Law Enforcement & Crime
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Your Teen's Marijuana Counselor Might Be A Convicted Pedophile or Thief — Nobody Checks
Law Enforcement & Crime David Downs — Wed, May 15, 2013 at 11:42 AM
California forces thousands of teens convicted of minor marijuana offenses into "drug rehabilitation", but who are the drug counselors?
Sometimes pedophiles and thieves, according to a California State Senate investigation showing a deplorable lack of oversight of the drug rehab industry.
"California does not require a criminal background check for drug and alcohol counselors, nor does it ask applicants to report their criminal histories, according to the report, which found that at least 23 sex offenders have been permitted to work as counselors since 2005," the L.A. Times reports.
Monday, May 13, 2013
New Michigan Law Would Keep Kids Out of Drug Stings
Law Enforcement & Crime David Downs — Mon, May 13, 2013 at 9:37 AM
A Michigan lawmaker wants to pass a bill to limit police use of children in drug stings to children ages 13 and up, after Michigan narcs used a 14 year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy to set up a 36-year-old parolee. The father of the 14-year-old has filed a complaint with the Michigan Attorney General’s Office. “To me, it was absolutely ridiculous to think that this was OK,” the father told the Detroit Free Press. “If this guy ever gets out of prison, the repercussions could be huge.”
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Critics Blast U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag for Berkeley Patients Group Harassment
Law Enforcement & Crime David Downs — Thu, May 9, 2013 at 9:14 AM
Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates took local U.S. Attorney (and rumored Berkeley resident) Melinda Haag to task Wednesday for harassing Berkeley Patients Group. The popular, permitted medical cannabis dispensary in Berkeley faces federal forfeiture efforts from Haag yet again, leading to a press conference yesterday where town leaders defended the Better Business Bureau member and ripped on the U.S. Attorney.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Berkeley Patients Group Targeted by Feds Again
Law Enforcement & Crime David Downs — Wed, May 8, 2013 at 9:16 AM
Popular Berkeley medical cannabis dispensary Berkeley Patients Group is being targeted again by the federal government, reports state. The US Attorney is attempting to seize BPG's new location at 2366 San Pablo Avenue. BPG had re-opened in the location after the feds forced the club from its home at 2477 San Pablo in 2012 on the grounds that it was too close to a school. This time, however, the landlord and the dispensary seem ready to fight federal action, arguing that the new location is nowhere near any school.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Breaking News: San Jose Dispensary Landlords Threatened with 40 Years in Prison as Feds' Marijuana Crackdown Continues
Law Enforcement & Crime David Downs — Tue, Apr 30, 2013 at 10:39 AM
A San Jose dispensary operator has informed us that the federal government has begun a new round of actions against lawful medical cannabis dispensaries in the South Bay. Landlords are receiving threatening letters from US Attorney Melinda Haag, warning of forty-year-prison sentences if landlords do not evict their dispensary tenants.
Dated April 26, one letter to a San Jose landlord stated: “The office has been advised that there is a marijuana dispensary ... operating at the real property located at ..., which property you own or have under your management control. The dispensary is operating in violation of federal law, and persons and entities who operate or facilitate the operation of such dispensaries are subject to criminal prosecution and civil enforcement actions. Since the dispensary is operating within a prohibited distance of a [Art Academy], the unlawful operation of the dispensary is subject to enhanced penalties.”
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Feds' Marijuana Fishing Expedition Called Off in Mendocino County
Law Enforcement & Crime David Downs — Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 8:14 AM
Well, here's some superficially good news.
The feds' precedent-setting fishing expedition into Mendocino County's legal medical marijuana growers' program has been significantly narrowed in scope. No personal identifying information from the County's famed 9.31 program will be released to U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag and her office. It sounds like some good news for Emerald Triangle growers who had come out of the cold to be a part of the Sheriff's Office program - which permitted medical marijuana gardens of up to 99 plants with registration, inspection and fees.
Friday, April 5, 2013
Oaksterdam Raid Remembered One Year Later
Law Enforcement & Crime David Downs — Fri, Apr 5, 2013 at 10:43 AM
It's pretty clear the Oaksterdam raid was federal payback. Payback for opening the cannabis college. Payback for running Prop 19. Payback for being unashamed.
How else should we interpret the news that one year after sixty federal agents raided the downtown Oakland businesses, not a single charge has been filed against Oaksterdam operator Richard Lee? The federal message to pot's thought leaders seems clear: "Shut your mouth. We can end you at will."
Oakland North's Madeleine Thomas does good work on the anniversary story April 2, detailing how Oaksterdam stayed afloat after the raid and persists to this day.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Sexual Assault During Pot Stop Was Just 'Customer Service', Cop Rep Says
Law Enforcement & Crime David Downs — Tue, Apr 2, 2013 at 2:38 PM
The sexual assault of two women during a pot stop was just "customer service", writes the head of a faction of one of the country's largest police unions.
Reason.com reports that Dale Roberts - the executive director of the Columbia Police Officers Association (CPOA), part of a major police union - joked on Facebook March 27 that the sexual assault of two Texas women stopped for pot was just "customer service".
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Supreme Court Upholds Pot-Grower's Privacy, to the Benefit of Us All
Law Enforcement & Crime David Downs — Tue, Mar 26, 2013 at 1:49 PM
Chalk one up for civil liberties in the age of the police state.
The U.S. Supreme Court decided today that cops can't go around without warrants having drug dogs sniff everyone's front porch for suspected pot farming.
Warrantless drug dog sniffs of porches violate each American's Fourth Amendment right to privacy in their home, Justices Scalia, Thomas, Ginsburg, Sotomayor and Kagan — ruled in the case of Florida v. Jardines.
The case comes out of Florida, where in 2006 police acted on an anonymous tip by taking a drug-sniffing dog to a person's front porch when they weren't home. The dog gave a positive alert for narcotics and based on the alert, the officers obtained a warrant for a search, which revealed marijuana plants. The homeowner was charged with cannabis trafficking.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Medical Marijuana Patients Wary of Booze Cops Regulating Pot
Law Enforcement & Crime David Downs — Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 5:01 PM
Californians have gone seventeen years without a statewide system to regulate the medical marijuana — something they voted for under Proposition 215 in 1996. Somehow, the sky has not fallen. But the make-it-up-as-you-go era may be coming to an end, as yesterday, Representative Tom Ammiano issued a press release stating that he has put forth AB 473 — a bill to regulate California medical marijuana through the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
