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"content": "\u003cp>Michael Montgomery is a reporter for KQED and the Center For Investigative Reporting. One of his areas of expertise: medical marijuana. As he said, \"It's probably fair to say that over the last few years, I've become a pot reporter.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So are there any occupational hazards to this particular journalistic niche? Apparently, yes. Take a look at CIR's \u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9N9pe-8hvPs\" target=\"_blank\">animated video\u003c/a> of Michael describing the time he unthinkingly ate some brownies at a brunch hosted by a medical marijuana entrepreneur. (And, yeah, it was tempting to put quotes around \"unthinkingly.\")\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anyway, smooth move, Mike! Just watch the fun begin below ...\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/9N9pe-8hvPs\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Michael Montgomery is a reporter for KQED and the Center For Investigative Reporting. One of his areas of expertise: medical marijuana. As he said, \"It's probably fair to say that over the last few years, I've become a pot reporter.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So are there any occupational hazards to this particular journalistic niche? Apparently, yes. Take a look at CIR's \u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9N9pe-8hvPs\" target=\"_blank\">animated video\u003c/a> of Michael describing the time he unthinkingly ate some brownies at a brunch hosted by a medical marijuana entrepreneur. (And, yeah, it was tempting to put quotes around \"unthinkingly.\")\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anyway, smooth move, Mike! Just watch the fun begin below ...\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/9N9pe-8hvPs\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Prop. 36 Will Release Felons from Prison. Who Gets Out?",
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"content": "\u003cp>Passing with 68% of the vote last Tuesday, Proposition 36 softened California’s controversial three strikes law, one of the toughest sentencing rules in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_80107\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/11/handcuffs.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-80107\" title=\"handcuffs\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/11/handcuffs-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Getty Images\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Three strikes, which voters put in place in 1994, allows for sentences of life in prison for anyone convicted of three felonies, regardless of the crime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prop. 36 will let some “third strikers” out of prison if their felonies were not serious or violent. And it will shorten the sentences given for new third-strike offenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But how many people will get out of prison under the new measure? Not as many as you might think, California Watch investigative reporter Michael Montgomery told KQED Online Editor Jon Brooks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks: \u003c/strong>Are we going to see a flood of felons leaving state prisons?\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>: \u003c/strong>Inmates who were sentenced under the law, whose third strikes were not violent felonies or serious felonies, will be eligible to petition the judge in the original court for a re-sentencing. However there is a provision that disqualifies an inmate from possible re-sentencing if his first or second strike included very serious crimes such as rape or murder. There are just under 9,000 three-strikers in prison, total. Just over half of those have violent, or serious, third strikes. So, you’ve already whittled the number down to about 4,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The number you sometimes hear is three- to three-and-a-half-thousand people who could be eligible. Experts who’ve looked at this say that the number is actually a lot smaller than that, maybe 2,000, but probably even smaller than that, because of various elements to people’s sentences and previous felonies. So, I think right now we can say perhaps hundreds of inmates will be eligible for resentencing. What’s interesting is that the text of Proposition 36, when you read the text, which is a very long text, you realize how careful, and in fact narrow, the measure is. Not surprising, if you’re going to get the buy-in from people like LA County District Attorney Steve Cooley and Grover Norquist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_80115\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/11/Three-Strikes_Prop-36_GroupShot_.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-80115\" title=\"Three Strikes_Prop 36_GroupShot_\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/11/Three-Strikes_Prop-36_GroupShot_-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of a San Quentin self-help group for three-strikers meet with reporter Michael Montgomery. Most say they are here for non-violent crimes. (Monica Lam/Center for Investigative Reporting))\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> Grover Norquist supported the measure? What was his reasoning?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: There’s a movement among conservatives in the US called “\u003ca href=\"http://www.rightoncrime.com/\">Right on Crime\u003c/a>.” Grover Norquist is part of it, Jeb Bush, Newt Gingrich. The idea, particularly with Norquist, is that mandatory minimum sentencing, which is sort of what Three strikes is, in an extreme sense, is a waste of resources, that we shouldn’t be sending away low-level drug offenders to prison at \u003cem>huge\u003c/em> cost to the taxpayers, when there are much more efficient, effective and cheaper alternatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>: So, it’s sort of an extension of their anti-tax positions?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> For Norquist, it is. I interviewed a guy named Craig DeRoche. He’s in this Prisons Fellowship, this is the group that Chuck Coleson started – the Watergate guy – and also Pat Nolan has been involved. He was a former California lawmaker who was sent to prison on corruption charges, converted to Christianity, born again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their feeling is that conservatives have scrutinized every aspect of government except criminal justice policy. They’ve come around to the feeling that there are some things that are out of whack. And they would point to California’s three strikes as a great example of that. It’s totally interesting. Go to their web site; it’s fascinating, and look at Norquist’s statement. \u003ca href=\"http://www.rightoncrime.com/2010/11/test-gallery-post/\">“Grover Norquist’s Remarks on the Conservative Case for Criminal Justice Reform.”\u003c/a> He did endorse Prop 36; it’s on the Yes on 36 web site. Look at the supporters of [Prop] 36, scroll way down, and you’ll see some conservative groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>: Why were the backers so careful in writing the text?\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Conservatives have scrutinized every aspect of government except criminal justice policy. They’ve come around to the feeling that there are some things that are out of whack.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> The back story to Proposition 36 is that the group of people who put it together had to work very, very, very hard to convince Steve Cooley to sign on. And they got his agreement, his support, and I think that that was critical to 36’s success. If you had the DA’s from the biggest cities in California — San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose and Jeff Rosen — you had high-profile DA’s supporting it. They made a TV ad which you can check out; it’s on \u003ca href=\"http://www.yeson36.org/\">their web site\u003c/a>. That made a huge difference at reassuring voters that this wasn’t a soft-on-crime measure, that it wasn’t going to endanger public safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another thing that’s interesting is, you can debate, “Is the success of Prop 36 in its symbolic importance, or in its practical importance?” I would argue possibly that it’s really in its symbolism for two reasons. It shows that voters are willing to back a measure that brings more leniency into sentencing. I think the San Jose Mercury News looked at this, and they said it’s only the second time in the last hundred years that there’s been a voters’ initiative that’s actually ratcheted-down on sentencing. The other thing that’s hugely important is that this shows to other politicians that you can publicly support sentencing reform and not get burned as being called “soft on crime.” I mean, that’s the hope in any case. You know this has been one of the third rails of politics for a long time, especially in California. I mean, you had three Supreme Court judges recalled for being called “soft on crime.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>: For the death penalty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: Exactly. And so the politics of this are really interesting, maybe more than its impact on criminal justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks:\u003c/strong> You were saying that some of the poster children for reforming the law — like the guy sentenced to live in prison for walking away with a slice of pizza — almost all of that sort of sentencing happened before 2000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> It’s not that if you qualify, you just immediately get a sentence reduction. You have to go to the judge, and there is a provision here that the judge can consider the petitioner’s disciplinary record and record of rehabilitation while incarcerated. And if a judge determines that you haven’t done well enough behind bars, they could very much deny your petition, and this “pizza thief” could remain behind bars for his 25-life sentence. So, it’s not automatic. And the judges still have a lot of discretion. One other very interesting question is, in the run up to Proposition 36, we interviewed Carl Adams, the head of the District Attorneys’ Association of California. They opposed Proposition 36, as did almost all district attorneys in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>: Except for the high-profile ones you talked about.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> Except for the three. And, will these district attorneys band together and fight these cases, these petitions? Will there be an active opposition? Will they go to the judge and really try to block, get these petitions denied? It’s going to be very interesting to see how that plays out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks:\u003c/strong> Are the district attorneys part of the process formally, as opposed to just weighing in? Do they need to sign off on something?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: No. It’s up to the judge, but they could influence the judge, no doubt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> Let’s get back to the pre-2000 inmates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> According to the District Attorneys’ Association, around 85% of the current three strikers were sentenced before 2000. So, there’s this idea that in the first years after three strikes passed were the years when the most egregious cases happened. And since the early 2000’s, particularly when Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley adopted these reforms, he said, “Look, we’re not going to send away non-violent, low-level criminals as three-strikers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> So, he was already subscribing to this?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: Absolutely. You could argue that Proposition 36 affirms the Steve Cooley approach to three strikes. And in fact, Cooley has \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/08/23/video-george-gascon-steve-cooley-describe-their-positions-on-death-penalty-3-strikes-ballot-initiatives/\">said on KQED\u003c/a> that Proposition 36 is the best way to preserve the three strikes law and protect it from future legal challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>http://youtu.be/vJMvvByDEHs\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his view, the way LA County approaches three strikes is “sound.” Now, there’s an interesting debate about that, because under the Cooley approach, which has now been adopted by California voters, people convicted of three so-called “serious crimes\u003cstrong>”\u003c/strong> are eligible for life sentences. But a serious crime can be a home burglary. So, we’re still in a situation where it’s possible that someone could be sentenced for 25-life for three burglaries of an unoccupied home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> Is LA County so important because they send a majority of felons to prison?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: Yeah, it’s huge. I don’t know the percentage, but one other thing to point out is that even though there’s the Cooley rule, which big-city prosecutors adopted, but there’s still prosecutors in smaller counties who were sending people to prison for life on fairly low-level crimes, in terms of three strikes. So, the argument in support of Proposition 36 is, “We have to have some \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/07/30/where-does-your-county-rank-in-imprisonment/\">consistency statewide\u003c/a>.” It’s unfair to have someone convicted in San Francisco go to jail for maybe five years while if that same person was convicted for the same crimes in Kern County, they’re going to get 25 to life. That’s really not a good idea in the eyes of the supporters of Proposition 36\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks: \u003c/strong>So, as the judges have to go and sign off on this stuff, that also could be County-dependant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> Right. Now opponents of 36 argue that judges already have discretion; they can knock down a strike. It’s up to the prosecutor and even the judge. If three strikes were automatic, California would have tens of thousands of people behind bars for life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>: That’s why I was so surprised to find out it was so few prisoners. I thought it was filling the jails up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: I think a lot of people when the see the numbers are surprised and probably thought there were more three strikers than there are. However, there is the two strike element, and this is an important thing. What mandatory minimums are about, is essentially sentence enhancements that are automatic. There’s a strong argument that a key factor in our crowded prisons are these sentence enhancements. It’s not that we’re sending more people to prison. It’s that we’re sending people to prison for longer periods of time. At least, that’s the bigger factor. And so, one element that Proposition 36 does not address is this “two strikes,” which is a doubling of your penalty, if you have a second felony. The estimates are that there are more than 30,000 people in California prisons serving two strike terms. Check out the \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Two-strikes-have-large-impact-on-prison-population-2352565.php.\">article about this by Marisa Lagos\u003c/a>, It’s the elephant in the room, or the gorilla in the room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks:\u003c/strong> Two felonies, you double the penalty? And they don’t have to be violent felonies?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: That’s right. So, if people thought that Prop 36 is going to be a major factor in reducing prison overcrowding, they’re going to need to reconsider that, because it’s not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>: And Prop 36 says nothing about two strikes?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: Nothing. So, critics of 36, let’s say on the liberal side, will say that it doesn’t go far enough, because we still have in place this idea of very long sentences for let’s say ‘mid-level’ crimes. Do we want to do that as a society? Is it helpful or not? I don’t know how voters feel about that, but it certainly wasn’t on the ballot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>: Last thing, I wanted to ask about the failure of the death penalty initiative, Proposition 34. A colleague wondered if people split their criminal justice vote — if they were uncomfortable about voting to abolish the death penalty, they felt they could overturn three strikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: That’s really interesting. In talking to some of the people who were involved in writing the ballot initiative for three strikes, running up to the vote, there was this idea that people were going to pass it, because it was about money, and we’re in a recession, and it was really just about saving money. If that were the case, then people would have also voted for the death penalty. What supporters of 36 say is that the money is sort of icing on the cake. You had to have a story. There had to be a story to tell that people would be engaged in. And if you look on the Yes on 36 web site, read some of those stories. They’re very moving. There is a sense of injustice. I would argue is that if it had just been the injustice, I’m not sure 36 would have passed. But because you had a sense of injustice and an incredible waste of taxpayers’ money, those things together worked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the case of capital punishment, there are no poster cases of injustice. There’s no specific case of someone being executed who was wrongfully convicted. There are wrongful convictions, but I think people feel that there is a system to address that. We see people who’ve gotten out after being wrongfully convicted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another interesting element is that Proposition 36 people kept their distance from Proposition 34. They did not want people to confuse the two measures. It’s difficult when you look at some of the people who are on death row, it’s difficult for voters to sense injustice. It’s really hard, even though I think a lot of Californians are uncomfortable with state-sanctioned executions. It’s hard to get into the story of these people and not be disgusted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other important thing about Proposition 36 is that there was no active opposition. I mean, the opponents of Proposition 36 raised about $130,000. There were no TV ads. Don’t forget last time, in 2006, a ballot measure to change three strikes, four governors went publicly against it, including Jerry Brown. There were TV ads with Arnold Schwarzenegger that he paid for himself, that came on right before the vote. That was a major push against it. And the measure wasn’t as narrowly crafted. We didn’t get any of that this time. Brown was silent, the prison guards’ union was silent. In a sense, I think Prop. 36 got either the explicit or the tacit support of the political establishment in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>: And who financed it?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: George Soros put in I think a million dollars. David Mills, who’s an investor, who also teaches at Stanford, put in almost a million dollars. Here’s one more thing. Part of this story is about Stanford Law School. There was a team of devoted professors and students who really took on both cases of three strikers who they’ve gotten out of prison – at least two dozen – but also getting this measure crafted, getting support. You know, without Stanford University’s law school, it may be that this measure wouldn’t have existed, or it wouldn’t have passed. So, for people who supported 36, they need to tip their hats to Stanford Law School.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "Prop. 36 Will Release Felons from Prison. Who Gets Out? | KQED",
"description": "Passing with 68% of the vote last Tuesday, Proposition 36 softened California’s controversial three strikes law, one of the toughest sentencing rules in the country. Three strikes, which voters put in place in 1994, allows for sentences of life in prison for anyone convicted of three felonies, regardless of the crime. Prop. 36 will let",
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"headline": "Prop. 36 Will Release Felons from Prison. Who Gets Out?",
"datePublished": "2012-11-12T15:40:47-08:00",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Passing with 68% of the vote last Tuesday, Proposition 36 softened California’s controversial three strikes law, one of the toughest sentencing rules in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_80107\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/11/handcuffs.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-80107\" title=\"handcuffs\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/11/handcuffs-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Getty Images\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Three strikes, which voters put in place in 1994, allows for sentences of life in prison for anyone convicted of three felonies, regardless of the crime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prop. 36 will let some “third strikers” out of prison if their felonies were not serious or violent. And it will shorten the sentences given for new third-strike offenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But how many people will get out of prison under the new measure? Not as many as you might think, California Watch investigative reporter Michael Montgomery told KQED Online Editor Jon Brooks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks: \u003c/strong>Are we going to see a flood of felons leaving state prisons?\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>: \u003c/strong>Inmates who were sentenced under the law, whose third strikes were not violent felonies or serious felonies, will be eligible to petition the judge in the original court for a re-sentencing. However there is a provision that disqualifies an inmate from possible re-sentencing if his first or second strike included very serious crimes such as rape or murder. There are just under 9,000 three-strikers in prison, total. Just over half of those have violent, or serious, third strikes. So, you’ve already whittled the number down to about 4,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The number you sometimes hear is three- to three-and-a-half-thousand people who could be eligible. Experts who’ve looked at this say that the number is actually a lot smaller than that, maybe 2,000, but probably even smaller than that, because of various elements to people’s sentences and previous felonies. So, I think right now we can say perhaps hundreds of inmates will be eligible for resentencing. What’s interesting is that the text of Proposition 36, when you read the text, which is a very long text, you realize how careful, and in fact narrow, the measure is. Not surprising, if you’re going to get the buy-in from people like LA County District Attorney Steve Cooley and Grover Norquist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_80115\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/11/Three-Strikes_Prop-36_GroupShot_.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-80115\" title=\"Three Strikes_Prop 36_GroupShot_\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/11/Three-Strikes_Prop-36_GroupShot_-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of a San Quentin self-help group for three-strikers meet with reporter Michael Montgomery. Most say they are here for non-violent crimes. (Monica Lam/Center for Investigative Reporting))\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> Grover Norquist supported the measure? What was his reasoning?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: There’s a movement among conservatives in the US called “\u003ca href=\"http://www.rightoncrime.com/\">Right on Crime\u003c/a>.” Grover Norquist is part of it, Jeb Bush, Newt Gingrich. The idea, particularly with Norquist, is that mandatory minimum sentencing, which is sort of what Three strikes is, in an extreme sense, is a waste of resources, that we shouldn’t be sending away low-level drug offenders to prison at \u003cem>huge\u003c/em> cost to the taxpayers, when there are much more efficient, effective and cheaper alternatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>: So, it’s sort of an extension of their anti-tax positions?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> For Norquist, it is. I interviewed a guy named Craig DeRoche. He’s in this Prisons Fellowship, this is the group that Chuck Coleson started – the Watergate guy – and also Pat Nolan has been involved. He was a former California lawmaker who was sent to prison on corruption charges, converted to Christianity, born again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their feeling is that conservatives have scrutinized every aspect of government except criminal justice policy. They’ve come around to the feeling that there are some things that are out of whack. And they would point to California’s three strikes as a great example of that. It’s totally interesting. Go to their web site; it’s fascinating, and look at Norquist’s statement. \u003ca href=\"http://www.rightoncrime.com/2010/11/test-gallery-post/\">“Grover Norquist’s Remarks on the Conservative Case for Criminal Justice Reform.”\u003c/a> He did endorse Prop 36; it’s on the Yes on 36 web site. Look at the supporters of [Prop] 36, scroll way down, and you’ll see some conservative groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>: Why were the backers so careful in writing the text?\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Conservatives have scrutinized every aspect of government except criminal justice policy. They’ve come around to the feeling that there are some things that are out of whack.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> The back story to Proposition 36 is that the group of people who put it together had to work very, very, very hard to convince Steve Cooley to sign on. And they got his agreement, his support, and I think that that was critical to 36’s success. If you had the DA’s from the biggest cities in California — San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose and Jeff Rosen — you had high-profile DA’s supporting it. They made a TV ad which you can check out; it’s on \u003ca href=\"http://www.yeson36.org/\">their web site\u003c/a>. That made a huge difference at reassuring voters that this wasn’t a soft-on-crime measure, that it wasn’t going to endanger public safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another thing that’s interesting is, you can debate, “Is the success of Prop 36 in its symbolic importance, or in its practical importance?” I would argue possibly that it’s really in its symbolism for two reasons. It shows that voters are willing to back a measure that brings more leniency into sentencing. I think the San Jose Mercury News looked at this, and they said it’s only the second time in the last hundred years that there’s been a voters’ initiative that’s actually ratcheted-down on sentencing. The other thing that’s hugely important is that this shows to other politicians that you can publicly support sentencing reform and not get burned as being called “soft on crime.” I mean, that’s the hope in any case. You know this has been one of the third rails of politics for a long time, especially in California. I mean, you had three Supreme Court judges recalled for being called “soft on crime.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>: For the death penalty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: Exactly. And so the politics of this are really interesting, maybe more than its impact on criminal justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks:\u003c/strong> You were saying that some of the poster children for reforming the law — like the guy sentenced to live in prison for walking away with a slice of pizza — almost all of that sort of sentencing happened before 2000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> It’s not that if you qualify, you just immediately get a sentence reduction. You have to go to the judge, and there is a provision here that the judge can consider the petitioner’s disciplinary record and record of rehabilitation while incarcerated. And if a judge determines that you haven’t done well enough behind bars, they could very much deny your petition, and this “pizza thief” could remain behind bars for his 25-life sentence. So, it’s not automatic. And the judges still have a lot of discretion. One other very interesting question is, in the run up to Proposition 36, we interviewed Carl Adams, the head of the District Attorneys’ Association of California. They opposed Proposition 36, as did almost all district attorneys in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>: Except for the high-profile ones you talked about.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> Except for the three. And, will these district attorneys band together and fight these cases, these petitions? Will there be an active opposition? Will they go to the judge and really try to block, get these petitions denied? It’s going to be very interesting to see how that plays out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks:\u003c/strong> Are the district attorneys part of the process formally, as opposed to just weighing in? Do they need to sign off on something?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: No. It’s up to the judge, but they could influence the judge, no doubt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> Let’s get back to the pre-2000 inmates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> According to the District Attorneys’ Association, around 85% of the current three strikers were sentenced before 2000. So, there’s this idea that in the first years after three strikes passed were the years when the most egregious cases happened. And since the early 2000’s, particularly when Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley adopted these reforms, he said, “Look, we’re not going to send away non-violent, low-level criminals as three-strikers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> So, he was already subscribing to this?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: Absolutely. You could argue that Proposition 36 affirms the Steve Cooley approach to three strikes. And in fact, Cooley has \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/08/23/video-george-gascon-steve-cooley-describe-their-positions-on-death-penalty-3-strikes-ballot-initiatives/\">said on KQED\u003c/a> that Proposition 36 is the best way to preserve the three strikes law and protect it from future legal challenges.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/vJMvvByDEHs'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/vJMvvByDEHs'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>In his view, the way LA County approaches three strikes is “sound.” Now, there’s an interesting debate about that, because under the Cooley approach, which has now been adopted by California voters, people convicted of three so-called “serious crimes\u003cstrong>”\u003c/strong> are eligible for life sentences. But a serious crime can be a home burglary. So, we’re still in a situation where it’s possible that someone could be sentenced for 25-life for three burglaries of an unoccupied home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> Is LA County so important because they send a majority of felons to prison?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: Yeah, it’s huge. I don’t know the percentage, but one other thing to point out is that even though there’s the Cooley rule, which big-city prosecutors adopted, but there’s still prosecutors in smaller counties who were sending people to prison for life on fairly low-level crimes, in terms of three strikes. So, the argument in support of Proposition 36 is, “We have to have some \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/07/30/where-does-your-county-rank-in-imprisonment/\">consistency statewide\u003c/a>.” It’s unfair to have someone convicted in San Francisco go to jail for maybe five years while if that same person was convicted for the same crimes in Kern County, they’re going to get 25 to life. That’s really not a good idea in the eyes of the supporters of Proposition 36\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks: \u003c/strong>So, as the judges have to go and sign off on this stuff, that also could be County-dependant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>:\u003c/strong> Right. Now opponents of 36 argue that judges already have discretion; they can knock down a strike. It’s up to the prosecutor and even the judge. If three strikes were automatic, California would have tens of thousands of people behind bars for life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>: That’s why I was so surprised to find out it was so few prisoners. I thought it was filling the jails up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: I think a lot of people when the see the numbers are surprised and probably thought there were more three strikers than there are. However, there is the two strike element, and this is an important thing. What mandatory minimums are about, is essentially sentence enhancements that are automatic. There’s a strong argument that a key factor in our crowded prisons are these sentence enhancements. It’s not that we’re sending more people to prison. It’s that we’re sending people to prison for longer periods of time. At least, that’s the bigger factor. And so, one element that Proposition 36 does not address is this “two strikes,” which is a doubling of your penalty, if you have a second felony. The estimates are that there are more than 30,000 people in California prisons serving two strike terms. Check out the \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Two-strikes-have-large-impact-on-prison-population-2352565.php.\">article about this by Marisa Lagos\u003c/a>, It’s the elephant in the room, or the gorilla in the room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks:\u003c/strong> Two felonies, you double the penalty? And they don’t have to be violent felonies?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: That’s right. So, if people thought that Prop 36 is going to be a major factor in reducing prison overcrowding, they’re going to need to reconsider that, because it’s not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>: And Prop 36 says nothing about two strikes?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: Nothing. So, critics of 36, let’s say on the liberal side, will say that it doesn’t go far enough, because we still have in place this idea of very long sentences for let’s say ‘mid-level’ crimes. Do we want to do that as a society? Is it helpful or not? I don’t know how voters feel about that, but it certainly wasn’t on the ballot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>: Last thing, I wanted to ask about the failure of the death penalty initiative, Proposition 34. A colleague wondered if people split their criminal justice vote — if they were uncomfortable about voting to abolish the death penalty, they felt they could overturn three strikes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: That’s really interesting. In talking to some of the people who were involved in writing the ballot initiative for three strikes, running up to the vote, there was this idea that people were going to pass it, because it was about money, and we’re in a recession, and it was really just about saving money. If that were the case, then people would have also voted for the death penalty. What supporters of 36 say is that the money is sort of icing on the cake. You had to have a story. There had to be a story to tell that people would be engaged in. And if you look on the Yes on 36 web site, read some of those stories. They’re very moving. There is a sense of injustice. I would argue is that if it had just been the injustice, I’m not sure 36 would have passed. But because you had a sense of injustice and an incredible waste of taxpayers’ money, those things together worked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the case of capital punishment, there are no poster cases of injustice. There’s no specific case of someone being executed who was wrongfully convicted. There are wrongful convictions, but I think people feel that there is a system to address that. We see people who’ve gotten out after being wrongfully convicted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another interesting element is that Proposition 36 people kept their distance from Proposition 34. They did not want people to confuse the two measures. It’s difficult when you look at some of the people who are on death row, it’s difficult for voters to sense injustice. It’s really hard, even though I think a lot of Californians are uncomfortable with state-sanctioned executions. It’s hard to get into the story of these people and not be disgusted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other important thing about Proposition 36 is that there was no active opposition. I mean, the opponents of Proposition 36 raised about $130,000. There were no TV ads. Don’t forget last time, in 2006, a ballot measure to change three strikes, four governors went publicly against it, including Jerry Brown. There were TV ads with Arnold Schwarzenegger that he paid for himself, that came on right before the vote. That was a major push against it. And the measure wasn’t as narrowly crafted. We didn’t get any of that this time. Brown was silent, the prison guards’ union was silent. In a sense, I think Prop. 36 got either the explicit or the tacit support of the political establishment in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jon Brooks\u003c/strong>: And who financed it?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Montgomery\u003c/strong>: George Soros put in I think a million dollars. David Mills, who’s an investor, who also teaches at Stanford, put in almost a million dollars. Here’s one more thing. Part of this story is about Stanford Law School. There was a team of devoted professors and students who really took on both cases of three strikers who they’ve gotten out of prison – at least two dozen – but also getting this measure crafted, getting support. You know, without Stanford University’s law school, it may be that this measure wouldn’t have existed, or it wouldn’t have passed. So, for people who supported 36, they need to tip their hats to Stanford Law School.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "berkeley-patients-group-marijuana-dispensary-to-close",
"title": "Pot Dispensary Berkeley Patients Group to Close, Looking to Relocate",
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"headTitle": "Pot Dispensary Berkeley Patients Group to Close, Looking to Relocate | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Michael Montgomery and David Downs, \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/prominent-berkeley-marijuana-dispensary-close-shop-15320\">California Watch\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of California’s biggest medical marijuana establishments – embraced by local officials as a model business that donates to the poor and pays millions in taxes – has become the latest target in a statewide crackdown by federal prosecutors. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(\u003cem>Update Friday\u003c/em>: Berkeley Patients Group issued a statement last night clarifying its status, saying “we have been looking to relocate for several years and look forward to announcing our new site, soon.” Read at \u003ca href=\"http://www.berkeleyside.com/2012/03/16/berkeley-patients-group-says-it-is-moving-not-closing/\">Berkeleyside\u003c/a>.) \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_59434\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 191px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/berkeleypatientsgroup.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-59434\" title=\"berkeleypatientsgroup\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/berkeleypatientsgroup-254x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"191\" height=\"225\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Montgomery/California Watch\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.berkeleypatientsgroup.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Berkeley Patients Group\u003c/a>, founded in 1999 by leading names in the state’s medical marijuana movement, will cease operations at its current location later this year, according to an agreement between the dispensary’s owners and the landlord. The document was signed on Feb. 28 by Alameda County Superior Court Judge C. Don Clay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Berkeley Patients Group agrees to cease all cannabis-related activities and remove all cannabis-related property from the premises by May 1, 2012,” the document states. Legal experts said agreements of this kind can be revised, but it was unclear if that was possible in this case.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/03/15/interview-mayor-tom-bates-laments-closing-of-berkeley-patients-group-marijuana-dispensary/\">Interview: Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates laments BPG closure\u003c/a>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The decision to shutter the outlet on San Pablo Avenue was triggered by a warning from Melinda Haag, the U.S. attorney for Northern California. In a letter sent to the owner of the building that houses the dispensary, Haag said federal prosecutors would file a forfeiture action if marijuana continued to be distributed at the location. Berkeley Patients Group has leased the property since 1999 and operates under a city license. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The letter cited violations of federal law and the fact that the outlet is within 1,000 feet of two schools: the Center for Early Intervention on Deafness, which also houses a preschool, and Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley, a French bilingual grade school.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/medical-marijuana/\">\u003cstrong>More on the medical marijuana crackdown in California\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“Marijuana dispensaries are full of cash and they’re full of marijuana, and everybody knows that,” Haag said in an interview. “They are at risk of being robbed, and many of them are robbed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While marijuana is illegal under federal law, Haag said she doesn’t have the resources to target all the medical pot outlets that have proliferated in her district in recent years. So, she said, her office is focusing on protecting children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When a dispensary comes to my attention that is close to a school, a park or a playground or to children, that’s a line I’ve decided to draw, and those are the dispensaries that I’m looking at,” Haag said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since federal prosecutors announced a \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/landlords-property-owners-are-new-targets-anti-pot-strategy-12967\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statewide crackdown\u003c/a> in October, Haag said her office has sent letters to a number of dispensaries, including Berkeley Patients Group and an outlet in Santa Cruz that was \u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19880709\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">robbed by armed gunmen\u003c/a> in February. The outlet is next to a preschool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People in the community may be supportive of the dispensary,” Haag said, “until there’s an armed robbery and people come running out of the dispensary shooting guns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley Patients Group’s owners declined interview requests, but supporters said the outlet has never been the scene of violence or an armed robbery. The group issued a statement reading: “BPG remains committed to providing safe and affordable access to its patient-members, while working to preserve the jobs of its 70+ employees. We are grateful for the level of support we have received from the Berkeley community over the years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dispensary enjoys widespread support among local officials. In 2009, the Berkeley City Council \u003ca href=\"http://www.berkeleypatientsgroup.com/news1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">proclaimed\u003c/a> a special day to honor the group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I tell people that the Berkeley Patients Group is the Brooks Brothers of medical marijuana dispensing,” said Polly Armstrong, co-CEO of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce. She said the dispensary has donated thousands of dollars to the chamber and other civic groups over the years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That sentiment is shared by Jill Ellis, executive director of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ceid.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Center for Early Intervention on Deafness\u003c/a>, one of the schools cited in the warning letter from federal prosecutors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They really have been caring, supportive neighbors, concerned neighbors, clearly very interested in our mission, our families,” Ellis said. “Their security provides a great asset and enhancement to our\u003cbr>\ncommunity. We’ve never had any incidents at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The order to vacate comes at an inopportune time for the dispensary. Berkeley Patients Group still owes the state about $6.3 million in back taxes, interest and fees for marijuana sales from 2004 to 2007.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the group faces a tough real estate market. Adam Peterson, a real estate agent for Cassidy Turley BT Commercial whose expertise includes the Berkeley market, said the dispensary has wanted to move for three years due to redevelopment on San Pablo Avenue, but the owners haven’t found a location.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s almost impossible to relocate, especially under the rules and regulations that the cities and state have in place right now,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only one property in Berkeley meets both state and local guidelines, Peterson said, and it’s not for rent to a dispensary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Dale Gieringer, state coordinator for the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said he thinks the dispensary will find a new home and outlast the latest crackdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s what we’ve seen with previous federal crackdowns,” he said. “They’re disruptive at first, then people move somewhere else or change their business plans.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prominent Oakland medical marijuana activist and businessman Richard Lee has been forced to move his dispensary twice due to warnings from federal prosecutors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "Pot Dispensary Berkeley Patients Group to Close, Looking to Relocate | KQED",
"description": "By Michael Montgomery and David Downs, California Watch One of California’s biggest medical marijuana establishments – embraced by local officials as a model business that donates to the poor and pays millions in taxes – has become the latest target in a statewide crackdown by federal prosecutors. (Update Friday: Berkeley Patients Group issued a statement last night clarifying its status, saying "we have been looking to relocate for several years and look forward to announcing our new site, soon." Read at Berkeleyside.) Berkeley Patients Group, founded in 1999 by leading names in the state’s medical marijuana movement, will cease operations",
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"headline": "Pot Dispensary Berkeley Patients Group to Close, Looking to Relocate",
"datePublished": "2012-03-15T09:10:24-07:00",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Michael Montgomery and David Downs, \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/prominent-berkeley-marijuana-dispensary-close-shop-15320\">California Watch\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of California’s biggest medical marijuana establishments – embraced by local officials as a model business that donates to the poor and pays millions in taxes – has become the latest target in a statewide crackdown by federal prosecutors. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(\u003cem>Update Friday\u003c/em>: Berkeley Patients Group issued a statement last night clarifying its status, saying “we have been looking to relocate for several years and look forward to announcing our new site, soon.” Read at \u003ca href=\"http://www.berkeleyside.com/2012/03/16/berkeley-patients-group-says-it-is-moving-not-closing/\">Berkeleyside\u003c/a>.) \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_59434\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 191px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/berkeleypatientsgroup.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-59434\" title=\"berkeleypatientsgroup\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2012/03/berkeleypatientsgroup-254x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"191\" height=\"225\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Montgomery/California Watch\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.berkeleypatientsgroup.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Berkeley Patients Group\u003c/a>, founded in 1999 by leading names in the state’s medical marijuana movement, will cease operations at its current location later this year, according to an agreement between the dispensary’s owners and the landlord. The document was signed on Feb. 28 by Alameda County Superior Court Judge C. Don Clay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Berkeley Patients Group agrees to cease all cannabis-related activities and remove all cannabis-related property from the premises by May 1, 2012,” the document states. Legal experts said agreements of this kind can be revised, but it was unclear if that was possible in this case.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2012/03/15/interview-mayor-tom-bates-laments-closing-of-berkeley-patients-group-marijuana-dispensary/\">Interview: Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates laments BPG closure\u003c/a>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The decision to shutter the outlet on San Pablo Avenue was triggered by a warning from Melinda Haag, the U.S. attorney for Northern California. In a letter sent to the owner of the building that houses the dispensary, Haag said federal prosecutors would file a forfeiture action if marijuana continued to be distributed at the location. Berkeley Patients Group has leased the property since 1999 and operates under a city license. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The letter cited violations of federal law and the fact that the outlet is within 1,000 feet of two schools: the Center for Early Intervention on Deafness, which also houses a preschool, and Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley, a French bilingual grade school.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/medical-marijuana/\">\u003cstrong>More on the medical marijuana crackdown in California\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“Marijuana dispensaries are full of cash and they’re full of marijuana, and everybody knows that,” Haag said in an interview. “They are at risk of being robbed, and many of them are robbed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While marijuana is illegal under federal law, Haag said she doesn’t have the resources to target all the medical pot outlets that have proliferated in her district in recent years. So, she said, her office is focusing on protecting children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When a dispensary comes to my attention that is close to a school, a park or a playground or to children, that’s a line I’ve decided to draw, and those are the dispensaries that I’m looking at,” Haag said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since federal prosecutors announced a \u003ca href=\"http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/landlords-property-owners-are-new-targets-anti-pot-strategy-12967\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statewide crackdown\u003c/a> in October, Haag said her office has sent letters to a number of dispensaries, including Berkeley Patients Group and an outlet in Santa Cruz that was \u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19880709\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">robbed by armed gunmen\u003c/a> in February. The outlet is next to a preschool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People in the community may be supportive of the dispensary,” Haag said, “until there’s an armed robbery and people come running out of the dispensary shooting guns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley Patients Group’s owners declined interview requests, but supporters said the outlet has never been the scene of violence or an armed robbery. The group issued a statement reading: “BPG remains committed to providing safe and affordable access to its patient-members, while working to preserve the jobs of its 70+ employees. We are grateful for the level of support we have received from the Berkeley community over the years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dispensary enjoys widespread support among local officials. In 2009, the Berkeley City Council \u003ca href=\"http://www.berkeleypatientsgroup.com/news1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">proclaimed\u003c/a> a special day to honor the group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I tell people that the Berkeley Patients Group is the Brooks Brothers of medical marijuana dispensing,” said Polly Armstrong, co-CEO of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce. She said the dispensary has donated thousands of dollars to the chamber and other civic groups over the years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That sentiment is shared by Jill Ellis, executive director of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ceid.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Center for Early Intervention on Deafness\u003c/a>, one of the schools cited in the warning letter from federal prosecutors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They really have been caring, supportive neighbors, concerned neighbors, clearly very interested in our mission, our families,” Ellis said. “Their security provides a great asset and enhancement to our\u003cbr>\ncommunity. We’ve never had any incidents at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The order to vacate comes at an inopportune time for the dispensary. Berkeley Patients Group still owes the state about $6.3 million in back taxes, interest and fees for marijuana sales from 2004 to 2007.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the group faces a tough real estate market. Adam Peterson, a real estate agent for Cassidy Turley BT Commercial whose expertise includes the Berkeley market, said the dispensary has wanted to move for three years due to redevelopment on San Pablo Avenue, but the owners haven’t found a location.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s almost impossible to relocate, especially under the rules and regulations that the cities and state have in place right now,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only one property in Berkeley meets both state and local guidelines, Peterson said, and it’s not for rent to a dispensary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Dale Gieringer, state coordinator for the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said he thinks the dispensary will find a new home and outlast the latest crackdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s what we’ve seen with previous federal crackdowns,” he said. “They’re disruptive at first, then people move somewhere else or change their business plans.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prominent Oakland medical marijuana activist and businessman Richard Lee has been forced to move his dispensary twice due to warnings from federal prosecutors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n\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",
"headTitle": "News Fix | KQED News",
"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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"description": "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 announced an enhanced enforcement strategy designed to crack down on what they see as abuses of California's legalization of the drug for medical purposes. Legal",
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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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"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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"disqusTitle": "Marijuana Prices Rising After Federal Crackdown",
"title": "Marijuana Prices Rising After Federal Crackdown",
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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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"disqusTitle": "Feds to Target Newspapers, Radio Stations That Run Marijuana Ads",
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"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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"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": "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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"id": "baycurious",
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"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
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},
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
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"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/",
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},
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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.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1MDAyODE4NTgz",
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},
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"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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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
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"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
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"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"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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"meta": {
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},
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},
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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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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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},
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"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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},
"freakonomics-radio": {
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"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
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"id": "fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"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": {
"id": "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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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
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