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3 SoCal cops caught on video eating 'snacks' during marijuana-dispensary raid no longer on force HomeCaliforniaStory 3 SoCal cops caught on video eating 'snacks' during marijuana-dispensary raid no longer on force... By ALMA FAUSTOOrange County Register Posted: 07/15/2016 11:59:31 AM PDT | Updated: a day ago SANTA ANA Three Santa Ana Police Department officers caught eating snacks during a raid on a marijuana dispensary with two of them making fun of a disabled woman are no longer working for the agency. Cpl. Anthony Bertagna, the department's spokesman, confirmed Thursday that Brandon Matthew Sontag, Nicole Lynn Quijas and Jorge Arroyo were no longer officers in the city. Both Sontag and Quijas' last day was May 6, and Arroyo's was April 20, Bertagna said. He declined to discuss if they were fired or left on the department on their own: "I cannot comment on personnel matters." A surveillance video, released by the dispensary's lawyer last year, shows the officers during a May 2015 raid of a marijuana dispensary, Sky High Holistic. The city accused it of selling marijuana without a permit. (Editor's note: This video was edited, and the wording that appears mounted on some of the screen images is from a source other than The Orange County Register or the Santa Ana Police Department. The profanity that appears on one of the video frames was not placed there by the Register or the Santa Ana Police Department). The video, which made national headlines, showed officers serving a search warrant at Sky High. They ordered customers and employees to the ground and two made demeaning remarks about Sky High volunteer Marla James, an amputee in a wheelchair seen in the video. "Did you punch that one-legged old benita?" a male officer asks a female officer, apparently referring to James. "I was about to kick her in her (expletive) nub," a female officer replies. The officers disabled several cameras except a hidden one that captured the incident. When the footage first surfaced, some thought the officers were eating marijuana edibles, taken from the shop, but prosecutors later said there was no evidence that the snacks contained any drugs. In the aftermath, Police Chief Carlos Rojas announced that three officers involved in the raid were placed on administrative leave while the department investigated whether their actions violated policy. In March, the Orange County District Attorney's Office filed charges of petty theft against the trio. Sontag was also accused of vandalism for allegedly breaking some of the store's surveillance cameras. All three officers were placed on paid leave, and Bertagna had previously said their status with the department would be determined after an administrative appeals process and formal review.

Is Medical Marijuana Replacing Other Prescription Drugs? The legalization of medical marijuana in an increasing number of U.S. states may be linked with a lower rate of use of other prescription drugs, a new study says. Researchers found an estimated $165.2 million in savings in 2013 in Medicare spending on the prescription drugs that treat some of the same conditions that marijuana may be used to treat, according to the study. That was the same year that 17 states and the Di...Continue reading

The Strange Connection Between Smoking Weed and Alzheimer's On Friday, Snoop Dogg lost a round of Family Feud on a marijuana-related question. The Internet was shocked. The question was: "Name something Grandma might do if she caught Grandpa smoking marijuana." The answers were all awful. But with the new research flowing in about marijuanamost of it favoring weedthose answers could be very positive The newest research comes from a team studying marijuana and Alzheimer's, a...s noted by Forbes. In a lab, the psychoactive THC compound in pot removed toxic beta-amyloid from brain cells and reduced inflammation, the first test to do both. Amyloid plaquefound in patients with Alzheimer'skills neurons and causes memory loss, while inflammation is associated with Alzheimer'sits role in the disease is yet unclear. Right now, there is also cannabis in your brainkind of. The brain naturally produces THC-like cells, called endocannabinoids, which scientists believe protect the brain against inflammation and amyloid damage. The test seems to indicate that marijuana protects the brain in the same way. To find a substance that reduces toxins and swelling, and one so easily producedthough, admittedly, far less easy to legally obtainis highly promising, though more testing is necessary. There is no cure to Alzheimer's, though an estimated 5.1 million Americans have the disease. Our bet is that a good portion of the population, Grandma included, wouldn't mind taking a hit every so often for a healthier brain.

War On Weed’s End In Sight The end of the federal government’s War On Weed is approaching fast. No matter how the details work out, that much seems pretty clear at this point. What began roughly 100 years ago as a racist legislative overreaction to Latino workers’ preferred method of relaxing and was then ramped up (under Richard Nixon) to punish hippies and minorities and college students could once again become sane governmental policy, ending almost a century’s institu...Continue reading

Michele Leonhart, Head of D.E.A., to Retire Over Handling of Sex Scandal WASHINGTON The Obama administration’s top drug enforcement official will step down next month, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced on Tuesday, after her agency was tarnished by a scandal over sex parties with prostitutes and she broke with President Obama on drug policy. Michele M. Leonhart, the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, told Mr. Holder that she intended to retire,...Continue reading

East Bay pot bust roils dispute over medical marijuana LIVERMORE -- Tensions between police and medical marijuana advocates escalated this week with the arrest of four men in a pot collective in Livermore after they returned from a cannabis trade show in San Francisco. Some 60 supporters of the men rallied outside a Pleasanton courthouse Wednesday afternoon shortly before the defendants were charged with conspiring to illegally grow and sell marijuana.... "The city of Livermore is unfairly targeting people who are providing medical marijuana to patients," said Ray Ahmed, former owner of the Tree of Life, a Livermore cannabis storefront that closed in 2015 after a raid by police. "They are blocking treatment of patients." He and others at the rally contend Livermore is going overboard in its hard line against medical marijuana. Alameda County prosecutors and Livermore police see it differently. The District Attorney's Office filed felony criminal charges Wednesday against the men, including Chris Phillips of Livermore. An outspoken medical marijuana advocate, he has had previous runs with police over marijuana, and he used to run a cannabis delivery service that closed after a raid on his home. Bail was set at $250,000 for each by Alameda County Supervisor Court Judge Jacob Blea III. Three of them remain in custody; a fourth is expected to turn himself in on Friday. Prosecutors say Phillips is the chief executive officer of Dabbenport Extracts, which concentrates marijuana, and the other three defendants are associated with the business. The four men attended the High Times cannabis trade show Saturday and Sunday at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Chris Phillip's brother, Joseph Phillips, said he was arrested Sunday night in Livermore shortly after he got off the freeway on his way back from the show. Prior to the court hearing, Joseph Phillips said Dabbenport is legally helping get pot to people who need to relieve pain for a variety of ailments. Livermore police, in papers filed in court, said they stopped Joseph Phillips Sunday shortly before midnight and found 1,180 individual packages each containing between 1 and 1.5 grams of concentrated cannabis. A few hours later on Monday morning, police arrested Chris Phillips, Cameron Zalaha and Jacob Soutsos following a raid at Chris Phillips home where police say they found 46 marijuana plants in the backyard. During the rally Wednesday, Mike "Grand Daddy" Grafton, a marijuana advocate, said he believes Livermore targeted Chris Phillips because he has been outspoken in defending rights of patients to use medical marijuana.

San Diego cracks down on illegal dispensaries Judge orders $830,000 in fines, two operators arraigned on criminal charges San Diego Landlords and operators of two illegal medical marijuana dispensaries in San Diego must pay $830,000 total in civil fines, a Superior Court judge has ruled....Continue reading

San Diego may levy local marijuana tax City would join many others in California; critics say black market could worsen San Diego San Diego would join several other large California cities that impose local taxes on marijuana businesses if voters approve a proposed November ballot measure that Councilman Mark Kersey will unveil on Monday....Continue reading

California voters to decide in November whether to legalize recreational marijuana SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California voters will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana after Secretary of State Alex Padilla said Tuesday that initiative proponents turned in more than enough signatures to place the question on the November ballot. A successful vote in California would mean one in every six Americans lives in a state with legal marijuana sales, including the entire West ...Continue reading

Free Rosin Presses Saturday June 4th . SHO Saturdays @Miramar Hydro Bring your flowers or Kief in and will will press it for you in our 12 Ton H-frame Rosin Press. 1 Bag for Free additional bags may be purchased

Pot shop operators, landlord fined for illegal marijuana operation in Mt. Hope The owner of a property in Mt. Hope was fined $175,000 Friday for renting to operators of an illegal marijuana store, according to the San Diego City Attorney's Office. Luis Eduardo Medrano allowed The Green Room to operate on his property at 4218 Market St. for 17 months despite a court ordering him to shut it down.... The two marijuana store owners who rented the property from Medrano were also ordered to each pay $600,000 in civil penalties. They were identified as North County Holistic, Inc. and Hakeen Dequan Garrett. City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said property owners who lease to illegal dispensaries will continue to be held accountable. "As we warned, we are going after property owners who profit from renting to these illegal operators," Goldsmith said. "I strongly urge property owners to obey the law." The City Attorney's Office filed a complaint against the dispensary operators and landlord in April 2015. In May 2015, it obtained a temporary restraining order and in June 2015 a preliminary injunctive order enjoining Medrano from maintaining a dispensary on his property. Another temporary restraining order was issued against the operators in September 2015 and a preliminary injunctive order was issued last November. Despite these four court orders, the dispensary remained open until this week. In issuing his order, Superior Court Judge Gregory Pollack noted that Medrano continued to collect rent knowing that his tenant was illegally selling marijuana. In a declaration provided to the court, the Rev. James B. Harrison said the dispensary was next to a block of educational and church properties, and that he has observed its patrons engaging in conversation with young girls getting off school buses. He also said he has observed young boys exchanging money with men who emerged from the dispensary. Under the City's medical marijuana zoning ordinance, legal marijuana dispensaries cannot be located with 1,000 feet of schools or churches. In a separate case, Maher Hanna, the operator of The Nugget House, an unpermitted dispensary located at 3717 University Ave. in City Heights that also remained open in defiance of a court order, was ordered to pay $55,000 in civil penalties by Superior Court Judge John Meyer. Hanna was ordered to close the dispensary in July 2015, but kept its doors open until January 2016.

California bill would allow landlords to ban marijuana for renters With legalization looming on the horizon, California lawmakers are already grappling over how to treat marijuana in a state with some of the strictest tobacco regulations in the country. A new bill from Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, would extend to medical marijuana a 2011 law that permitted landlords to prohibit the smoking of cigarettes and other tobacco products on their rental properties. If voters p...ass a November ballot measure legalizing recreational use, it would apply to all marijuana. At an Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, where AB 2300 advanced unanimously, Wood pointed to preliminary research from UC San Francisco that found pot smoke can damage your heart and blood vessels as much as cigarette smoke. Secondhand smoke, regardless of whether it’s smoke from tobacco or marijuana, is especially problematic in multiunit apartments and condos because the smoke easily travels the windows, doors and other ventilation systems, Wood said. It’s a nuisance that tenants should not have to live with. California law already prohibits smoking medical marijuana anywhere tobacco is banned, which includes most public places. But the bill sponsor, the California Apartment Association, said it is important to give landlords explicit authority to forbid pot smoke on their properties, since it can create tension among tenants. Some advocates have raised concerns that AB 2300 would infringe on the rights of patients under Proposition 215, the medical marijuana legalization act passed by California voters in 1996. The largest marijuana user organizations are neutral on the bill, though they told the committee they may be able to support it if an exemption is included for those who vaporize cannabis, which may fall under the legal definition of smoking. Prop. 215 does not specifically mention the right to smoke marijuana, Wood said. Qualified patients will still be able to obtain and use medical marijuana through all other non-smoking ways, such as edibles and oils. AB 2300 is now eligible to be taken up on the Assembly floor. Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com//politics-government/capitol-alert/a