlled Substances Act makes illegal the sale and distribution of marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the four United States Attorneys have tailored enforcement actions to the specific problems in their own districts, the statewide enforcement efforts fall into three main categories:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>· Civil forfeiture lawsuits against properties involved in drug trafficking activity, which includes, in some cases, marijuana sales in violation of local ordinances;\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>· Letters of warning to the owners and lienholders of properties where illegal marijuana sales are taking place; and\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>· Criminal cases targeting commercial marijuana activities, including arrests over the past two weeks in cases filed in federal courts in Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento and Fresno.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The enforcement actions being announced today are the result of the four United States Attorneys working with federal law enforcement partners and local officials across California to combat commercial marijuana activities that are having the most significant impacts in communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The actions taken today in California by our U.S. Attorneys and their law enforcement partners are consistent with the Department's commitment to enforcing existing federal laws, including the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), in all states,\" said Deputy Attorney General James Cole. \"The department has maintained that we will not focus our investigative and prosecutorial resources on individual patients with serious illnesses like cancer or their immediate caregivers. However, U.S. Attorneys continue to have the authority to prosecute significant violations of the CSA, and related federal laws.\" \u003ca href=\"http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/pr100711.html\">Full statement\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\n",
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"description": "US Attorney letter threatening property seizure sent to owner of SF building where dispensary operates Audio, transcript: N. Calif US Attorney comments on going after large growers and marijuana retail establishments near schools and parks Yesterday Andrew Becker and Michael Montgomery previewed the federal government's intention to: ...smother California’s pot industry by targeting not only",
"title": "California U.S. Attorneys Target Pot Growers, Retailers; Letter to Landlord of SF Dispensary Threatening Property Seizure | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_42333\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/pot21.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-42333\" title=\"pot2\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/pot21-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"187\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A drug agent stands in a field of marijuana outside of Redding. Photo: Michael Montgomery/California Watch\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry#letter\">\u003cstrong>US Attorney letter threatening property seizure sent to owner of SF building where dispensary operates\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry#audio\">\u003cstrong>Audio, transcript: N. Calif US Attorney comments on going after large growers and marijuana retail establishments near schools and parks\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Yesterday Andrew Becker and Michael Montgomery \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/06/landlords-property-owners-are-new-targets-in-anti-pot-strategy/\">previewed\u003c/a> the federal government's intention to:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>...smother California’s pot industry by targeting not only medical marijuana dispensaries and growers, but also those who do business with them. The latest possible targets: landlords and property owners who rent buildings or land where dispensaries sell or cultivators grow marijuana....\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>William Panzer, an Oakland attorney who co-authored \u003ca href=\"http://www.google.com/search?q=proposition+215\">Proposition 215\u003c/a>, the 1996 ballot initiative that legalized medical marijuana in California, said the days are numbered for the current model for medical marijuana dispensaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's an effective strategy because they're basically saying to landlords, 'If you don't do this, then you lose your property, and we could also come after you criminally,' \" he said.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Today, the four U.S. Attorneys for the state of California -- Benjamin B. Wagner of the Eastern District, André Birotte Jr. of the Central District, Laura E. Duffy of the Southern District, and Melinda Haag of the Northern District -- released a joint statement making it official. At a press conference in Sacramento, they delineated enforcement actions being taken, along with justifications for the harder line on marijuana dispensaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the enforcement steps announced was \"letters of warning to the owners and lienholders of properties where illegal marijuana sales are taking place.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"letter\">Michael Montgomery obtained one such \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/US-Attorney-marijuana-letter.pdf\">\u003cstrong>letter sent from Northern California U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag to the owner of property where a San Francisco marijuana dispensary is operating\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>. Here is the closing paragraph:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"letter\">\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/usattypot3.gif\">\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-42355\" title=\"usattypot\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/usattypot3.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"574\" height=\"156\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And here is the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/US-Attorney-marijuana-letter.pdf\">full letter\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pot-crackdown-20111007,0,313880.story?\">LA Times has talked to another letter recipient, the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Fairfax\u003c/a>:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Landlords for some dispensaries have already received letters, including the owner of the building that houses the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana inFairfax, Calif., the oldest dispensary in the country. \"I assume the story you're calling about is: Obama takes resources away from fighting terrorists and goes after old ladies with glaucoma,\" said Greg Anton, a lawyer who represents the dispensary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The letter to the Marin Alliance notes that the dispensary is within a prohibited distance of a park, raising the possibility that enforcement will zero in on stores within 1,000 feet of schools and playgrounds, a distance that can bring enhanced penalties for illegal drug sales. But letters received by dispensaries in San Diego make no mention of such prohibitions. \"We're trying to figure this out,\" said Jessica C. McElfresh, who represents some dispensaries in the city. \"I am surprised at the size of this. I am surprised by the vast amount of planning that has clearly gone into it.\"\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.insidebayarea.com/twitter/ci_19056051\">On the San Jose front\u003c/a>, from the Oakland Tribune this morning:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Activists said they weren't aware of any notices received yet in the San Jose area. The San Jose City Council last month approved regulations allowing up to 10 marijuana collectives in a city now believed to have as many as 140, and requiring them to grow all their product on site rather than buying it wholesale from growers -- a requirement that some complained would invite federal drug raids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marijuana collectives complain the city's rules would effectively force all of them to close, and so they have launched a drive to collect the required 30,000 signatures of city voters needed to qualify a referendum to repeal the city laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rich Robinson, a San Jose political consultant advising the city referendum drive, said the effort would continue unabated. He called the federal prosecutors' letters a \"scare tactic to get as many clubs to close down as possible\" and predicted it would fail because \"there's too many to enforce.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Jose City Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio, who led the city effort to regulate and tax medical marijuana shops, suspected the move stemmed from President Obama's concerns his administration's previous tolerance for medical marijuana in states that allow it may hurt his re-election chances. His predecessor, George W. Bush, and other presidents have strongly opposed state efforts to legalize marijuana use even for the sick.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here's audio of Melinda Haag, US Attorney for Northern California, speaking today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca name=\"audio\">\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/pothaag.mp3\">\u003cstrong>Audio: Full statement of Northern California U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag on new marijuana enforcement actions\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Edited transcript of Haag's statement:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>More than 40 years ago our elected federal representatives determined that various substances have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use in the United States. Based on these findings, Congress passed laws making it unlawful for people in this country to manufacture, cultivate or distribute various drugs, including heroine, MDA, LSD, and marijuana, among others. In sum, these substances are illegal under federal law. And US Attorneys in California and across the US have an obligation to uphold federal law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2009, the Department of Justice has given the US Attorneys guidance with respect to marijuana prosecutions and how best to use our limited resources in the marijuana context. For example we will not likely use our limited resources towards individuals with cancer or other serious illnesses or their caregivers who use marijuana based on a doctor's recommendations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Attorney General has already made clear, however, that the prosecution of significant traffickers including those involved in the commercial cultivation and distribution of marijuana remains a core priority.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">..the law has been hijacked by profiteers who are motivated not by compassion, but by money.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>One of the reasons we are making these announcements today is to try to put to rest the notion that large marijuana businesses can shelter themselves under state law and operate w/o fear of federal enforcement. Many in the marijuana industry have portrayed the Oct 2009 Dept of Justice guidance as giving a free pass to any marijuana business that invokes state law or calls its customers patients. That was frankly never correct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dept Attorney General James Cole issued guidance on Jun 29 of this year clarifying that the dept is committed to enforcing the Controlled Substances Act in all states and that the 2009 memo was never intended to shield commercial marijuana operations or industrial -sized grows from enforcement actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the N. District of Calif. marijuana cultivators are converting our public lands and pristine forests into large-scale clandestine marijuana grow operat ions. They are cutting down trees and plants, they are diverting streams, polluting the water table, and the land with toxic pesticides. They are starting wildfires, bringing in undocumented workers from Mexico, some of whom may be the victims of human trafficking. Many of these workers who guard the grow operations do so with firearms, thereby endangering hikers who might unwittingly stumble in.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">In many communities like mine you can't walk a mile without seeing multiple retail marijuana stores, sometimes surrounded by fences and patrolled by security guards.\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>[And when the growers are through] they harvest their crops and leave behind literally tons of trash, unused pesticides, hundreds of miles of plastic piping, camping equipment and human waste…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Residents and visitors…are increasingly intimidated by the prospect of armed drug traffickers and illegal cultivation sites. sites. People sadly know not to go hiking in certain areas during the summer months because they're likely to encounter illegal grow operations.…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another challenge ..is the proliferation of retail marijuana stores. I think it's safe to say there are more than a thousand of them in my district alone. The California Compassionate Use Act was intended to help seriously ill people. But the law has been hijacked by profiteers who are motivated not by compassion, but by money. Even under Calif law, marijuana cultivation is supposed to be not for profit. What we are finding is that people are using the cover of medical marijuana to make extraordinary amounts of money. In short to engage in drug trafficking. And many of these drug trafficking operations are in plain site. In many communities like mine you can't walk a mile without seeing multiple retail marijuana stores, sometimes surrounded by fences and patrolled by security guards. If you sit and watch for a moment, you see cars pulling over, seemingly young healthy people jumping out of the cars, running into the store, and emerging with paper bags full of marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of these operations allow their customers to smoke marijuana while on the premises. Presumably at least some of them get back into their cars and drive away impaired. There's a reason for the security guards and fences; where there's marijuana there's money and lots of it. these places are prime targets for robberies and violence...\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[Because of limited resources] I have decided to focus initially on stores that sell marijuana and allow people to smoke marijuana very close to schools, parks and other places where children learn and play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week we sent letters to the landlords and lien holders of these stores, putting them on notice that marijuana is being sold and used on their property in close proximity to children and that the operations must cease. I understand that there are people in California who believe that marijuana stores should be allowed to exist. But I trust these same people would all agree we don't need marijuana retail outlets across the street from playgrounds and schools and little league fields.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And from today's press release by the state's U.S. Attorneys:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>SACRAMENTO, Calif.October 7, 2011 – The four California-based United States Attorneys today announced coordinated enforcement actions targeting the illegal operations of the commercial marijuana industry in California. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The statewide enforcement effort is aimed at curtailing the large, for-profit marijuana industry that has developed since the passage of California's Proposition 215 in 1996. That industry has swelled to include numerous drug-trafficking enterprises that operate commercial grow operations, intricate distribution systems and hundreds of marijuana stores across the state — even though the federal Controlled Substances Act makes illegal the sale and distribution of marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the four United States Attorneys have tailored enforcement actions to the specific problems in their own districts, the statewide enforcement efforts fall into three main categories:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>· Civil forfeiture lawsuits against properties involved in drug trafficking activity, which includes, in some cases, marijuana sales in violation of local ordinances;\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>· Letters of warning to the owners and lienholders of properties where illegal marijuana sales are taking place; and\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>· Criminal cases targeting commercial marijuana activities, including arrests over the past two weeks in cases filed in federal courts in Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento and Fresno.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The enforcement actions being announced today are the result of the four United States Attorneys working with federal law enforcement partners and local officials across California to combat commercial marijuana activities that are having the most significant impacts in communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The actions taken today in California by our U.S. Attorneys and their law enforcement partners are consistent with the Department's commitment to enforcing existing federal laws, including the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), in all states,\" said Deputy Attorney General James Cole. \"The department has maintained that we will not focus our investigative and prosecutorial resources on individual patients with serious illnesses like cancer or their immediate caregivers. However, U.S. Attorneys continue to have the authority to prosecute significant violations of the CSA, and related federal laws.\" \u003ca href=\"http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/pr100711.html\">Full statement\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Landlords, Property Owners Are New Targets in Anti-Pot Strategy",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Update Fri Oct 7\u003c/em>: The four U.S. Attorneys in California issued a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">statement today announcing the targeting of the marijuana industry\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Original post\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>by Andrew Becker and Michael Montgomery, \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/landlords-property-owners-are-new-targets-anti-pot-strategy-12967\">\u003cstrong>California Watch\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal government is intensifying its efforts to smother California’s pot industry by targeting not only medical marijuana dispensaries and growers, but also those who do business with them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest possible targets: landlords and property owners who rent buildings or land where dispensaries sell or cultivators grow marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_42115\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/pot2.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-42115\" title=\"pot2\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/pot2-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"187\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A drug agent stands in a field of marijuana outside of Redding. Photo: Michael Montgomery/California Watch\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The U.S. attorneys from California’s four federal districts are preparing to unveil in the coming days their latest effort to push a coordinated statewide marijuana enforcement strategy. That approach includes the possible seizure of land or buildings leased to marijuana operations that may be legal under state law but remain illegal under federal statutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>William Panzer, an Oakland attorney who co-authored Proposition 215, the 1996 ballot initiative that legalized medical marijuana in California, said the days are numbered for the current model for medical marijuana dispensaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's an effective strategy because they're basically saying to landlords, 'If you don't do this, then you lose your property, and we could also come after you criminally,' \" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tactic stems from a February 2011 memorandum by the state’s four top federal prosecutors that outlines for the first time a uniform approach to enforcing federal marijuana laws in California. The document, reviewed by California Watch, offers guidance and insights into the thresholds for prosecution. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Initiated by the state’s U.S. attorneys, the statewide enforcement strategy places an emphasis on federal investigations that target “leaders and organizers of the criminal activity as opposed to lower-level workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The memorandum sets thresholds that make investigations more likely to be prosecuted. Those include distributors caught with at least 200 kilograms of marijuana, including distribution near schools, playgrounds and colleges; cultivators with gardens of at least 1,000 plants that are not on federal land and at least 500 plants on federal or tribal land or where there is significant damage; and dispensaries that sell more than 200 kilograms or 1,000 plants annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutors also are looking for provable ties to international drug-trafficking organizations or instances in which marijuana is distributed outside of California. The memorandum also outlines guidelines for civil forfeitures for those who indirectly participate – like landlords or property owners – in marijuana operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials with the U.S. attorneys’ offices declined comment. In an interview earlier this year, Benjamin Wagner, the top federal prosecutor in Sacramento, said the memorandum was an effort by the federal government to “speak with one voice” about medical marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We recognize this issue of medical marijuana in California is something we all have in common,” Wagner said. The memorandum \"reflects this is an important problem we are trying to pay attention to and be consistent with. … Circumstances have really gotten to the point where it’s important to not just talk about policy, but also to enforce it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two San Francisco-area property owners who lease space to medical marijuana dispensaries recently received warning letters from Melinda Haag, the U.S. attorney in San Francisco. One such letter, obtained by California Watch, gives one property owner a 45-day notice to end marijuana operations or face possible seizure of the property and money received from the dispensary operator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. attorneys in San Diego and Sacramento have initiated similar communications in their respective districts, spokeswomen from both offices confirmed. Law enforcement sources said they expect federal prosecutors will send more letters in the coming weeks to locations around the state, including to property owners who rent their land to marijuana growers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is sea change stuff. This is a big deal,” said one federal drug official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before the official announcement. “They’re sending a very strong message. We’re going to see more. The financial backstory is that it’s become apparent that (medical marijuana) is nothing more than drug dealing for profit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco attorney Brendan Hallinan, who represents dispensary operators and their landlords, including one who received a letter from Haag last week, said civil forfeitures have a lower threshold than criminal indictments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t have anywhere to go if they impose federal law on medical marijuana collectives,” he said. \"A lot of people are going to get picked off.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The development is the latest in a series of actions taken by federal authorities to target the industry’s finances. Banks are cutting business ties with dispensaries, possibly under federal pressure. The Internal Revenue Service has hounded dispensaries, including Harborside Health Center in Oakland, seeking millions of dollars in back taxes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we don’t get a change in the IRS ruling, every legal, regulated distributor of cannabis in the United States is going to have to go out of business, and patients will be forced back into the hands of criminals,” said Steve DeAngelo, the Oakland collective’s executive director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>William Ruzzamenti, a former Drug Enforcement Administration official, said that while the strategy already existed in parts of California, the coordinated effort is a new development in what has historically been a provincial approach to enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For all four U.S. attorneys to get together on the same page on an issue as controversial as marijuana enforcement in California, I think that’s really unique,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wagner said earlier this summer that local municipal officials – including city managers and city councils – who have permitted dispensaries may not be immune.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutions are “based on conduct, not who they are,” he said. “You learn not to be surprised in this business. You never say never.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201110060850/b\">version of this story\u003c/a> aired on KQED's \"The California Report,\" where the audio is available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Andrew Becker and Michael Montgomery are investigative reporters with California Watch. \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/\">Read more from California Watch here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"description": "Update Fri Oct 7: The four U.S. Attorneys in California issued a statement today announcing the targeting of the marijuana industry. Original post by Andrew Becker and Michael Montgomery, California Watch The federal government is intensifying its efforts to smother California’s pot industry by targeting not only medical marijuana dispensaries and growers, but also those",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Update Fri Oct 7\u003c/em>: The four U.S. Attorneys in California issued a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2011/10/07/california-u-s-attorneys-issue-statement-on-targeting-marijuana-industry/\">statement today announcing the targeting of the marijuana industry\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Original post\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>by Andrew Becker and Michael Montgomery, \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/landlords-property-owners-are-new-targets-anti-pot-strategy-12967\">\u003cstrong>California Watch\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal government is intensifying its efforts to smother California’s pot industry by targeting not only medical marijuana dispensaries and growers, but also those who do business with them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest possible targets: landlords and property owners who rent buildings or land where dispensaries sell or cultivators grow marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_42115\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/pot2.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-42115\" title=\"pot2\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2011/10/pot2-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"187\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A drug agent stands in a field of marijuana outside of Redding. Photo: Michael Montgomery/California Watch\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The U.S. attorneys from California’s four federal districts are preparing to unveil in the coming days their latest effort to push a coordinated statewide marijuana enforcement strategy. That approach includes the possible seizure of land or buildings leased to marijuana operations that may be legal under state law but remain illegal under federal statutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>William Panzer, an Oakland attorney who co-authored Proposition 215, the 1996 ballot initiative that legalized medical marijuana in California, said the days are numbered for the current model for medical marijuana dispensaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's an effective strategy because they're basically saying to landlords, 'If you don't do this, then you lose your property, and we could also come after you criminally,' \" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tactic stems from a February 2011 memorandum by the state’s four top federal prosecutors that outlines for the first time a uniform approach to enforcing federal marijuana laws in California. The document, reviewed by California Watch, offers guidance and insights into the thresholds for prosecution. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Initiated by the state’s U.S. attorneys, the statewide enforcement strategy places an emphasis on federal investigations that target “leaders and organizers of the criminal activity as opposed to lower-level workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The memorandum sets thresholds that make investigations more likely to be prosecuted. Those include distributors caught with at least 200 kilograms of marijuana, including distribution near schools, playgrounds and colleges; cultivators with gardens of at least 1,000 plants that are not on federal land and at least 500 plants on federal or tribal land or where there is significant damage; and dispensaries that sell more than 200 kilograms or 1,000 plants annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutors also are looking for provable ties to international drug-trafficking organizations or instances in which marijuana is distributed outside of California. The memorandum also outlines guidelines for civil forfeitures for those who indirectly participate – like landlords or property owners – in marijuana operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials with the U.S. attorneys’ offices declined comment. In an interview earlier this year, Benjamin Wagner, the top federal prosecutor in Sacramento, said the memorandum was an effort by the federal government to “speak with one voice” about medical marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We recognize this issue of medical marijuana in California is something we all have in common,” Wagner said. The memorandum \"reflects this is an important problem we are trying to pay attention to and be consistent with. … Circumstances have really gotten to the point where it’s important to not just talk about policy, but also to enforce it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two San Francisco-area property owners who lease space to medical marijuana dispensaries recently received warning letters from Melinda Haag, the U.S. attorney in San Francisco. One such letter, obtained by California Watch, gives one property owner a 45-day notice to end marijuana operations or face possible seizure of the property and money received from the dispensary operator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. attorneys in San Diego and Sacramento have initiated similar communications in their respective districts, spokeswomen from both offices confirmed. Law enforcement sources said they expect federal prosecutors will send more letters in the coming weeks to locations around the state, including to property owners who rent their land to marijuana growers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is sea change stuff. This is a big deal,” said one federal drug official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before the official announcement. “They’re sending a very strong message. We’re going to see more. The financial backstory is that it’s become apparent that (medical marijuana) is nothing more than drug dealing for profit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco attorney Brendan Hallinan, who represents dispensary operators and their landlords, including one who received a letter from Haag last week, said civil forfeitures have a lower threshold than criminal indictments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t have anywhere to go if they impose federal law on medical marijuana collectives,” he said. \"A lot of people are going to get picked off.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The development is the latest in a series of actions taken by federal authorities to target the industry’s finances. Banks are cutting business ties with dispensaries, possibly under federal pressure. The Internal Revenue Service has hounded dispensaries, including Harborside Health Center in Oakland, seeking millions of dollars in back taxes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we don’t get a change in the IRS ruling, every legal, regulated distributor of cannabis in the United States is going to have to go out of business, and patients will be forced back into the hands of criminals,” said Steve DeAngelo, the Oakland collective’s executive director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>William Ruzzamenti, a former Drug Enforcement Administration official, said that while the strategy already existed in parts of California, the coordinated effort is a new development in what has historically been a provincial approach to enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For all four U.S. attorneys to get together on the same page on an issue as controversial as marijuana enforcement in California, I think that’s really unique,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wagner said earlier this summer that local municipal officials – including city managers and city councils – who have permitted dispensaries may not be immune.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutions are “based on conduct, not who they are,” he said. “You learn not to be surprised in this business. 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"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
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},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
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"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"order": 8
},
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},
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"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
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"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"order": 1
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"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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"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.",
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
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"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.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"order": 9
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"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
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"id": "fresh-air",
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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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"hidden-brain": {
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"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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"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
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"how-i-built-this": {
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"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.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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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. ",
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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. ",
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"order": 18
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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/",
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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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},
"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": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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},
"masters-of-scale": {
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"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"
},
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"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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}
},
"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",
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