LA Med Vendor Targeted - etc. etc.

[SeniorBuzz]

La is out of control I have seen peeps waiting in cars while somebody goes in buys some stuff for them and brings it out to them. It's a known fact that anybody can get a card in California if they have the money

It's not even about the money; there are typically greatly reduced license fees for Medicaid patients: I was surprised that Medicare recipients, at least in CA, also receive a reduced fee.

 

[anikas88]

there is a about like 13 million people in the la metro area, and how do you know the real number of medical patients in these areas?

 

[SeniorBuzz]

there is a about like 13 million people in the la metro area, and how do you know the real number of medical patients in these areas?

there are over 10 million people in L.A. County alone.

there are numbers available for the total number of mmj patients, and caregivers, in California. seems very low, but unless someone has information to the contrary.

 

[FreedomFGHTR]

THERE IS NO MEDICAL MARIJUANA LICENSE IN CALIFORNIA. Government registration as a patient is voluntary, and most patients don't do it. You will know when there are too many dispenaries for a patient base when some of those shops start going out of business. Because medical records are highly confidential it is impossible to get an accurate figure on the number patients.

 

[MOneYMiKe]

According to this article, heads are going to roll in LA.

The situation has deteriorated, through happenstance, blind luck, benign neglect, or the power and fluidity of the marketplace.

State functionaries now feel obliged to send in their ham-handed shock-troops.

Here's the url:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/us/18enforce.html?_r=1&emc=eta1


The legal/political/social matrix will be sorely tested in LA and the rest of California.

No telling how it will shake-out, or how long it will take.

The most curious part of the article is on page 2, where the owner of the Harborside dispensary in Oakland toots his own horn.

Here's the quote:

"There is a laboratory where technicians determine the potency of the marijuana and label it accordingly. (Harborside says it rejects 80 percent of the marijuana that arrives at its door for insufficient quality.)"

What procedures and equipment do they use to "test" their product.

Thin Layer Chromatography? Gas Chromatography perhaps?

Highly doubtful.

Rejecting 80% of the weed for quality and not on price?

Also, highly doubtful.

Something smells, and it doesn't smell like a skunk.

i happen to know a source who provides HArborSide........yes they deny....yes they test.........what's so smelly?.........

 

[SeniorBuzz]

Seems to me that anyone, operating in CA, without a mmj license is almost double-daring authorities to bust him/her. Doesn't make any sense to me. an mmj license affords licensees the right to possess, grow, within set guidelines. what's wrong with operating within the law?

what is is what is at this time.

If anyone else wants to, I would appreciate someone opening a thread to do an exercise, developing the theoretical "as close to perfect" "not for profit" "indoor grow" medical marijuana dispensary.

I'm a newcomer, and most likely don't yet have the authority to start a thread.

 

[Nughit]

800-1000 dispensaries vs the number of registered patients ?

When you say "the market has dictated", are you including the currently illegal market of recreational users who make up the bulk of purchases ?
You see, it is that which has brought close scrutiny and "buyers remorse" by those who, with compassion voted to allow for medicinal use of marijuana.

I'm not saying the recreational users should stop enjoying marijuana, I am saying that the current medical marijuana system should not be abused by that element. Otherwise the patients will lose out the most when the medical marijuana laws are revoked. Many patients are law abiding citizens who consume marijuana because it is now legally available to them. If the laws are revoked, they (I) would follow the law while the recreational user can continue unabated. Why ruin a law meant for patients?

The only registered patients are the ones who have chosen to get the state MMJ card. The rest of us are flying under the radar, medical records are confidential and no one needs to know what drugs I take for what except me and my doctor. I refuse to get the state MMJ card as I don't want to be a registered patient My health problems has nothing to do with the state.

And yes the market has dictated the number of co-ops. If there were not enough patients to support them they would close down just like any other business. I have been to over 25 co-ops and every one of them verified my rec. before letting me in. I have even been turned away from a new co-op as my rec. was expiring within a week. Where do you get your info that the majority of purchases are made by illegal recreational users? I have not seen it at any of the co-ops I visit.

 

[ourcee]

I thought this was about cracking down on a vendor? huh?

this is just about cracking down on collectives, aka same ole same ole threats from DA type tactics...

is there any pertinent information related to the VENDORS specifically? (other than harborside 'rejecting 80%')

 

[furley]

ourceee, no, this post was pointless. Some people don't understand the massfuck of money that east bay dispensaries have.

 

[nephilthim]

I beg your pardon; let's argue the issue rather than launching personal attacks on anyone that doesn't agree with you.

Fact: L.A. has far more mmj dispensaries than are supported by the number of licensed mmj patients.

I have no hate, or side, on this issue

Nearly 300 Los Angeles area gang members and associates arrested in nationwide crackdown
October 15, 2009 | 11:53 am
Nearly 300 gang members and associates across the Los Angeles area were arrested as part of a larger nationwide crackdown that targeted gangs involved in cross-border smuggling of people and weapons, drug trafficking, identity theft and other crimes, federal officials said today.

The arrests were among 1,785 made around the country as part of Operation Community Shield, a sixth-month investigation of transnational gangs that ended Sept 30, said Virginia Kice, spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Among those arrested were Elmer Fredy Hernandez-Ayala, 29, an El Salvadoran national and member of the 18th Street gang, for reentry after deportation, and nine members and associates of Barrio Evil 13, a Bell Gardens street gang, for drug trafficking and weapons charges, Kice said.
“The goal of Community Shield isn’t to just take individual gang members off the streets, but to disrupt the cycle of crime and dismantle the entire gang,” Kice said.

Of the 293 arrests made in the Los Angeles area, 185 were on criminal charges, Kice said. The remaining arrests were for immigration violations, and federal authorities are working to deport the foreign nationals from the country, Kice said.

Many of those arrested were previously in custody, she said.

Kice said that many transnational street gangs have significant numbers of foreign-born members, and that federal officials, along with state and local law enforcement, have worked on identifying gang members who were previously deported and prosecuting them for felony immigration violation.

“This is a very, very effective way to take gang members previously off the street,” she said. Using both criminal arrest authority and prosecuting them for immigration violations is a “one-two punch,” she said.

The majority of arrests occurred in Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire, Kice said. In Los Angeles County, 147 were arrested, compared to 135 in the Inland Empire, nine in Orange County and two in Ventura County.

San Diego Border Patrol Sector Apprehensions---Length 66 miles long
----------OCT---NOV---DEC---JAN---FEB---MAR---APR---MAY---JUN---JUL---AUG---SEP
FY2009-10035--7954--6552-10245-11678-16472-12619-11001-10279--8854--6471
FY2008--9801--9163--7773-12877-15092-18870-20569-16019-12396-13129-13735-12976
FY2007--9494--7764--6591-12489-12997-18044-17999-16136-13283-12941-13312-11410
FY2006-10145--7730--6531-13959-17160-18361-14736-13888-10597--8683-10009-10305

El Centro Border Patrol Sector Apprehensions---Length 71 miles long
----------OCT---NOV---DEC---JAN---FEB---MAR---APR---MAY---JUN---JUL---AUG---SEP
FY2009--2619--2176--1691--2969--2904--4140--3314--2955--2812--2452--2771
FY2008--3230--2412--2000--3839--4095--4604--5090--3860--3161--2726--2995--2949
FY2007--4379--3667--3037--4983--5187--7198--6983--5747--3842--3835--3789--3236
FY2006--5072--3831--2998--5797--6399--9048--6847--6187--4112--3240--3705--4229

no thats your opinion the shops are a basis of demand no more no less.just like if a store sucks in the real world so to in the storefront world they would fail also. to use to the statistics of a leo bureacuracy whose only goal is to put more people in jail,how self serving is that?
fact you don't live in l.a.
fact your are making analogies that are unsubstantiated that there are gang member owned operated dispensaries.
fact if someone is a gang member and they provide a meaningful service to another patient.who the hell gave you or anybody the manifest right to insert
your will upon the business of others.

and the other lame ass comment I read ill make this analogy .I saw an adult give beer to minors outside of a liquor store its completely out of control we should close all liqour stores.like I would want to be responsible for any of your collective actions given your predisposition to unfairly judge others.

 

[Bass Akwards]

Time to get that G.E.D.!

Time to get that G.E.D.!

im so sorry you have to make yourself look like a fool ... even in longbeach do dispos do that, one i rountine has turned down crops of mine that had too low levels of CBN.

I'm so sorry you haven't learned to type, spell, use punctuation, or capitalize.

 

[Bass Akwards]

Still smells ...

Still smells ...

i happen to know a source who provides HArborSide........yes they deny....yes they test.........what's so smelly?.........

On the face of it, it certainly did smell.

The $20 Million figure wasn't mentioned in the NYT piece.

With that kind of revenue, they could afford to lease and maintain some substantial testing equipment. They might, indeed, even test it. Not a bad marketing gimmick ... .

Turning down 80% ?? That still smells.

It Does Not Compute with their doing $20M worth of business!

Think about it.

As for Harborside being "Non Profit", that's a term of art enshrined in Tax Law.

Look carefully at the guidelines, and you'll see that the executives of "non profits" can be Very well compensated. It depends on the Volume of Business ... the more $$$, the more the "managers" are entitled to receive.

Those who grow know what the markups is ... so do dispensary owners.

Co-Ops make much more sense for true medical users ... who are a distinct minority ... everyone else is just shopping for a buzz, aren't they?

 

[johnnyla]

if they are incorporated then isn't Harborsides information public? i.e. the salaries

 

[Owl Mirror]

The only registered patients are the ones who have chosen to get the state MMJ card. The rest of us are flying under the radar, medical records are confidential and no one needs to know what drugs I take for what except me and my doctor. I refuse to get the state MMJ card as I don't want to be a registered patient My health problems has nothing to do with the state.

And yes the market has dictated the number of co-ops. If there were not enough patients to support them they would close down just like any other business. I have been to over 25 co-ops and every one of them verified my rec. before letting me in. I have even been turned away from a new co-op as my rec. was expiring within a week. Where do you get your info that the majority of purchases are made by illegal recreational users? I have not seen it at any of the co-ops I visit.

While I do not live in California, I was under the impression that in order to purchase marijuana from one of these dispensaries, the person must be a registered patient and provide proof of being a registered patient with the state ID.
Are you saying the state of California doesn't issue a state ID card as part of it's medical marijuana program ?

 

[FreedomFGHTR]

While I do not live in California, I was under the impression that in order to purchase marijuana from one of these dispensaries, the person must be a registered patient and provide proof of being a registered patient with the state ID.
Are you saying the state of California doesn't issue a state ID card as part of it's medical marijuana program ?

OK this is going to blow your mind homie.

SB 420 makes the state card program voluntary. Most dispensaries simply require a california drivers licences and physician note saying they can smoke weed.

State registration is optional and most people don't do it.

 

[SeniorBuzz]

OK this is going to blow your mind homie.

SB 420 makes the state card program voluntary. Most dispensaries simply require a california drivers licences and physician note saying they can smoke weed.

State registration is optional and most people don't do it.

Polling CA dispensaries, wondering what the ratio is between those with an mmj card, and those without..

 

[FreedomFGHTR]

Ok let's make this clear. From prop 215.

PROPOSAL

This measure amends state law to allow persons to grow or possess marijuana for medical use when recommended by a physician. The measure provides for the use of marijuana when a physician has determined that the person's health would benefit from its use in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or ''any other illness for which marijuana provides relief." The physician's recommendation may be oral or written. No prescriptions or other record-keeping is required by the measure.

 

[Owl Mirror]

OK this is going to blow your mind homie.

SB 420 makes the state card program voluntary. Most dispensaries simply require a California drivers licences and physician note saying they can smoke weed.

State registration is optional and most people don't do it.

So California doesn't have a list of ailments that are qualifying factors for a person to be considered a valid patient? Any doctor can scribble out a note stating anything and it isn't verified by anyone else?
That is very different from my states law.
btw, what is a homie? I'm not sure if that is a compliment or a denigration.

 

[Blue Dot]

So California doesn't have a list of ailments that are qualifying factors for a person to be considered a valid patient? Any doctor can scribble out a note stating anything and it isn't verified by anyone else?

correct, we have a list but it ends with "or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief." like FF posted so if your doctor believes it will help then it's all good.

 

[Owl Mirror]

correct, we have a list but it ends with "or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief." like FF posted so if your doctor believes it will help then it's all good.

So, any doctor can verbally give a patient their blessing for any reason and there is no verification process a patient needs to go through in order to be declared a valid medical marijuana patient ?
If it is left to either a verbal or written permission, can't anyone just fake the fact that they in fact had this talk with a real doctor? Seems like anyone could make the claim their doctor verbally gave them permission and there is no follow up to confirm the facts.
Is there an age limit or is that also left to the doctors discretion? Does a doctor have to notify the parents of any child they give permission to consume marijuana?