Pomona Marijuana Dispensary Shut Down By Police

[Blue Dot]

The reality of it is that failure to get a biz license is usually an infraction that only results in a fine.

Ugh, I agree, but pythagllio thinks it should end there and does not realize that it's that civil infraction that is the basis for reasonable suspicion or even probable cause of actual crimes (like not paying sales tax).

 

[kmk420kali]

Ugh, I agree, but pythagllio thinks it should end there and does not realize that it's that civil infraction that is the basis for reasonable suspicion or even probable cause.

But if a County or City are infringing on your Rights, as a Citizen of a State that has MMJ Laws enacted...should you not be afforded the rights that every other Legitimate Business Owner is??
Just because it is Cannabis, we should not be under a separate set of Laws than any other Business is--
I revert back to my age-old stance of...The California Attorney General should be personally accountable for any discrepancy with Federal Law--
How can a State tell it's Citizens that it is ok to do something, then the Feds come in and bust them...The State should be responsible for any discrepancy with Federal Law-- Period--

 

[Blue Dot]

But if a County or City are infringing on your Rights, as a Citizen of a State that has MMJ Laws enacted...should you not be afforded the rights that every other Legitimate Business Owner is??
Just because it is Cannabis, we should not be under a separate set of Laws than any other Business is--
I revert back to my age-old stance of...The California Attorney General should be personally accountable for any discrepancy with Federal Law--
How can a State tell it's Citizens that it is ok to do something, then the Feds come in and bust them...The State should be responsible for any discrepancy with Federal Law-- Period--

This doesn't have anything to do with fed law.

This case is about local cops performing a warrant search.

Yes, in the state cannabis based business should be afforred the rights as any other business but the reverse is also then true, that any cannabis based business must also follow the same requirements as any legit biz and this means getting a city business license.

If the city won't grant you one sue the city.

 

[FreedomFGHTR]

Blue Dot

If they were selling clothing instead of cannabis they would have merely been cited, and told to pay up, not shut down. Which is where the problem lies.

 

[Blue Dot]

Blue Dot

If they were selling clothing instead of cannabis they would have merely been cited, and told to pay up, not shut down. Which is where the problem lies.

As hard as it is for you to believe this, I can read between the lines.

The problem is the cops don't have to as their laws are very specific, line by line. Like it or not they can pick and choose their battles.

The ironic thing about this whole thing is if the operator had just gotten a business license none of this would have happened.

 

[kmk420kali]

As hard as it is for you to believe this, I can read between the lines.

The problem is the cops don't have to as their laws are very specific, line by line. Like it or not they can pick and choose their battles.

The ironic thing about this whole thing is if the operator had just gotten a business license none of this would have happened.

Except the City wouldn't give it to him..in direct violation of State Law!!

 

[Blue Dot]

Except the City wouldn't give it to him..in direct violation of State Law!!

Welcome to San Diego, for the last 10 years!!!!

 

[FreedomFGHTR]

Except the City wouldn't give it to him..in direct violation of State Law!!

Well that might depend. Venues such as strip clubs, and bars are subject to zoning/banning by local ordinances. Unfortunately those "laws" can stand. If they applied for a license and they were denied on grounds that it is illegal when the county/city doesn't have a standing ordinance then they have a legitimate case. If there is an ordinance then they have to challenge in court the parts of the ordinance that prohibit them from getting a business license.

 

[kmk420kali]

Welcome to San Diego, for the last 10 years!!!!

I moved out of that shithole when I left the Navy--

 

[Pythagllio]

Funny, I never showed or was asked to show my business license to get my BOE permit. The business had only been open a week. You have a number of months before you need to file your return. You're reasoning is specious.

Hawaiian_Punch, slinging crack is illegal regardless of whether or not you have a business license, so that's silly.

Amazing how many people on our side are willing to spin things to give the cops a pass. (exclude Blue Dot who is an asshole agent provocateur). C'mon guys, the other side has professionals who's entire career is producing that spin. They really don't need your help.

 

[nephilthim]

blah blah blah conjecture and immaterial.
police will do what they want..your only recourse is civil action.
see how well you are treated if you ask to file a complaint against an officer in any given municipality.the only thing that will stop leo from violating peoples rights is civil $judgements against the counties, cities . hopefully forcing compliance thru the potential for costly unfavorable litigation.

 

[Blue Dot]

blah blah blah conjecture and immaterial.
police will do what they want..your only recourse is civil action.
see how well you are treated if you ask to file a complaint against an officer in any given municipality.the only thing that will stop leo from violating peoples rights is civil $judgements against the counties, cities . hopefully forcing compliance thru the potential for costly unfavorable litigation.

But you're the one who will be paying yourself if you win that judgement.

Where do you think the city gets it's money to pay out those settlements? Your taxes.

So in essense when you pay taxes you're really just putting the city on retainer so that when you file a case and win you get your money back.

Pretty much exactly how insurance works and the city never loses a dime.

The more civil cases the more they will just raise taxes to cover the cost of payouts or they will just go into debt like san diego and pretty much every other city in the nation, not to mention the entire nation itself.

It's a no-win situation for the people because it was set up that way by politicians who don't care about the people.

Remember, when you vote all that does is encourage them. lol

 

[nephilthim]

But you're the one who will be paying yourself if you win that judgement.

Where do you think the city gets it's money to pay out those settlements? Your taxes.

So in essense when you pay taxes you're really just putting the city on retainer so that when you file a case and win you get your money back.

Pretty much exactly how insurance works and the city never loses a dime.

The more civil cases the more they will just raise taxes to cover the cost of payouts or they will just go into debt like san diego and pretty much every other city in the nation, not to mention the entire nation itself.

It's a no-win situation for the people because it was set up that way by politicians who don't care about the people.

Remember, when you vote all that does is encourage them. lol

blue dot your pathetic why don't you just slice your wrists?you want to bitch and complain about the price,yet you don't ever proffer up any solutions except,bitch,bitch,bitch..
do you own property?no then you probably don't pay taxes.and your thoughts are like watching a hoopsnake eat itself.no win?
maybe if the people of san diego grow sick enough of their dumbass politicans costing them money they will not oppose the will of the people(prop 215). and yea if the city has a record of litigation is that the peoples fault when the cities insurance rates go up?most cities have a city attorney,or one on retainer.who are you to say whats no win for the people,since your sheepeople and all i you ever offer is complaints.
at one point does it enter your head that litigation is a public right, is our only recourse,and a damning indictment of the incompetance of cities to OBEY THE LAW!so if I took your stance and never voted rop 215 would never be law which you seem to enjoy!what of the poeple fighting to uphold your rights they should just stop because hell it costs us all money!?
what about iraq?facist banking?wtf pull your fing head out of your posterior before you post.I have never read a more asinine post regarding goverment,I hope you get shot,stabbed, prodded, poked,door kicked in,house trashed,your ass beat up,and tossed into the pokey.
knowing that you won't sue validating every illegal action commmited by a municipality so our taxes won't go up

 

[soniq]

They detained the patients inside ? WHY ?

I hope the PD gets sued out of existence for this !!!!

 

[rsteeb]

CANDACE'S STORY - arrest, strip search & one million dollar bail

CANDACE'S STORY - arrest, strip search & one million dollar bail

[from Lanny Swerdlow]

Candace Walsh is a 23 year old student at Cal State Long Beach who volunteered at the Pomona Collective and for her efforts was arrested, strip searched and held on one million dollars bail. Her story is an incredible indictment of the horrors created when police abuse their authority. She has written a riveting account of what happened to her. Read it and spread the word about this atrocity.

CANDACE'S STORY - arrest, strip search & one million dollar bail

After returning to the United States from studies abroad, I applied my urgency to help others to action. I am currently on the Deans list at California State University Long Beach. Volunteering at my soup kitchen in downtown L.A. can teach you understanding, volunteering with the Red Cross can teach you endurance, and volunteering for a local Medicinal Marijuana collective in Pomona, helping patients with alternative medication, can teach you that local law enforcement can harass and strip search anyone with no probable cause, and no recourse.

After two officers forced entry to our collective without a verifiable search warrant, they actively and aggressively forced two of my fellow volunteers into handcuffs, who were simply writing down badge numbers. As I was fearful of my physical safety, I asked if I was being detained when the Sergeant ordered me to step out from the privacy door. He said, "Yes, you are." I then asked him "For what reason am I being detained?"

"Oh," he said, "You're not being detained, I just want to chat with you."

Startled and confused, I informed the Sergeant that I was in fear for my physical safety coming closer to him in his tense and aggressive state. So, without any search warrant, and without answering me as to what I had done wrong, he ordered a lower-rank officer to kick down the door, which he did unwarrantedly. My fellow volunteer captured this on his phone, which they told him he wasn't allowed to do, later confiscating his phone so as to avoid any documentation of their abhorrent unlawful conduct.

A grown, educated woman, the only way I was able to use the restroom while Pomona PD intimidated and harassed my fellow volunteers and I for hours (while they tried to obtain a search warrant-after the fact), was with the door open, while a female officer observed the manner of my urination, and a male officer stood right by the door.

What were they looking for you ask? Apparently, after finally receiving a warrant around 9:40 (my fellow volunteers and I long gone at this time, down to our birthday suits in Pomona jail), they intended to search for computers and paperwork "establishing ownership of the business", which they would neglect to find, seeing as a collective is a collaboration of patients and volunteers alone. No one owns it; but I guess I had to bend over, squat and cough for them to
acknowledge that.

This was not the first time that local police have circumvented the law in the aim of falsely incriminating California citizens. Slowly, but surely, we are being stripped (literally) of our constitutional rights, all based on the individual agendas of whatever officer happens to think you deserve it. Apparently, the fact that my fellow volunteers and I feel compassionate towards people who seek relief from harsh pharmaceutical drugs has rubbed some people in the Pomona Police Department the wrong way.

Maybe we can justify it by deciding that we are back in the Wild West, or as one of the Sergeants said when asked how they could do this, "I'm old school."

Well, I'm old school too. I believe that this country is a place founded on the questioning of absolute authority, and equal access to constitutional rights. But then again, maybe you shouldn't listen to me; I am after all a hardened criminal.

In my young life, I've seen some things. I've walked the violent streets of Manila, I've navigated through the jungles of Thailand, I've set up my life for a year abroad, charting my path through the cities of Taiwan in a effort to learn Mandarin Chinese. Yet Never, I repeat never, have I felt so unsafe as I did last Wednesday night in the city of Pomona, California.

The previous Saturday, myself along with two other people were arrested and charged with felonies for helping medicinal marijuana patients obtain their medicine. Erroneous speculations aside, I was there. I have been there. Never, never once, has our collective allowed anyone without a verified, legitimate doctor's recommendation into our establishment. Allegations of people medicating within the establishment are so ludicrous, so far from the truth that they are
almost comical, and would be comical, that is if these allegations weren't as damaging they are. Hearsay and downright lies have reached city officials via rumor and corrupted their perception of the situation. Comparisons are being made between our establishment and others that have existed in Pomona's history; these comparisons are arbitrary and invalid. There is one key component that separates the inquiries into those other collectives and ours: an investigation
itself. In our case, one doesn't exist. The Pomona Police Department's idea of an investigation included aiming, shooting, then locking me up for three days on a million dollar bail, only to eventually boot me out the door after they had taken the money out of my wallet and the phone out of my hand for "evidence". After three days, I was released onto Mission Boulevard in Pomona with no phone, no money for a phone call, and a "Detention" slip, telling me that I had not been arrested, just detained. After three days, after missing two of my final exams in school, after a pulled court date, after a protest of more than 50 people, after the fanfare died down, the Pomona Police decided it was about time to kick me out, making sure that there was no one to receive me. One last dig on this 23 year old student, ahem, criminal.

On Wednesday the 6th of May, I had been occupied with handing out information pamphlets on patient's rights and protest fliers which outlined the incident from the previous Saturday, as well as information on how to deal with law enforcement (pamphlets which, in restrospect, I realize I should have studied more). Standing outside in the late afternoon sun, I see a patrol car pull up.

"Hi officer Puciarelli. Long time no see." I jokingly gesture, he had been the officer the previous Saturday telling other officers to "look out for Candace, she's a tricky one." Apparently, the Pomona Police Department doesn't run into people who know their rights very often. That darn Constitution does get pretty tricky sometimes.

"Hi, Candace, how are you?" He cordially inquired.

"Off duty?" I asked as he was dressed in street clothes.

"No, Candace, on- but don't worry. Just checking on you guys cleaning things up." He said this part very confidently: "Sorry about the other day Candace, wish it didn't come to that."

"Well, I wish it didn't come to that either quite frankly," I laughed, "Jail isn't a fun place. But don't worry, I'm tough," I replied, as I jokingly flexed my bicep- the same bicep that was suddenly aggressively grabbed by a very large, very assertive officer Samuels, telling me to sit down in an empty chair on the opposite side of the room.

"Why..." the word had barely left my startled lips, before he informed me "Sit down, or I will make you sit down," reinforcing his threat with a firm squeeze to my arm.

At this point, three or so more patrol cars pulled up. Sergeant Leonard, Mr. "Old School", came into the establishment asking "Who's been writing all those nasty lies about me?" I assume he was referring to the relaying of the sequence of events from the prior Saturday (see my attached personal account), including his controversial justification for their conduct. He had called it "old school." Are we talking fire hose- civil-rights movement old school? Or the more recent LAPD Rampart Division "old school"?

Either way, it appears that the Pomona Police Department doesn't like documentation of their conduct. Just ask Sergeant Guitierrez, whose documented conversation with me (written out on post it notes by yours truly) was confiscated during the first incident. Just as a fellow volunteer's phone was taken that held video of an officer kicking down a door without a search warrant. Darn evidence, its easier to pretend it doesn't exist.

Pointing to the reddening flesh on my arm, I directed my question to all of the 6 officers present when Samuels grabbed me, "Is this necessary?" I was trying not to let them have the satisfaction of the tears stinging my eyes. All of them, every last one, pretended they had no idea what I was talking about, and one of them even deflected the question into "Is that a rash? I didn't see anything." Sitting in Pomona jail, having little more to stare at than Pauline loves Casper" and "Brenda and Rudy", I noticed the deepening of the color of the bruise. After my Miranda rights were read, one of the officers (the same one who asked if it was a rash) asked
coldly, "Your arm ok?" After I exercised my right to have my attorney present, the two officers gave me my bail amount.

"Your bail is a million dollars, Candace."

"Well, I guess that means I'm not getting out of here for class tomorrow." I said. "Can I at least have my book to read while I'm in here?" Although this was my second time asking for it, they still declined. The air escaping my lungs turned into a slight laugh. I was informed that my being out on bond increased my bail, which on paper (and according to the bail schedule for having the same charge) was to be increased from $30,000 to $55,000. One million dollars was
not delivered by a judge, (they never even put me before one) it was literally written in with a ballpoint pen, and then absent from all the paper records that they eventually released me with (perhaps to get rid of the evidence of such an exorbitant and illogical amount.)

Much to their chagrin, the 50 plus protestors outside of the Police Department on Friday morning were very much aware of what my bail was. Among other phrases, "Candace Is Not A Criminal" and "Pomona PD, New Rampart Division" graced the signs. Perhaps the most painful for me, but poignant in terms of Civil Rights, was my siblings' sign: "Free My Sister".

These are the facts: I was arrested on a Wednesday while standing outside a building that had formerly been a collective. I had nothing in my hands, hadn't passed out an information flyer for an hour. I was abusively grabbed, mocked, and kept for three days in the Pomona city jail on a million dollars bail, only to be kicked out on a Friday, without charges, clutching a slip of paper describing how I had only been "detained" and not arrested. Wandering the streets of Pomona in the same thin sundress I had been wearing for three days, I asked a man working construction if I could use his phone to call someone.

Remember, at this point every ally I have believed that I was going to remain in the Pomona jail on a million dollars bail for an indefinite amount of time (no court date!) The phone rang on the other end and I heard my sibilings' familiar voice. I uttered the two best words that have ever crossed my lips: "I'm free."

It's not important what you think about medicinal marijuana, medicinal marijuana patients or about marijuana use in general. This is about Civil Rights, and mine were violated. If I could sum up the conduct of the Pomona Police Department in one word, it would be malice. If you gave me two, spite. The power of a few individual officers to rob me of my freedom so abruptly without any accountability should scare us all. Never did I expect to be so violated on the streets of Pomona, California, in our good old U. S. of A. I am not a criminal, but a daughter, a sister, a student and a friend. It happened to me, and you'd better watch yourselves, because now, I'm pretty sure it could happen to any of you.

 

[HawaiianPunch]

I dunno. I kind of have to side with the pigs on this one. Pomona is heavily populated by thugs and low lifes who would do just about anything to get money. If the door to this poor, innocent girls personal area was so easily kicked in... what if someone had come to rob the place. Did they have any way to defend themselves? Seems as though they should have had at least a metal gate protecting the door from a kick in. I think these officers did her a service by roughing her up a little bit and letting her know that she was not safe providing her care to the needy.

I remember reading a story, this is all I could find on it now...

US: 40 tons of Afghan hash seized
KABUL, Afghanistan a ' A U.S. military spokesman says Afghan and coalition troops have seized 40 tons of hashish during a raid in southern Afghanistan.

Is it possible that the people she worked for were criminals? Who knows, thats why they investigate. Is it possible that she didn't know she was just a pretty face to cover up a sinister smuggling ring? Who knows. I don't. Yea, she had her civil rights violated... but we're at war right now. 40 tons of hash is the equivalent of something like 60 double decker buses, if I remember the original story correctly... and this stuff was found in an irrigation ditch covered by tarp.

There is big money in marijuana. Wherever there is big money, there is big crime. I don't think she was safe working at that collective.

I know if I was her, I would have asked to be released on my own recognizance.... but I've been through the system. I know cops can say whatever they damn well please. They can accuse you of being from the planet Jupiter with the plot to enslave all of humanity, but until they file charges it is all he said she said. They can detain you for 72 hrs with little or no explanation.

Anyway, those are my 2 cents

 

[HawaiianPunch]

[from Lanny Swerdlow]

After two officers forced entry to our collective without a verifiable search warrant, they actively and aggressively forced two of my fellow volunteers into handcuffs, who were simply writing down badge numbers....

So, without any search warrant, and without answering me as to what I had done wrong, he ordered a lower-rank officer to kick down the door, which he did unwarrantedly. My fellow volunteer captured this on his phone, which they told him he wasn't allowed to do, later confiscating his phone so as to avoid any documentation of their abhorrent unlawful conduct.

In my young life, I've seen some things. I've walked the violent streets of Manila, I've navigated through the jungles of Thailand, I've set up my life for a year abroad, charting my path through the cities of Taiwan in a effort to learn Mandarin Chinese. Yet Never, I repeat never, have I felt so unsafe as I did last Wednesday night in the city of Pomona, California...

"Your bail is a million dollars, Candace."

"Well, I guess that means I'm not getting out of here for class tomorrow." I said. "Can I at least have my book to read while I'm in here?"

Okay, "supposedly" officers are trying to force entry. While the guys are kicking in the door, no one calls the police to verify this is a legitamate raid? No. Instead they are too busy trying to "document" this unfair treatment.

She says herself she never felt so unsafe. Did she have any protection? No metal gate? If the door could be so easily kicked in, I think she was working in a very insecure place.

They tell her bail is a million dollars and she asks for her school books? If she was educated as this article makes her out to be, then why didn't she asked to be released on her own recognizance? My guess is she is not as familiar with the system as she thinks.

They even compare these cops to Rampart, which was a crew of thugs turned cops who wore uniform while off duty to raid drug dealers and come up off of their loot.

I have to say these officers did her a great service by roughing her up and letting her know how unsafe she was. God forbid someone came into the dispensary and shot everybody in the head for a few thousand bucks worth of bud.

 

[HawaiianPunch]

Y'know, people want to keep crying out "oh its medicine, leave people alone" but its not just medicine. Marijuana is a tool and a target of criminal syndicate, there is no getting around this fact. I was in someone's thread posting about how I had to go to the hospital for a breathing mask because of wheezing. I guess they didn't appreciate my opinions so they took a jab at me "oh you're such a pussy, you needed a breathing mask? What are you, 11 years old" or something along those lines. This is a marijuana forum where a lot of people use this "stuff" as medicine. I guess if someone were to tell someone suffering from anxiety, depression, AIDS/HIV, cancer, glaucoma... that they were pussies because they need "medical marijauna" for their problems, what are they "little teenagers?" then everybody would be all up in arms defending marijuana users, right?

Safety first.

 

[HawaiianPunch]

Also, law enforcement has the RIGHT to detain you to determine your identity for up to 72 hrs. In the special case of holiday or weekend, this can be extend to even 144hrs... even if you are carrying identification they can detain you in order to establish the legitamacy of the identification.

She would have really learned something about being scared if she had bumped into some cops from Manila, China, or Thailand... she might not even be out yet to tell her story.