cannabisnews.com: Robbers Invade Oakland Pot Club





Robbers Invade Oakland Pot Club
Posted by CN Staff on November 10, 2003 at 06:32:38 PT
By Susan McDonough and Harry Harris, Staff Writers
Source: Oakland Tribune 
Oakland -- A medical marijuana club in Oakland's so-called Oaksterdam district was the target of an invasion-style armed robbery Sunday morning. Four men, one with a gun, tied up a bouncer outside Compassionate Caregivers at about 8:10 a.m. and barrelled their way to where the cannabis club is located on the top floor of the three-story building, police said.
Several medical marijuana patients and staff members were inside the club at 1740 Telegraph Ave., part of an area known as Oaksterdam because of the proliferation of marijuana dispensaries that have opened in the triangle between Telegraph Avenue, Broadway and 17th and 19th streets in recent months. The gunmen tied up another person inside the dispensary and took several ounces of marijuana and a significant amount of cash before fleeing, police said. The bouncer -- whose job is to ensure that patrons have medical marijuana user's cards -- was able to free himself and run to the 19th Street BART station, where he phoned police. Oakland Police Sgt. Hugh Kidd said no one was injured and no patrons or staff members were robbed individually. Club personnel were cooperative with police, Kidd said. No arrests have been made. A person answering the phone Sunday at Compassionate Caregivers, where music played loudly in the background, said everyone at the club was fine, but he declined to comment further. Oakland was one of the first U.S. cities to legitimize the use of medical marijuana by deputizing a former club on Broadway as a distributor. That dispensary was shut down by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency in 1998, but a number of marijuana-related businesses have sprung up in the neighborhood to replace it. Cannabis clubs in Berkeley and Sacramento have been hit by similar armed robberies in recent years. Source: Oakland Tribune (CA)Author: Susan McDonough and Harry Harris, Staff WritersPublished:  Monday, November 10, 2003 Copyright: 2003 MediaNews Group, Inc. Contact: triblet angnewspapers.com Website: http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Americans For Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccessnow.org/Anti-Smoking Laws Threaten Oaksterdamhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17763.shtmlCannabis Clubs Put Council in Tight Spothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17694.shtmlMedical Pot Has Council in Dithershttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17424.shtml
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Comment #8 posted by SoberStoner on November 10, 2003 at 17:43:44 PT
The critical clue
Forgot what the key was here..."invasion-style armed robbery"who better at invasion-style armed robbery than your local SWAT team?Too bad there wasnt a camera there like there was in South Carolina.The cops have become an out of control paramilitary goon squad...what the hell happened to 'peace officers'? And cops wonder why people hate them so much...Maybe if they had respect for the law like they were supposed too, maybe we'd respect them.SS
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Comment #7 posted by SoberStoner on November 10, 2003 at 17:40:51 PT
The real story here...
These people wont be caught by the cops because they ARE the cops.Think about it...How many articles have we seen here about 'Oaksterdam' lately..Take a look back through them..They have been looking for a way to shut this place down for a while now...Now they have the perfect excuse, "See, we TOLD you this was a dangerous place full of criminals..we cant find these guys, but we better shut it down before it happens again..my god, what if a child got shot?"This was setup start to finish..Amerika: Land of the Pee, home of the sheep.SS
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Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on November 10, 2003 at 15:20:52 PT:
Good point, OS
The proof of the pudding would be if they were ever caught. If they were DEA, I doubt they ever will be. The WAMM raid was a public relations disaster for the DEA, the Rosenthal trial was a flaming embarrassment, and the Administration has handed it's opponents a sharp goad if they just had the cojones to raise a stink about the precious funds and expensive man-hours were spent in caging Tommy Chong while ol' Osama is still at large, the budget is drowning in red ink and millions have no jobs.Sleep safe, America, the capable hands of the DEA on the job, scouring the countryside...for glass-blowers. While rivers of white poison pour through the land, under their feet, corrupting all that it would not destroy.It wouldn't surprise me at all to see that these thieving scum were in fact paid informants of the DEA given a little extra incentive to pull something like this. But that they might be DEA themelves I seriously doubt. They haven't been shown as being very competent of late. They couldn't afford to have one of their number caught and exposed. California's political climate is quite volatile and not as disposed to Fed intervention as it used to be. Such an incident might even knock the newly instated Guv'nuh off his catbird seat, and the Republicans don't want to risk that.I'll stick with my original theory...unless one of them is caught and has his Government issued balaclava ripped off his face and his subdued badge shown on TV cameras.
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Comment #5 posted by OverwhelmSam on November 10, 2003 at 09:00:25 PT:
What Makes You Think It Wasn't DEA?
kaptinemo, I wouldn't be surprised it the DEA were behind it.
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Comment #4 posted by Richard Paul Zuckerm on November 10, 2003 at 08:53:11 PT:
VIDEO SECURITY CAMERAS, TOO.
They should also install video security cameras.
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Comment #3 posted by Richard Paul Zuckerm on November 10, 2003 at 08:36:42 PT:
YOU EXPECT THE POLICE TO TRACK DOWN THE ROBBER??!!
I assumed they had ARMED guards in the facility!! I can't believe they did not have armed guards! The Cannabis Buyers Clubs should implement thick bulletproof glass at the entrances to the building. I was hoping the people would have learned from 9/11??!! You people have not idea of how often the United States Government has caused terrorist! www.whatreallyhappened.com/stf1.html; www.fromthewilderness.com; www.sumeria.net/politics/shadv3.html; www.afrocubaweb.com/assata4.htm. It is time for the people to keep and bear arms, NOT TO RELY UPON THE POLICE FOR PERSONAL PROTECTION!! The individual citizen's Right to keep and bear arms against private criminals and an oppressive government, a petition for certiorari of which is now pending in the United States Supreme Court, from the 9th Circuit, entitled Silveira v. Lockyer!! The courts have taken our INDIVIDUAL Right to keep and bear arms FOR TOO LONG! Disarming Americans makes a fearful and victimized sheeple! Do you seriously believe that criminals purchase firearms over-the-counter? Your voting for Democrats and Republicans have rendered you people into a state of learned helplessness. Wake up and get off of the government school kick!! www.johntaylorgatto.com. "Don't let schooling get in the way of your education." Mark Twain. The internet is an important source of self-education. I attended the Green Party USA conference this past weekend at the New York Law School, www.greenparty.org. Although Green Party does not discuss the firearms issue, they do seem to support the existence of the United Nations and the United Nations Small Arms Treaty. This is where Green Party and I disagree! Those of you who believe the police are sufficient personal protection probably also believe that government schools truly educate the people! Please visit www.gunowners.org; www.jpfo.org; www.johntaylorgatto.com; www.lp.org; and www.GreenParty.org? Gun control laws have not reduced crime sufficient to justify their continued existence! Corporations have outlived their usefulness! Please visit and digest the information in www.wilpf.org; www.corporationsarenothuman.org; www.killercoke.org; then sign the Initiative Petition in www.endcorporaterule.org? Lets not forget that the United States Government is a PUBLIC Corporation. So are many municipalities. The robbery of the cannabis buyers club inspires me towards the goal of self sufficiency and to continue my CIVIL RIGHTS LAWSUIT against the three liar Highland Park, N.J., policemen who embellished allegations of "disorderly conduct" because I refused to show them my identification! The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari A FEW WEEKS AGO on whether we are required to tell the police our name, a case from The State of Nevada. This pending U.S. Supreme Court most definitely impacts my pending civil rights case!Richard Paul Zuckerman, Box 159, Metuchen, New Jersey, 08840-0159,l(Cell telephone number)(908) 403-6990, richardzuckerman2002 yahoo.com;
Diploma in Paralegal, New York University, 2003;
Diploma in Truck Driving, Smith & Solomon School of Truck Driving, Kilmer Road, Edison, New Jersey, 1995;
B.A. in Political Science, Kean College of New Jersey, recently renamed Kean University, Union, N.J., 1987.
Member of: www.jpfo.org; www.njlp.org; www.greenparty.org; www.fija.org; www.aclu-nj.org; www.normlnj.org; www.norml.org; www.hightimes.com; www.cannabisculture.com;
Subscriber to: Law Enforcement News (A publication of John Jay College of Criminal Justice); New Jersey Militia Newsletter (10 U.S.C. Section 311); The Free Press.
Avid listener of: The Expert Witness Radio Show, hosted by Mike Levine, 20 year veteran of federal law enforcement, 99.5 F.M., many Mondays, 5 P.M., in New York City area, downloadable from his Web site, www.expertwitnessradio.org; The Howard Stern Radio Show, for morning smile therapy, 92.3 F.M., Monday thru Friday, 6 A.M. to 10:15 A.M.; Sorely missing The Greaseman, www.Greaseman.org. 
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Comment #2 posted by BlakNo1 on November 10, 2003 at 08:35:47 PT:
egad
Please, the cops probably put the crooks up to it......
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Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on November 10, 2003 at 07:10:03 PT:
Filthy thieving SWINE!
But then again, they're only following the DEA's example; if the Guv'mint can do it, why can't they?
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