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Busted at Gunpoint, beware LA county!

Raphael

Member
I recently moved to LA county and brought with me a dozen or so clones.

Wanting to start a collective in order to be able to start my grow, I posted an ad on Craigslist saying I had some extra clones if someone was interested. Prior to living in LA this enabled me to find 5 or so repeat patients that would lend me gear to use in trade for some herb, clones, etc.

Within two hours of posting the first ad to CL I got a response from someone named Anne and she had horrible grammar! Turns out this should have been my first warning. The pigs think that MJ patients are no different than illiterate crackheads and so use improper spelling and grammar to better "relate" to the "drug dealers."

Being new to the area I asked her if she would mind coming to my house over the phone. She declined and told me to meet her at a specific location. This should have been my second warning! She selected the cutoff point between two courthouses which enabled the arresting officer to send me to San Fernando Valley court which is notoriously hard on narcotics offenses as opposed to Van Nuys which has taken a more progressive stance and hasn't quite sucked COOLEY's dick quite as much as SFValley.

I met her in a parking lot. She approached the passenger's window and declined to get in when asked. I asked to see her recommendation and it was expired. I told her this and she assured me she already renewed it, and that she had brought the wrong one from home. She said she was in a rush and could not discuss anything else. She handed me the $60 and she left. Not thirty seconds later I had a 9mm in my face and I was arrested for sales and transportation.

I spent 5 days in LA county before seeing the judge and getting bail reduced from 30,000 to 10,000.

My girl is amazing and paid for the best lawyer for these cases...he has helped draft MMJ law as well as represented many "high" profile clients. I have never gotten a speeding ticket, never been arrested, never been charged with a misdemeanor...my record was completely clean. I have a current recommendation and have had one for four years now. I was a member of a couple collectives in Norcal with documentation and everything. I was not making a profit. I am an Economics and Accounting major and could show my expense reports proving that $6 per clone in LA was just meeting my expenses and definitely not making a profit...like they care or could even understand basic accounting principles...

I just started school again and was looking at a charge of 2 years in county and a felony. With the lawyer that cost around $5000 (didn't even go to trial) the DA wanted 90 days and a felony plea. Luckily my lawyer got the charges changed to maintaining a grow house and got me a wobbler which is 18 mos probation and 45 days Cal Trans work and after I complete that the felony is dropped to a misdemeanor and then I can apply to have it expunged.

I was using CL for over 1 year in Norcal with no issues. I realize that had I consulted a lawyer before posting I could have avoided this shit storm but honestly thought I was doing everything on the up and up. Otherwise...why would I post on fucking CL??

I am tested monthly now for the next 18 mos. My lawyer fought with the judge to try and enable me to use herb for anxiety, agoraphobia, and a sleep aid citing my previous prescriptions to pills and my doctor agreeing they were not beneficial as the side effects were interfering with my work and school. The judge pretty much laughed in my face and said that Ambien, Xanax, Valium are BETTER SUBSTITUTES than MJ. I told the judge how they were addictive and explained how for some reason xanax makes me super aggressive but he said I would have to bring a doctor into a hearing in order for me to be able to medicate. WHAT IS THE POINT OF GETTING A RECOMMENDATION IF I STILL HAVE TO BRING A DOCTOR INTO COURT

Anyways...fuck Steve Cooley, fuck San Fernando Valley court, fuck Anne, fuck Ortega, fuck the police, and fuck me for being so naive...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ld5LDjigsI
 

PoopyTeaBags

State Liscensed Care Giver/Patient, Assistant Trai
Veteran
Sucks bro we are in a war right now with the government and they will do everything they can and legally cannot do if they dont get in trouble for doing it... We are no longer in the land of the free where you innocent until proven guilty.. you are guilty till proven innocent... are government is fucked they can all go to hell...
 

Yes4Prop215

Active member
Veteran
damn dude thats harsh...6 clones ended up costing you 5k

i was thinking about selling some seeds on ********* or CL...but now im realizing maybe its better to forget about that....


and wow...he said xanax is better than weed? holy shit our justice system is so braindead fucking retarded.

sometimes (scratch that i mean ALL THE TIME) i wish a giant fiery ball would come crashing down on the DEA office...
 

FunkBomb

Power Armor rules
Veteran
Until legalization or decriminalization happens at the federal level, things like this will only continue. It will be a states rights vs. federal issue until the supreme court rules on it. Law enforcement gets the most funding each year for cannabis eradication so it's not a big surprise.

Sorry about what you had to go through. Where I am there is no medical or anything. Maybe one day...

-Funk
 

RetroGrow

Active member
Veteran
Sounds like entrapment, as you had no previous record. Difficult to prove. It's a bummer, but at least you got no jail time. It sucks to be us. How long is our own government, with a President who smoked, going to wage war on us?
It's gotten really old, and is basically just an industry for them.
 

SOTF420

Humble Human, Freedom Fighter, Cannabis Lover, Bre
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Wow that is some crazy shit man, with everything going on right now around here it's seriously best to keep to yourself until we see what happens with this decrim vote. I wish you the best with the situation brother. :canabis:
 

Raphael

Member
Sucks bro we are in a war right now with the government and they will do everything they can and legally cannot do if they dont get in trouble for doing it... We are no longer in the land of the free where you innocent until proven guilty.. you are guilty till proven innocent... are government is fucked they can all go to hell...

Hey TeaBags, thanks for the response. Like most people, the pigs just want to do their job and live their life. Unfortunately, being lazy and prosecuting non violent offenders is much easier than trying to deal with the gang problems or rapists or murderers...But I agree that most people working in politics as well as the DA's and police should be crucified.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PScmRiaZhwk

damn dude thats harsh...6 clones ended up costing you 5k

i was thinking about selling some seeds on ********* or CL...but now im realizing maybe its better to forget about that....


and wow...he said xanax is better than weed? holy shit our justice system is so braindead fucking retarded.

sometimes (scratch that i mean ALL THE TIME) i wish a giant fiery ball would come crashing down on the DEA office...

Hey brother, thanks for the sympathy. I couldn't get over that a $60 deal got me 30,000 bail. That has to be one of the harshest bail ratios! Those clones of BD really cost me at least $5000. I have $2000 at least in probation fines to pay as well...

DON'T advertise or sell through bud.trader or craigs.list or other site if you are in Socal. They are sitting on their asses just like you and me looking for easy pickings on the internet. They make their own recommendations and the verification numbers go straight to the Sheriffs office!

My girl is a behavioral psychologist and has studied medications like the ones the judge was recommending as well as the other alternative pills and she was having a very hard time to not stand up in the courtroom and tell the judge off for being an ignorant fucktard zombie sheeperson

It would be just if all the pig pens in LA burned down with the pigs locked inside their own cells...alas being a LAW ABIDING CITIZEN I will only dream of these things...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M8vei3L0L8

Until legalization or decriminalization happens at the federal level, things like this will only continue. It will be a states rights vs. federal issue until the supreme court rules on it. Law enforcement gets the most funding each year for cannabis eradication so it's not a big surprise.

Sorry about what you had to go through. Where I am there is no medical or anything. Maybe one day...

-Funk

Hey Funk, thanks for the empathy. I agree that it's business as usual until decriminalization starts to spread. Without medical you are on the very front lines, keep up the fight and represent.

Sounds like entrapment, as you had no previous record. Difficult to prove. It's a bummer, but at least you got no jail time. It sucks to be us. How long is our own government, with a President who smoked, going to wage war on us?
It's gotten really old, and is basically just an industry for them.

I sure felt like it was entrapment! Unfortunately the pigs set up the sting such that I had few cards like that to play. Why would the gov't declare war on it's own citizens? Don't think that it is right to wage war domestically on tax paying law abiding citizens...the police seem like the home grown terrorists we hear about!

The sheriffs here in LA have mostly served in the military and have returned from the Middle East. Then they become LEO and act the same as when they were waging war against other countries except they are waging war on their own people.

Wow that is some crazy shit man, with everything going on right now around here it's seriously best to keep to yourself until we see what happens with this decrim vote. I wish you the best with the situation brother. :canabis:

I agree about keeping things very low key. I hope that Prop 19 passes but STEVEN COOLEY when / if he is elected AG then we will be set back almost a decade in terms of MMJ movement. He is hardcore against legalization. Something tells me he gets reach arounds from DuPont, Hearst foundation, LEO, etc.

Thanks for the warm wishes brother, very very much appreciated. These responses from everyone echo my feelings and that of my family and is cherished because you are the few that seem to see the injustice of all this! We all need to be registered to vote (which I cannot do anymore) because short of picking up a rifle (which I cannot do anymore) there is no other way we can change the status quo!
 

dubwise

in the thick of it
Veteran
Man, that totally stinks! I really hate it for you. Freakin' outrageous that they had to threaten with deadly force to enforce a garbage law. And your a patient?!?!?!? I bet that episode did wonders for your anxiety.
 

Corpsey

pollen dabber
ICMag Donor
Veteran
that does suck man, i hope the best for you.

what i want to know is was the recommendation fake? or just expired? i swear i read a thread recently about how this guy got pulled over and had an expired rec and the cops said that was fine, once you get the rec from the doctor you are good to go. and if this were true than what happened to you just couldn't hold up.

stay strong



EDIT: here is an article discussing the same topic http://safeaccessnow.org/blog/?p=135
the people vs Windus is what you should check out
 

rasputin

The Mad Monk
Veteran
Damn, that is some bullshit. Sorry to hear about your troubles, Raphael. Hope things work out well for you & yours.
 

Raphael

Member
Man, that totally stinks! I really hate it for you. Freakin' outrageous that they had to threaten with deadly force to enforce a garbage law. And your a patient?!?!?!? I bet that episode did wonders for your anxiety.

Thanks for your understanding dubwise. I was dumbfounded when I saw the gun. At first I thought I was being robbed, as all I saw was the gun and heard him telling me to get out of the car.

When I had my hands on the hood and was being searched, I couldn't help but laugh as cops got out of five different undercover cars, totaling around 10 officers and two squad cars were surrounding me. People in the parking lot were looking at me like I was a killer.

I also thought it funny when the arresting officer asked me the significance of my bumper stickers! A duck because the previous owner had liked to hunt ducks lol. I literally laughed at him when he asked me that question.

He also asked if I was wearing real Birkenstocks or knockoffs. I told him to fuck off as reality was setting in and I realized they didn't give a fuck about my med status and I was being treated like a coke dealer.

The same officer who arrested me also strip searched me as well as taking my statement in the same room! I felt like an animal being herded around and because I was booked on a Thursday I had to wait until Monday to go before the judge!

Five days of being locked in the felon tank with alleged murderers, burglars, thieves, and a heroin junkie coming down. There was over $10,000,000 of bail in that room....there were 20 latinos and three gringos. There are TVs in the tank, but the sound would only work from 11pm to 4am when they would wake us for breakfast. The only shit they showed on TV was reruns of a LOTTERY SHOW showing people who won the lottery wasting their money and losing everything in the process. The only good thing on the TV the entire time was the WORLD CUP, thanks to the guard Gonzalez for putting it on...the rest of the guards can choke on their own vomit for all I care.

Let's not talk about the anxiety haha. Let's just say that I work out around two hours a day and have these aggression issues that weren't here when I could medicate. These 18 mos on probation are going to be extra hard to not get arrested again. Pretty much means I can't drink, because without bud I get real angry when I drink.

I am looking at the positive side of things; like that I am getting in better shape, doing better in school, now more aware of these huge problems in our society, motivated to change the status quo, and banking on the fact that the losers who locked me up will be in the same place in twenty years when I can really FUCK them OVER. The pigs need to be audited! AUDIT THE FED AND AUDIT THE PIGS.

that does suck man, i hope the best for you.

what i want to know is was the recommendation fake? or just expired? i swear i read a thread recently about how this guy got pulled over and had an expired rec and the cops said that was fine, once you get the rec from the doctor you are good to go. and if this were true than what happened to you just couldn't hold up.

stay strong



EDIT: here is an article discussing the same topic http://safeaccessnow.org/blog/?p=135
the people vs Windus is what you should check out

Thanks for the good vibes brother. My recommendation is current and legitimate. Anne's (the NARC) was expired. I would imagine her recommendation was a fake as well as expired.

It is true that you don't need to renew the rec technically, but most dispensaries and collectives require a current one; and renewing every year makes it an industry for the "green" health clinics that solely exist to write recommendations. Renewing every year also shows the court that in the past year you were evaluated by a doctor and was recommended the use, rather than a previous non existent illness or something.



Haha true that man FUCK COOLEY., I think it would be just if he were to be caught with POUNDS of bud on him....hmmm...even if it was his first offense he could look forward to at least some face time with those he fucks over daily with his policies!

Don't forget; Corporations are the puppet masters in this.

Yes, do not forget that the corporations are pushing and paying the politicians to keep the status quo. Look at the donors to the campaigns against Prop 19. The biggest contributers are LEO, the Alcohol industry, and those insane inane sheeple we call religious nutjobs.

Damn, that is some bullshit. Sorry to hear about your troubles, Raphael. Hope things work out well for you & yours.

Thank you for hearing my side of the story rasputin and things always work out well as long as you have the right attitude! :wave:

The phrase I learned in the felon tank that helped me through...."Know yo ho, rengae kyo." I know it's misspelled, but that was the way I pictured it in my head when one of the other two white guys was teaching me it. The most basic and important phrase in Buddhism and it means to me that like the lotus flower, anyone can emerge from a shitty situation and because of it be transformed into something very valuable, beautiful, whatever.

I didn't really believe Adam when he told me this but with nothing better to do and no sky to look at this chant brought me to the slopes of the Rockies and to the beaches along San Diego.

Whether or not you find the chant interesting or useful or applicable etc. the basic idea holds true that the only power we can ever rely on in our lives comes from within; and when we realize this incredible power we have the ability to tap into, no oppressive gov't or entity can keep us down. They can lock us away but they cannot take away our power within. Only we give that up!
 
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Raphael

Member
whats cooleys address lets fedex him some brickpack weed and get him in trouble lol....

Haha somehow I don't think that would be necessary.

If more people knew that Cooley failed to prosecute the chief of police Randy Adams of Bell City who made $450,000 a year with a town of 38,000 residents, which is more than the chief of police of LA county makes with a town of over 3,800,000!

A crime is a crime, and Randy Adams should have been charged with his coworkers for the fraud he committed to the taxpayers of the US!

Over $5,500,000 went misappropriated to the council members of Bell City...how would you like to earn $100,000 part time? Well that's what the workers for the council earned. And because of Randy Adams "professional acquaintanceship" with Steven Cooley, Randy Adams was able to retire on disability, tax free pension for the rest of his life!

"We'll keep you here to stay; you'll never get away
Your property is mine, until your dying day
The court pretenders fake, the judge is on the take
If you wanna find a cop you're gonna have to drag the lake"
 

darko_G

Member
should have heeded the warnings... if people are vauge then their dodge. i mean your a non profit guy... so why would you deal with anyone that doesnt show you any respect in return anyway dragging yourself to what can only be considerd a dangerous place (parking lot at night) to help them out. there is a reason there are these 'guidlines' (for lack of a better word) about how to handle your business.... im jus sayin never slip
 

Raphael

Member
should have heeded the warnings... if people are vauge then their dodge. i mean your a non profit guy... so why would you deal with anyone that doesnt show you any respect in return anyway dragging yourself to what can only be considerd a dangerous place (parking lot at night) to help them out. there is a reason there are these 'guidlines' (for lack of a better word) about how to handle your business.... im jus sayin never slip

Ya I should have realized the risks I was taking but it was in a parking lot at 12:00pm in the afternoon, in the middle of the day. This was the first contact I had and was planning on forming a collective with her.

Well, off to meet my probation officer and begin work at CalTrans!
 

Raphael

Member
Santa Clara (which is norcal, so its not just down south) just did CL busts this weekend - operation: 'up in smoke'

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_16227846?source=most_emailed&nclick_check=1

Looks like they targeted delivery services, and one dude showed up with 7 pounds? They also seized several firearms. If you think you are operating legally, don't have a gun in or on your property of business! It is just fodder that they use to distort even if the guns were registered and only for self defense EVEN IF you have been robbed before.

The officials said they would give dispensaries some time to comply with the law and from what I gather, that means:

1. Provide more than just bud to patients
2. Do not accept cash for bud, period. You will regret it. Barter instead! The dollar isn't worth shit anymore anyways. Have a new patient buy some gear for you and trade the gear for the bud.
3. Always have paperwork of a collective written before doing a deal. It needs to be present at the scene of transaction.

There will be many more busts like these, busts of both good people who truly think they are not doing anything wrong and criminals who are preying on legit patients.

Be safe!

Oh ya, those grows in my signature were done with a Sheriff living next door. Something tells me I got out of Norcal in the nick of time!
 
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