Fresno Co. Deputies Bust Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

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FruityBud

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Ryan Jackson started off confused.

"All kinds of weird questions about where these peoples money goes and where their money is, how much their medicine costs? It was all about money," Jackson said about the questions police were asking him.

Then he got angry.

"I'm pissed. They didn't handcuff us, but they lined us up in rows and just started taking our marijuana," Jackson said.

He and all the others there say they've got a good reason.

"I got hit by a drunk driver two years ago and I have really bad back injuries," Jackson said.

"I shattered my patella. So I have hard times walking. I have a hard time standing up for more than a half hour at a time," Chris Rice, medical marijuana user, said.

But the neighbors aren't buying it.

"These people do not have money to pay the rent. They do not have money to make a car payment. They do not have money to do anything else. But they have money to buy drugs," Carlos Martinez, who lives in the area, said.

On and near Clovis Avenue there are four different medical marijuana dispensaries.

Neighbors say the people who use the dispensary speed down their streets, park in front of their homes and sometimes even on their lawns.

They say from the time they park to the time they get to the dispensary, a lot of stuff happens.

"I caught one guy trying to steal my car. They stole my motorcycle four weeks ago, barely found it last week. They broke into my neighbors' house not too long ago. We had a shooting over here in April. We have had several fights in front of the business," Martinez said.

"A man got out of his car before he went down to get his drugs, opened his pants and urinated in front of my 12-year-old son on my lawn," Elizabeth Thacker, who also lives in the area, said.

Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims says the constant complaints didn't fall on deaf ears.

"I know this is a very contentious issue," she said.

Investigators raided the dispensaries, homes and warehouses believing they're violating state and federal law by drawing big profits.

"We'll be looking for phone records, bank records, delivery information," Mims said.

It was an operation praised by people who live there.

"I don't have a problem with them smoking, drinking or jumping off the bridge if they want to, but just not to do it in our neighborhood to cause problems to our families," Martinez said.

But it was not so applauded by the patients.

"I'm probably going to end up going and buying something off someone on the street, find someone on the street corner that's got something because I need my medication. That's just the way it is," Rice said.

Sheriff's deputies tells us they found so much evidence inside the marijuana dispensaries, there's no way they can go through it all in one day.

They'll have a full report of what they found Thursday morning.

No arrests were made during Wednesday's busts.

Sheriff Mims says the department has the evidence to build its cases.

She says, the U.S. attorney has reviewed the investigation and made sure the prosecution has what it needs to move forward with charges.

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Its Fresno. A big ghetto, with more gang members than members of its University there.
So to me it just sounds like any liquor store or pawn shop in the area.
 
SPEARCHUCKER said:
Its Fresno. A big ghetto, with more gang members than members of its University there.
So to me it just sounds like any liquor store or pawn shop in the area.

Exactly, the whole time I'm reading all of these "complaints" I'm thinking to myself, well if that dispensary wasn't there it would be a gun stor or liquor store or a crack house. In other words I'm sure the neighboorhood wasn't exactly filled with Stepford wives before the dispensary moved in. Sounds to me like it was a crappy place to begin with. And the people in the area are just using the dispensery as an excuse. The actions of the cops are pathetic and obviously wrong. When people complain that 40 illegal aliens are hanging out front of Lowe's or Home depot causing problems, the cops don't go into Home Depot and confiscate everything.


-SSF-
 
Noone was arrested at all...they just took all da Herb and Money....bastids
 
Another showing of how bad dispensary practices can lead to problems. Not saying this is the issue, but the perception is thee and thwat's plenty enough to start issues for mmj. I sure wish bad dispensaries would clean up their acts....because I'm guessing the voters won't know the difference between a good or bad dispensary, just that dispensaries are the problem!

This goes straight back to my rant in the buzz kill thread.
 
I did some more net searches on the subject and came to the conclusion that the police used speculation and guesses to achieve warrants to garnish evidence. The fact that they had record keeping for the popo to take shows how much $$$ they raked in does help show that they were not trying to break to many laws. I say to many cause the Feds would say they are...

From what I also read, it sounds like it is just a couple of people blowing stuff out of proportion and the cops are using them as an excuse. Almost every article I saw was at least 50% complaints the neighbors had, and it was always the same 2-3 "incidents" and problems.

I think they guy who pissed in the lawn sounds like he was drunk. (Sounds like a very drunk man activity) It never mentioned if he was driving or not, just that he got out of his car. Just my opinion, don't take it serious.

I would say what bothers me about this incident is the cops seized everything, both medicinal supplies and record books to use as evidence that they might be doing something wrong. If they guys were breaking the law, they do deserve to be punished, but the methods used to prove them guilty are questionable at best.

I see these acts as 'tests' to see how far they can go to alienate our rights. Once they have an established record of doing so and getting away with it, they start to spread those tactics to other areas of law enforcement. They are just using the ends to justify the means, and the means by which they do it are wrong.

I also want to point out that the cops had the opportunity to just seize only the records and computers that they would need to formulate evidence, but instead, they chose to take all of the medicinal supplies, proof that they are out to prove more of a point then just sending the message, stay within the law.
 
If a cop believes a crime is broke and the crime involved the weed in question, they acted properly. It would be fairly hard to prove their case (should it turn out they have one) if the evidence was never collected!

Whether a law was broke or not isn't my concern, the perception is definitely there both in the eyes of the locals as well as the police! I truly doubt there was only a few incidents, the police in our areas are a bit more lazy than to check on a few incidents in this manner....I could be wrong, of course!

My opinion, the store owner is responsible for keeping things in order, including the customers...likewise, a smart medical user SHOULD use enough sense to act appropriately to keep the perception in our favor. Seems at least one of the above was lacking horribly. I would think most of us are responsible and act accordingly, but......

The guy declaring he'll resort to buying off the streets....man, that surely helped his point, brilliant!?! Go to another dispensary, a reputable one...and act like an adult doing so! :doh:
 
Roddy said:
If a cop believes a crime is broke and the crime involved the weed in question, they acted properly. It would be fairly hard to prove their case (should it turn out they have one) if the evidence was never collected!
If a cop believes a business is breaking the law, they have rules and standards in which they must abide by. Those rules and standards are there to protect the business and the people who run them in case the cops botched it, which has happened in the past, hence the rules and standards. Because it was a dispensary and not a local retail store those rules and standards were ignored. That is what bothers me. It never said they closed the dispensaries either, just that they went in and took everything, medicine and records then left.

Roddy, I think their rights were alienated and you do not, let us agree to disagree and hit this :bong1:

Roddy said:
The guy declaring he'll resort to buying off the streets....man, that surely helped his point, brilliant!?! Go to another dispensary, a reputable one...and act like an adult doing so! :doh:
Haha, that was certainly not the smartest thing ever said, although it does bring up a good point. If dispensaries are shut down, where does the average medicinal patient get his meds? Not everyone has the means to grow their own. This pushes people to the black market and the dangers associated with it.

"These people do not have money to pay the rent. They do not have money to make a car payment. They do not have money to do anything else. But they have money to buy drugs," Carlos Martinez, who lives in the area, said.
I am calling out people like my buddy Carlos here to show that people don't really know the truth behind what is happening at the dispensary. They are calling wolf based off of truths gained from opinions rather than evidence.

Roddy said:
My opinion, the store owner is responsible for keeping things in order, including the customers...likewise, a smart medical user SHOULD use enough sense to act appropriately to keep the perception in our favor. Seems at least one of the above was lacking horribly. I would think most of us are responsible and act accordingly, but......

This is extremely true. A business owner, for profit or not, should have the sense and responsibility to know where he is putting his business and the type of clientèle they will attract. Putting a dispensary near school zones is not OK in my book. I do not know if that is the case here.

Anyways Roddy, I just want to close this lengthy post with the thanks for sharing your opinions, I rather enjoyed the discussion. If you want to talk more, feel free to hit me up in PM or reply to this post. I am off to hit the :bong:
 
THANKS for the hit, :48: try some OG!!!

I understand the laws and regulations and all that good stuff, but I still say that, if the cops believed illegal activity with the weed was being carried out, they can confiscate the potentially offensive product. If I were selling repeatedly to minors (beer), the law has the right to not only take my license, but confiscate my product...so no more illegal sales can take place! I'll go out on a limb to say that a pharmacy selling their drugs illegally would have their drugs confiscated as well.....not known for fact, but is sensible!

I agree about limited places to buy if can't grow own, but I read about 4 dispensaries in a short distance...sure there's many more! He's merely sensationalizing...and not very well! Fueling their fire by telling them you'll go illegal doesn't really help the legal move, just says we're law-breakers who'll do what we must for the high (perception....I know this isn't the case)

Yep, Carlos is a real winner there! Undoubtedly a model citizen himself, look at the neighborhood he's living! :D But, this does go back to perception! He (supposedly) perceives all mj smokers to be criminals with no money or jobs and only weed on our minds. Movies like Up In Smoke and such pushed that belief on many who don't know better...I'm wagering Carlos not only knows better, he's a smoker himself! And no, I've nothing against UIS....great movie and series!

Most states (or townships etc) have laws governing where dispensaries can be located...some places, it's really almost impossible to even find a location fitting the laws! Many times, they only allow the "red light" district for these businesses and owners have little choice in where they go. However, knowing the area, security in the form of cameras for video proof, maybe even hiring security to keep peace. I'd warn rowdy customers and ban those who couldn't act accordingly.... Truly, my first move as owner would be to try to win over the neighbors, good relations can go a long ways.

I enjoy a good and friendly discussion as this, seeing others' views helps me to understand how this world is, and may even teach me something along the way!!! :)

LOL Thomas...they're doing their best to try to blame the weed...
 
Blaming the weed for their problems is like yelling at the shoe after you stepped in ****.
 
I live an hour away from Fresno. There are no other dispensaries in Fresno, only the 5 that got raided. It has nothing to do with how they were ran or who ran them....it was all about the city/county wanting them out. Period.
There is NO other choice for folks in that area but to go buy on the street now.

Why do you think noone got arrested?? Buiding thier case? My butt. Simple scare tactics, as I have seen this many times in communities not wanting dispensaries. They go in and take all the loot and herb, knowing this will be a BIG hit to the operators. It will cost too much in the court system to fight to get the loot and herb back, and the Pigs know it.

Roddy, this has nothing to do with good/bad dispensaries man, it has to do with conservitive communities denying rights to MMJ patients. Alot of Central California communities are full of folks like "Carlos".

Watch this case, no one will be brought up on charges.
 
But it does have the perception....and that's all they need at this point! Perception that all mmj users are like those reported in that story is rampant, perception that all dispensaries are just legalized dope houses is really rampant, we have to show them otherwise....no one else will!

I agree, it sux that Fresno is against it all....but what made them this way would be a question from my curious mind!
 
Roddy said:
I agree, it sux that Fresno is against it all....but what made them this way would be a question from my curious mind!

I don't think Fresno is entirely against it, I mean, they had 5 stores so there must of been a market there somewhere. It is a shame when people result to bullying tactics instead of legitimate means to display the opposing views. (i.e. getting the local law changed, using the court system properly)
 
I am certain they were with it at first, like I said, something turned them against it...likely the patients or the dispensaries! I am sure they didn't just form an adverse opinion without reason.

That last statement...look around and tell me you can't stick that to some of us in here?? :) Just change bullying to underground grow....
 
Its Fresno. Likely something stupid like the actual drug dealers were beating the bejuka out of and threatening anyone walking into one.
Then all the bribes taken by city counsel from cartel/gangs.

Nothing to put much thought in. Its freakin Fresno. Id rather be dropped off in Columbia with a huge American flag and a sign saying, "Kidnap Me, Big Ransom".
 

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