cannabisnews.com: Blaze Exposes Marijuana Factory





Blaze Exposes Marijuana Factory
Posted by CN Staff on April 25, 2004 at 08:48:09 PT
By William Brand, Staff Writers
Source: Oakland Tribune 
Oakland -- A one-alarm warehouse fire at 601 Jackson St. turned into a major marijuana seizure Saturday morning. Firefighters discovered the warehouse was a maze of rooms -- each containing hundreds of plants in every stage of growth from sprouts to mature buds. But as Oakland police bagged and carried out more than 1,000 plants with an estimated street value of nearly $200,000, a question remained. Was the stuff illicit or was it legal?
Oakland Police Sgt. Caesar Basa said the building tenant told him the plants were being grown legally as medical marijuana destined for a cannabis club. But the tenant was short on details, Basa said. Police didn't arrest him, but the investigation is just beginning. He declined to identify the man. A neighbor, Chuang Ma, said the tenant rented the warehouse about three months ago. "He said he was a musician and rented the building for music." Ma said that a band previously occupied the building, and he heard music frequently. Ma said he had never heard music since the new tenant moved in. "This morning, we saw smoke coming from the roof. We went over and we saw two guys outside. They were calling on their cell phone," he said. "But we waited and the fire department didn't come." Ma said he called 9-1-1 to report the fire, and he thought the two men also called. Oakland Battalion Fire Chief Lorenzo Frediani estimated damage to the building at $100,000. He said firefighters wearing masks and carrying oxygen had a difficult time finding the fire. There were no lights; it was totally dark and heavy black smoke filled the building to the floor. It was a warren of rooms and there was a heavy odor of marijuana, Frediani said. "The fire was contained to the room of origin," he said. But there was extensive damage to the roof and to wiring, he said. Hours after the 8:52 a.m. fire, the strong odor of marijuana smoke and growing plants clung to the rooms. Meanwhile, an official at the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Club said she had no idea if the plants were legal medical marijuana. She said growers make their own arrangement with medical marijuana clubs. "Those arrangements are usually confidential," she said. Oakland currently has three clubs where patrons who have a letter from a medical doctor certifying that their condition warrants the use of marijuana as a stress and pain reliever can go to smoke and obtain the drug. Currently, an initiative calling for regulation and taxation of cannabis for adult use in Oakland has been started by the Oakland Civil Liberties Alliance. The initiative also would make enforcement of marijuana laws Oakland's lowest priority. However, possession and use of marijuana -- other than as a legally prescribed drug -- remains illegal under state law.Note: More than 1,000 marijuana plants, worth $200,000, discovered but owners, legality not known.Source: Oakland Tribune (CA)Author: William Brand, Staff WritersPublished: Sunday, April 25, 2004 Copyright: 2004 MediaNews Group, Inc. Contact: triblet angnewspapers.com Website: http://www.oaklandtribune.com/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on April 25, 2004 at 11:40:42 PT
Important Sad News from The CCC
VERY BAD NEWS Huge fire on W Hastings -- BCMP HQ, Blunt Bros, Urban Shaman deeply affected    
FlashGordon:'The marijuana party head office and blunt brother burned down this morning,pot-tv and marijuana party have suffered major water damage and smoke damage evey thing at pot-tv.net is gone by the water, just talked with marc 
nothing was insured. the movment needs eveyones help more then ever to rebuild if we can even rebuild. this morning some assholle set the garbage bine on fire and the whole building caught. 3 alarm fire, blunt brothers, started at 645 am, 3 dumpsters started on fire.'***Fire Rages in GastownCanadian PressSunday, April 25, 2004A three-alarm blaze in historic Gastown has the city of Vancouver under a blanket of smoke.Over 40 firefighters are on the scene as the fire rages at a three-story heritage building on West Hastings Street at Hamilton that houses Blunt Brothers Bar on the main floor.Witnesses on the scene have told media that the fire appears to be coming from a book store.There was no one inside the building and no injuries have been reported.There's no word yet on a cause of the blaze.The fire has caused some road closures and transit detours in the area.A thick cloud of smoke is blanketing downtown and debris is falling around the fire area. 
http://www.canada.com/vancouver/globaltv/story.html?id=bf8b4739-9c0e-4956-b1ed-2855ed4c3789
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