Hayward Medical Pot Club Face Federal Charges

[Cozmo]

The owner and manager of a Hayward medical marijuana dispensary were charged in federal court today with using the business as a front to sell pot for profit.

Hayward residents Shon Squier, 34, owner of the Local Patients Cooperative, and Valerie Herschel, 23, its manager, were charged with distribution of marijuana, maintaining drug-involved premises and money laundering.

Squier allegedly used the profit from marijuana sales to buy a Hayward home on Chronicle Avenue in the hills above Cal State East Bay for $532,107 and a Dodge pickup truck for $40,200, authorities said. Herschel allegedly used $85,853 for a down payment on a home on nearby Parkside Drive.

The two, who were arrested Dec. 11, were named today in a document known as an information, which in federal court typically signifies that a defendant intends to plead guilty.

"We have not ruled out any defenses or options at this time, including trial," Squier's attorney, Bruce Hall Atwater, said today, referring to himself and Fred Remer, Herschel's attorney.

Authorities seized indoor growing equipment, hundreds of plants and cookies, brownies and other food that contained marijuana during raids of the dispensary, located at 22612 through 22630 Foothill Blvd.

In 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215, which allows the use of marijuana for medical purposes with a doctor's recommendation. Under federal law, possessing marijuana in any form remains illegal.

Local officials recently ordered the dispensary, one of two in Hayward, to close because it had more marijuana on site than the city allowed. In an affidavit, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Kenny Lee cited a newspaper article to show that police had found 30 pounds of marijuana at the dispensary, 10 times the amount as allowed by the city of Hayward.

Agents staked out the dispensary five times in October and November, and saw healthy-looking men entering and leaving the building each time, carrying bags with the word "prescription" on it. Agents believed that the bags contained marijuana, according to the affidavit.


Newshawk: CoZmO - 420 Magazine
Source: The San Francisco Chronicle
Author: Henry K. Lee
Contact: hlee@sfchronicle.com
Copyright: 2007 Hearst Communications Inc.
Website: Proprietors of Hayward medical pot club face federal drug charges

 

[Janjaweed]

"using the business as a front to sell pot for profit"

thats illegal.

i cant really say im against that particular function of the law. and furthermore i shouldnt be paying 70 dollars for 1 tiny, small, little 3.5 gram 1/8th.

cmon clubs, thats a nothing amount. 1/8th?????
at least gimme a quarter for that much ;p

 

[Smokin Moose]

Pot dollar mavericks abuse the principles of prop 215 and have only themselves to blame if they get busted. All of those profits should have been put back into rebating the cost of patients mmj meds. People like this do immense harm to the mmj case.

 

[Jim Finnel]

they are the future medical marijuana corporate masters. its a dirty job but someone will do it. there is so much money at stake it will be hard to keep the medical marijuana industry any cleaner than any other industry. eventually the good guys that are out there will be swallowed up by the powerful, unless the way the world works changes. from what i've read the doctors that are writing the px for marijuana charge way too much as well. they look at you, ask some questions and sell you a px for way too much money. then you get ripped off again if you buy a card for way too much money. if someone who is truly sick and perhaps disabled can't afford to buy their regular px's how are they supposed to afford therapeudic amounts of marijuana? the only way marijuana as medicine would work for me would be by growing my own. but if people grow their own then those greedy bastards out there will be losing that money and the future marijuana industry won't allow that. i sure hope i'm wrong but i've been around too long and seen too much to be too hopeful. but all you can do is work for the cause and hope for the best.

 

[CounselorH]

They deserve their just rewards by making Real Medical Cannabis clubs that
struggle to have the best medicine for really sick patients look like their
into financing & making money also. Its a shame, & their only 23, what do they
know about the hardships of life.

 

[Cherma]

BIG BUSINESS: Yes, it looks like these 2 entrepenuers have gone over the wayward edge, or the Hayward edge.
Marijuana, the production, distribution and sales of all marijuana / cannabis products are BIG BUSINESS: Hemp seed, oils, clothing, medical marijuana, recreational marijuana is BIG BUSINESS:
The Department of Justice men and women know this too.
What should be discussed here is the correlation between Alcohol & Marijuana Prohibition, and how, after so many years of turf wars and battles between law enforcemnent: and manufactures - growers - distributors - retail sales of marijuana / cannabis products.
The environment is the same as it was during Alcohol Prohibition: there were speakeasy's associated with liquor and its manufacturing of and sales of to the people that for a period of time very little if any tax base revenue was being collected. Then came the "Revenuers" they are still around and want to make sure that the taxes are being collected from these growers / sellers / MM club owners,in accordance with the laws.
It is sad to hear that anyone is paying $70.00 per 1/8 ounce or $560 per OZ. Shame on this. But market demands are being met some way or another, if one is unable to grow their own marijuana.
There are many ways that the Federal DOJ & in cooperation with local & state authorities are working together to infiltrate and take over what will be soon a taxed based, regulated and somewhat more controlable, marijuana industry that is making billions of untaxed dollars.
Most people & federal officials in the USA or Canada may recall that the Kennedy family as well as many others made a lot of money from bootleg whiskey during Alcohol Prohibition. Has time really changed? or has the players of an existing breed just substituted marijuana for alcohol and are patiently waiting and gearing up for full repeal of marijuana prohibition laws and moving towards a taxed and regulated cannabis society. The current trends of arrests and seizures of medical marijuana clubs and the larger producers of marijuana indicate the same actions were taken prior to the repealed and ammended laws that were in force during Alcohol prohibition.
At this time it allowed larger conglomerates to assemble business plans and budgetary forecasting, to immediately implement a manufacturing, distribution & sales strategy, that is in place today and making companies and all bodies of the governments billions of tax based dollars of alcohol & tobacco products.
And it is the Government that is acting two fold in not paying any taxes of their own consumtion and use of alcohol and tobacco that is for any military installation, Base etc.. There are no taxes paid for hard alcohol that goes to any military base for consumption on the bases. All alcohol is picked up directly from the distilleries and taken direct to each military base. There are no taxes at all,the tax break to the distilleries is absurd for the privledge of manufacturing an alcohol based product: Does not this process in distilling alcohol come from plant material too?
At this point it will never be known who is working for who and with what governing entity to infiltrate and learn as much as can be about the marijuana industry that will eventually & soon be taken over by the State & Federal governments to regulate and tax an industry that is currently and will continue to provide great economic infusion to all.

The tax base revenue from every aspect of cannabis production will increase financial revenues and help keep sustaining many local and state governments. Let alone what the Federal Government of the USA will take in from the revenue of taxed cannabis. An estimated 4-6 Billion a year from Tax base revenue of Cannabis products.
It is time, that all laws pertaining to the Marijuana Tax act / prohibition are repealed and sent packing to the big joint in the sky.
It is time to have all 3 countries ( Canada, USA, Mexico) rally & use the trade agreements set forthe and abolish the Prohibition of Cannabis and initiate an import / export tax on all cannabis products that cross the 3 imaginary border lines.
Many liquor and tobacco companies are profiting greatly as are all branches of Government from the regulation and taxation of these products.
What is it that the liquor & tobacco companies have that is keeping and preventing the overturning of all marijuana prohibition laws?
To form businesses associated with all cannabis products is already in place by many different organizations, however many are still not viewed by the Federal Government of the USA as legal. California with its many Medical Marijuana dispensaries, have battled a "Tax" issue with these clubs. Many of them operating as non profit: Wake up and smell a bud or two: These dispensaries are big money making businesses that deserve and have received a lot of attention from many legitimate companies. Surprise that some clubs are still open and some are not. Pay all the taxes associated with these clubs and the profits from the sale and distribution of Medical Marijuana.
It is feared that many clubs that are still open & operating are done so by having inside people associated with Federal DOJ as an implementive stage to control and regulate these clubs that will eventually be ok'd by the USA Federal & State Governments. The DEA is just doing their job. It is up to the people to incept and incorporate changes by the people that have been elected to represent them.

 

[Jim Finnel]

/\ i very much enjoy reading your well thought out and well written posts.

 

[JamesF]

"using the business as a front to sell pot for profit"

thats illegal.

i cant really say im against that particular function of the law. and furthermore i shouldnt be paying 70 dollars for 1 tiny, small, little 3.5 gram 1/8th.

cmon clubs, thats a nothing amount. 1/8th?????
at least gimme a quarter for that much ;p

ive been to this club before.they sold nothing over 50 dollars an 8th here. This aint so cal.

 

[Janjaweed]

wouldnt complain about a 50 dollar cap around here!

still if your makin enough for buying houses and stuff, i dont think thats the intention of the current laws.

 

[Pinch]

The tax base revenue from every aspect of cannabis production will increase financial revenues and help keep sustaining many local and state governments.

-Mr C

How true. Well put. It's always been that simple. California's FTB is collecting sales tax from all California MCDs. The Feds will follow suit (with cannabis being America's biggest cash crop) but not quickly. California is just light years ahead of the Feds.