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  Medical Marijuana a Frequent Target for Criminals

Posted by CN Staff on March 18, 2010 at 16:51:55 PT
By Lisa Leff, Associated Press Writer 
Source: Associated Press 

San Francisco, CA --  Patients, growers and clinics in some of the 14 states that allow medical marijuana are increasingly falling victim to robberies, home invasions, shootings and even murders at the hands of pot thieves.There have been dozens of cases in recent months alone. The issue received more attention this week after a prominent medical marijuana activist in Seattle nearly killed a robber in a shootout - the eighth time thieves had targeted his pot-growing operation.
Critics say the heists and holdups prove that marijuana and crime are inseparable, though marijuana advocates contend that further legalization is the answer. News of crimes related to medical marijuana comes at an awkward time for California and Washington advocates who are pushing to pass ballot measures to allow all adults, not just the seriously ill, to possess the drug."Whenever you are dealing with drugs and money, there is going to be crime. If people think otherwise, they are very naive," said Scott Kirkland, the police chief in El Cerrito, Calif., and a vocal critic of his state's voter-approved medical marijuana law."People think if we decriminalize it, the Mexican cartels and Asian gangs are going to walk away. That's not the world I live in," Kirkland said.Activists and law enforcement officials say it is difficult to get an accurate picture of crimes linked to medical marijuana because many drug users don't report the crimes to police for fear of arousing unwanted attention from the authorities. But the California Police Chiefs Association used press clippings to compile 52 medical marijuana-related crimes - including seven homicides - from April 2008 to March 2009.There also is plenty of anecdotal evidence:- A man in Washington state was beaten to death last week with what is believed to be a crowbar after confronting an intruder on the rural property where he was growing cannabis to treat painful back problems.- Medical marijuana activist Steve Sarich exchanged gunfire with intruders in his Seattle home Monday, shooting and critically injuring one of them.- In California, a boy was shot to death while allegedly trying to steal a cancer patient's pot plants from his home garden.- A respected magazine editor was killed in 2007 by robbers who targeted his Northern California home for marijuana and money after hearing that his teenage son was growing pot with a doctor's approval.- Robbers killed a security guard at a Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensary in 2008.Police and marijuana opponents say the violence is further proof that the proliferation of medical marijuana is a problem that will worsen if the drug is legalized or decriminalized.Pot activists say the opposite: that prohibition breeds crime and legalization would solve the problem. They also say the robberies have exposed the need for more regulation of medical marijuana laws in states like California, Washington and Colorado."The potential for people to get ripped off and for people to use guns to have to defend themselves against robbers is very real," said Keith Stroup, founder and chief legal counsel for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "But it's nothing to do with medical marijuana. It is to do with the failure of states to regulate this."Marijuana advocates say there is adequate regulation in New Mexico, where officials say there have been no violent medical marijuana robberies.Medical cannabis is primarily grown by a small number of regularly inspected nonprofits in New Mexico, and the state keeps their names and locations confidential. The law includes extensive requirements covering security, quality control, staff training and education about the use of the drug.Most medical marijuana states have only vague rules for caregivers or dispensaries participating in a business with products that can fetch $600 an ounce. Some states, including California and Colorado, can only guess how many pot dispensaries they have because the businesses don't have to register with the state."This is ridiculous, in my opinion, to have medical marijuana and no regulation," Stroup said. "A jewelry store wouldn't open without security, and if it did, a scuzzy person's going to break in and steal all their diamonds."Stephen Gutwillig, California director of the pro-pot Drug Policy Alliance, said that while the robberies are disturbing, there is no way to conclude that legalized marijuana breeds any more crime than convenience stores, banks or homes stocked with expensive jewelry and electronics.In fact, Denver police said the 25 robberies and burglaries targeting medical marijuana in the city in the last half of 2009 amounted to a lower crime rate than what banks or liquor stores there suffered."I think what we are seeing is a spate of crime that reflects the novelty of medical marijuana cultivation and distribution through unregulated means," Gutwillig said.Marijuana is still illegal under federal law, but the Obama administration loosened its guidelines for prosecutions of medical pot last year. The Justice Department told federal prosecutors that targeting people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws was not a good use of their time.The decision energized the medical marijuana movement and came as Washington state and California are trying to get pot legalization measures on the ballot. Activists are still gathering signatures, and it's not yet known if the measures will qualify for the ballot.Meanwhile, California cities have been trying to rein in the drug in response to a medical marijuana law that is the nation's most liberal.Detective Robert Palacios of the Los Angeles Police Department said he has investigated a half-dozen dispensary robberies in the last year, but he has seen the number of such crimes drop in recent weeks after the City Council moved to close many stores.In all the cases he's investigated, armed robbers have stolen marijuana, cash and other items. They often resell the drug on the street."They are going into a business and using a threat of force," Palacios said. "Even though they are in an establishment that itself is questionably legal, it's our duty to investigate."Associated Press Writers Kristen Wyatt in Denver, Gene Johnson in Seattle, Thomas Watkins in Los Angeles and Sue Major Holmes in Albuquerque contributed to this report.Source: Associated Press (Wire)Author: Lisa Leff, Associated Press WriterPublished: March 18, 2010Copyright: 2010 The Associated PressCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml

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Comment #21 posted by Richard Zuckerman on March 19, 2010 at 19:28:24 PT:
Armed security guards & adequate video coverage:
Armed security guards and adequate videotaping of the medical pot dispensaries. www.chicagoguncase.com.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #20 posted by Paint with light on March 18, 2010 at 23:47:57 PT
Tennessee Law
Comments from a speaker at the NORML meeting in Nashville last Friday."We want the cost to patients to be around $50.00 an ounce.....We want to only allow growing indoors or in 50' by 100' greenhouses......We want to control the mold problem by close inspection.....There are only a few qualifying conditions, but there are provisions to allow the doctor to write a recommendation off-label(so it can be used for a non-qualifying condition).........",speaker Bernie Ellis.I spoke up during Q/A session and made the point that the legalization of cannabis should rely on all three main uses instead of just medical......Hemp, medical, and recreational.I think it is okay for now to move strongest on the medical issue because we need relief for the sick first(if there has to be a 'first' in line).Also we have a 60 to 90% approval rating in every area of the country for medical.I don't think we need to ignore the hemp and the recreational uses in gathering strength for our cause.50% here...30% there....and 20% over there and pretty soon it adds up.The medical people, the farmers and industrialists, and the recreational factions need to unite more.We are a lot stronger together than we are apart.After Bernie was through speaking he made the comment to me that the one thing he was worried about if we legalized hemp was the problem of the possibility of cross pollination with the medical crop.He had no idea of the irony of him making that point to me.Some here will.I smiled and looked at him and said,"But Bernie, all your medical grows will be inside or in green houses. So...... no problem."His only answer was the look....you know....the look.Still to come.......The Tennessee representative that when asked for his support of the medical cannabis bill said,"Marijuana is equal to heroin and I will never vote for it".How can somebody be so dumb?Never mind...I know the answer.Legal like alcohol.
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Comment #19 posted by Had Enough on March 18, 2010 at 21:53:53 PT
All Points Bulletin Issued
An All Points Bulletin has been issued by the Keystone Cops to keep on the lookout for an unknown number of perps who have hi-jacked a truck carrying Viagra. Possibly Cialis and Levitra where also among the stolen cargo.The suspects, gender and race unknown, are believed to have been wearing black shirts and trousers with black stocking face masks...Height 5’-2” to 6’-8”. Weight 120lbs. to 295 lbs. They might appear to have a bulge in their pocket.Anyone with information to help identify anyone of this description is urged to contact the Department of the Keystone Cops...[not to be mistaken with Office of National Drug Control Policy.]The investigation is continuing, further information will be provided as it becomes available
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Comment #18 posted by runruff on March 18, 2010 at 21:28:36 PT
12 states pending mmj legislation.
Those LA busy-body cops are sure going to be busy this year!
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Comment #17 posted by runruff on March 18, 2010 at 21:20:58 PT
Check this out!
12 states pending legislation.http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002481
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Comment #16 posted by runruff on March 18, 2010 at 21:10:16 PT
In the news....
A truck full of Viagra was hijacked!Police are on the look-out for a gang of hardened criminals!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #15 posted by Had Enough on March 18, 2010 at 19:33:27 PT
Thieves...again...
EAH ...I saw that too...Here is an article for those who may have missed it...Thieves take $75 million in drugs after rappelling into warehouse12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, March 17, 2010Stephanie Reitz, The Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. – In a Hollywood-style heist, thieves cut a hole in the roof of a warehouse, rappelled inside and scored one of the biggest hauls of its kind – not diamonds, gold bullion or Old World art, but about $75 million in antidepressants and other prescription drugs. The pills, stolen from Eli Lilly & Co., are believed to be destined for the black market, perhaps overseas. 
The thieves apparently scaled the brick exterior of the warehouse...more... http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/DN-drugheist_17nat.ART.State.Edition1.4ba3b31.html***Maybe the City Counsil should move to close them in efforts to reduce crime...
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Comment #14 posted by HempWorld on March 18, 2010 at 19:27:31 PT
Yes, EAH,
You cannot understand it if your paycheck depends on it!And then, blatantly assume, because they are in (tax payer paid) uniforms, their word carries some weight!Yes, unfortunately, they usurp their powers! Even if we vote in legalization, they will still whine and resist.
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Comment #13 posted by EAH on March 18, 2010 at 19:15:54 PT:
Plain as day
Gee um weren't $75 million worth of prescription drugs just stolen a few days ago in Connecticut? TRUCKLOADS! Yet I don't see anyone blaming those drugs or the pharmaceutical manufacturers or distributors for the "crime". If you add up all the value of ALL the medical cannabis EVER stolen, I'm certain it comes nowhere near that amount. The double standard is just incredible.The cognitive disconnects of the cops, alarmists and prohibition defenders is 
astounding. The logic, economics, and historical proof all show that making it legal, regulating it, increasing supply, will greatly reduce the value, and the crime will disappear. Not hard to understand. Unless you don't want to.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #12 posted by FoM on March 18, 2010 at 19:04:27 PT
Had Enough
You're welcome.
[ Post Comment ]

 


Comment #11 posted by Had Enough on March 18, 2010 at 19:00:05 PT

Robberies in LA
During the 1960s, an average of 400 bank robberies occurred each year in the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office (FBILA) jurisdiction, which exceeds 40,000 square miles and consists of seven counties. In the 1970s, the number of bank robberies doubled to almost 800 each year. In 1978, the number of robberies exceeded 1,000, placing the Los Angeles area ahead of the rest of the nation in total bank robberies per year and earning it the title "Bank Robbery Capital of the World." The area retained this title with an average of 1,400 bank robberies per year in the 1980s, which accounted … ***Robberies in LAhttp://www.tiny9.com/u/7624

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Comment #10 posted by Had Enough on March 18, 2010 at 18:45:39 PT

Well Now...
Thank you FoM for fixing that.Go ahead and zap #9 if you care to...

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Comment #8 posted by The GCW on March 18, 2010 at 18:36:20 PT

Go So Dak
The So Dak vote had an issue in the wording that caused it to miss it by that much. Isn't that right??? Up untill that point, I believe the medical cannabis issue was batting 1,000.Go So Dak.
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Comment #7 posted by Had Enough on March 18, 2010 at 18:34:33 PT

Thieves
“”Detective Robert Palacios of the Los Angeles Police Department said he has investigated a half-dozen dispensary robberies in the last year, but he has seen the number of such crimes drop in recent weeks after the City Council moved to close many stores.””How many banks, convenient stores (stop and robs), pharmacies, various other small shops, and individuals were robbed during the same period they are talking about...You think just maybe they would see a drop if the City Council moved to close these too!!!Speaking of ‘periods’ these guys need to get off the rag...

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Comment #6 posted by The GCW on March 18, 2010 at 18:27:24 PT

Original vs Sequel
Didn't the original prohibition with booze have the same problems? Didn't the drop in price reduce those same problems once booze was taxed and regulated?Murder rates decreased for 10 years after ending the original prohibition with booze and there's reason to believe ending the sequel will have the same results.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on March 18, 2010 at 18:23:52 PT

We're Still Moving Right Along
South Dakotans To Vote on Legalizing Medical MarijuanaBy Associated PressThursday, March 18, 2010URL: http://drugsense.org/url/LvQBs2Wm
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Comment #4 posted by Cheebs1 on March 18, 2010 at 18:13:35 PT:

Notice That?
"They are going into a business and using a threat of force," Palacios said. "Even though they are in an establishment that itself is questionably legal, it's our duty to investigate."The only reason to say this is because this cop doesn't think that the victims should be protected. It's our duty to investigate is actually cop speak for, " Screw them. Let them kill each other. Less that I have to do for the money I get paid".
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on March 18, 2010 at 17:36:39 PT

HempWorld
Thank you. It's just that simple. They go round and round and just can't grasp the reality of how it will be someday when the laws are changed.
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Comment #2 posted by HempWorld on March 18, 2010 at 17:27:17 PT

FoM
You are so right!
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on March 18, 2010 at 16:54:14 PT

It's About The Money
With marijuana priced so high crime will happen. Change the laws on marijuana and the price will drop and the crime will go away.
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