L.A. City Attorney Guilty of Entrapment

[Jim Finnel]

LOS ANGELES --- Medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) responded today to the Los Angeles City Attorney's latest effort to shut down registered dispensaries by threatening to join the recently filed lawsuits against Organica and Holistic Caregivers. Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich has taken preemptive enforcement action before dispensaries have a chance to comply with the recently adopted regulatory ordinance, which took more than 2 years to pass.

"It's clear that the City Attorney is attempting to intimidate and close dispensaries before the Los Angeles ordinance even goes into effect," said ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford, who wrote a letter to the City Attorney and District Attorney threatening to join the lawsuits on behalf of patients if they aren't immediately withdrawn. "The Los Angeles City Attorney and District Attorney's contempt for the City Council and its recently adopted ordinance is unacceptable and must be stopped."

On February 18th, the same day a multi-agency law enforcement raid took place at a registered medical marijuana dispensary, City Attorney Trutanich sent at least 18 "eviction letters" to landlords of city dispensaries and filed three "nuisance and narcotic abatement" lawsuits against two dispensary operators, claiming that sales are illegal. With less than one month left before the Los Angeles dispensary ordinance goes into effect, advocates are calling the actions deplorable.

Last October, Trutanich and District Attorney Steve Cooley both attended a symposium on "The Eradication of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County," hosted by the California Narcotics Officers' Association (CNOA), a staunch opponent of medical marijuana. Soon after, during City Council deliberations on an ordinance to regulate dispensaries, Cooley commented in a November 18th interview on Public Radio's AirTalk that the Council's actions to legalize medical marijuana sales were "irrelevant, meaningless, and...reckless," and his office would "enforce the laws of the State of California, despite what the City Council [does]." In addition, City Attorney Trutanich commented in a January AirTalk interview that, "sales are illegal under state law."

Advocates argue that the actions of the City Attorney and District Attorney not only amount to entrapment, but they also violate state law. "It goes without saying that dispensaries deserve the due process right to comply with the city's ordinance regulating them," continued Elford. "But, worse than that, the City Attorney's legal arguments are horribly flawed and have no basis in law." The City Attorney's lead cause of action in its litigation to shut down registered dispensaries is based on a nuisance statute that the legislature exempted in SB 420, the Medical Marijuana Program Act of 2003. (See Health & Safety Code Section 11362.775.) The City Attorney also relies on the argument that medical marijuana "sales" are illegal under state law, something refuted by the legislature, the courts, and the State Attorney General.

In November, after ASA threatened to sue Los Angeles if the city outlawed medical marijuana sales, a compromise was thought to have been reached between the Council and the City Attorney. However, public statements and recent enforcement actions throw into doubt whether the City Attorney and District Attorney ever planned on honoring the regulatory ordinance. If the City Attorney refuses to withdraw the lawsuits and recant the eviction letters, ASA will challenge the lawsuits as an intervening defendant, representing the interests of medical marijuana patients.


NewsHawk: User: 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: opposingviews.com
Author: ASA
Copyright: 2010 Opposing Views, Inc.
Contact: Contact Us
Website: Opposing Views: Medical Marijuana Groups: L.A. City Attorney Guilty of Entrapment

 

[honestone]

DEA, L.A. City Attorneys Take Separate Actions Against Multiple Medical Marijuana Dispensaries: LAist: Los Angeles News, Food, Arts & Events

 

[Warbux]

DEA, L.A. City Attorneys Take Separate Actions Against Multiple Medical Marijuana Dispensaries: LAist: Los Angeles News, Food, Arts & Events

And here we go again.....Did you at least read the comments on this link?

 

[slimm]

Gotta love the way L.A.P.D strong arms people. What a mess...

 

[Weed420]

People need to start picketing the mayors office and force him to fire the DA.
If he won't remember him come election day.

 

[honestone]

I really don't care about comments. I am only interested in facts. The fact is Organica made a profit of $100,000 per month which is illegal.

 

[Warbux]

I really don't care about comments. I am only interested in facts. The fact is Organica made a profit of $100,000 per month which is illegal.

Exactly my point, Your facts seem scewed. The only thing you're interested in is slamming dispensaries..Now dont get me wrong, I dont like em either. But why do you have such a grudge against them? And is it founded?

 

[honestone]

I'm only telling the truth. It certainly isn't my fault that the owner of Organica has been charged with laundering drug money. Organica operated for profit which is illegal. Organica is far from the only dispensary that operates for profit. That is why LA is closing them down. Had they followed the rules this would not be happening.
Dispensaries are being less than honest when they say they are "compassionate" and "non profit."

 

[Warbux]

I'm only telling the truth. It certainly isn't my fault that the owner of Organica has been charged with laundering drug money. Organica operated for profit which is illegal. Organica is far from the only dispensary that operates for profit. That is why LA is closing them down. Had they followed the rules this would not be happening.
Dispensaries are being less than honest when they say they are "compassionate" and "non profit."

I totally understand that, And i do agree with you. I'm really not trying to pick at you either..But the thing was, It seemed as if that was all you spouted off about..I'm not speaking for everyone here, Just my thoughts..Truce??

 

[Jim Finnel]

.....The fact is Organica made a profit of $100,000 per month which is illegal.

Organica has only been charged. the facts are yet to be proven.

I really don't care about comments......

isn't commenting what we're doing here? if you don't care about comments why are you commenting?

 

[honestone]

To be more clear I should have said comments and opinions don't count in a court of law. There fore, from a legal stand point I can't concern my self with them.
In court the judge only cares about facts. A persons opinion is irrelevant. The fact is the owner of Organica has been charged, but not convicted on 24 counts. It is a fact that Organica sells pot in exchange for cash. I hope we can all agree on that. Organica, like many other dispensaries profit from the sell of marijuana. The sale of marijuana is illegal under state law.
I would like to say thank you to city council, the mayor, the DA, and the DEA for taking time out of their busy schedules to listen to my concerns and take action. I voted for the legalization of medical marijuana but this has gotten way out of hand. Organica has been accused of passing out flyers near Culver City high school while classes were being let out and students from the high school had the fliers.

 

[FreakNature]

I would like to say thank you to city council, the mayor, the DA, and the DEA for taking time out of their busy schedules to listen to my concerns and take action.

honestone are you saying you made the allegations that led to the arrest?

 

[honestone]

The police do not make an arrest based on allegations. The dispensary owners actions led to the arrest. Can some one kindly explain to me how the LA city attorney is guilt of entrapment?
About the comments I was under the impression Warbux was speaking of the comments in the news, not the comments here. If you click on the link there are comments under the story

 

[michaelkaer]

All of this bickering becomes a moot point when Cannabis is leglized across the board. It is simply a matter of time. Get used to it.

 

[Jim Finnel]

The police do not make an arrest based on allegations. ......

al·le·ga·tion
Pronunciation: \ˌa-li-ˈgā-shən\
Function: noun
Date: 15th century

1 : the act of alleging
2 : a positive assertion; specifically : a statement by a party to a legal action of what the party undertakes to prove

if thats a valid definition i'd say all arrests are based on allegations.

 

[Weed420]

I really don't care about comments. I am only interested in facts. The fact is Organica made a profit of $100,000 per month which is illegal.

But that in reality means nothing. Lots of nonprofits bring in a lot more money than that. There is no such thing as a nonprofit company. But it would certainly help if they weren't so greedy, But thats the cociety we live in today. Money is our god.

 

[honestone]

Legalizing cannabis does not legalize tax evasion and money laundering. Seems like many people on this website support those activities.

 

[Hieroglyph83]

Legalizing cannabis does not legalize tax evasion and money laundering. Seems like many people on this website support those activities.

Shrug, Cartels are a creation of prohibition. What else are they going to do with their money, burn it for heat?

 

[Jim Finnel]

Legalizing cannabis does not legalize tax evasion and money laundering. Seems like many people on this website support those activities.

speaking personally and in no way for 420 magazine, i have little or no respect for the law. in other words i respect the laws as much as those who create them and enforce them do. obeying laws is a matter of what best serves my interests same as it is to them. for example i stop at red lights because it makes sense for my own good. the laws have nothing to do with right and wrong. they change all the time. right and wrong are constants. i follow the laws that are written in my heart. it gladens my heart when i hear of average people getting away with not paying taxes and getting over on our corrupt system. it makes me happy to know that people (not cartels or people who harm others) grow cannabis underground and make a living doing it. it was taxation by an overpowering and corrupt system that caused the rebellion that created this country. sure we have so called representatives now but they don't serve the people. they serve which ever masters contribute the most money to get them into power and keep them there. when they do finally decide to let us have cannabis it won't be out of any sort of compassion. it will be based on collecting more taxes. it will be because they can find ways to control it and in so doing continue to control us. and then people will praise those in power for allowing us to have something that never should have been denied us in the first place.

 

[Warbux]

speaking personally and in no way for 420 magazine, i have little or no respect for the law. in other words i respect the laws as much as those who create them and enforce them do. obeying laws is a matter of what best serves my interests same as it is to them. for example i stop at red lights because it makes sense for my own good. the laws have nothing to do with right and wrong. they change all the time. right and wrong are constants. i follow the laws that are written in my heart. it gladens my heart when i hear of average people getting away with not paying taxes and getting over on our corrupt system. it makes me happy to know that people (not cartels or people who harm others) grow cannabis underground and make a living doing it. it was taxation by an overpowering and corrupt system that caused the rebellion that created this country. sure we have so called representatives now but they don't serve the people. they serve which ever masters contribute the most money to get them into power and keep them there. when they do finally decide to let us have cannabis it won't be out of any sort of compassion. it will be based on collecting more taxes. it will be because they can find ways to control it and in so doing continue to control us. and then people will praise those in power for allowing us to have something that never should have been denied us in the first place.