7/21: San Diego MMJ Defendants in Court

Three defendants in the San Diego medical marijuana raids face
court hearings tomorrow, Friday, July 21st at 8:15 AM at the SD
Central Court House, 2nd Floor. They are Tony Amrine, owner of the
former Utopia Dispensary, and two of his employees, Riley Hoskins
and Amaro Jesus. All have public defenders.
Riley and Amaro were arrested on site and charged with possession
and sales for having dispensed cannabis to an undercover agent.
Riley says he verified the agent's recommendation. He and Amaro had
been working for Utopia for a couple of months, and had not been
present at the first round of raids in Decemeber.
Agents also raided Amrine's home, where Riley was living, where
they reportedly found a small patient garden.
Defense attorneys are expected to file for a continuance at
tomorrow's hearing so they can have time to examine discovery
evidence.
- D. Gieringer, Cal NORML

Details of the raids are still sketchy, but the basic outlines are
beginning to emerge. At least fifteen face state charges, but not
all their names are known
Six persons were arrested on federal indictments. They were
John Sullivan, who has a lengthy record of troubles with the law,
plus five men associated with Co-Op San Diego: Wayne Hudson, Chris
Larkin, Ross McManus, Scott Wright, and Michael Ragin, who were
charged with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute.
Although initial news reports said that 11 dispensaries were
raided, only 8 are known to have been shut down in this round of
raids. Included are Ocean Beach Dispensary, Native Sun Dispensary,
Co-Op San Diego, Holistic Healers, the Purple Bud Room, and
California Medical Center (in La Jolla), Legal Ease, Inc. shut down
voluntarily after being warned by the DEA that they would be arrested
if they stayed open.
Also shut down was Top Shelf Medicinal in Solana Beach, the only
target not to have been previously raided in December. Top Shelf
opened just two months ago. Its director, Michael Crane, was
charged with dispensing marijuana to two undercover agents posing as
a patient and caregiver. Shortly after opening, Crane had reported a
burglary at his dispensary, an incident which may have made him a
police target.
Most if not all of the raided dispensaries had suffered
burglaries or robberies. Police said they had received numerous
complaints about the dispensaries. Neighborhood groups are said to
have monitored them and reported complaints to the police. It is
unclear that any of the complaints were ever addressed to the
dispensaries themselves.
Sources say that the DA's office appears disinclined to seek
harsh sentences, but is rather seeking to close the facilities.
Dennis Mosler, of the DA's narcotics unit, said the raid were focused
on operators who they thought were filling questionable
recommendations. He warned that "the rest are on notice and
certainly can expect to see law enforcement if they remain open,"
However, there is no indication of wider arrests at present.
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis stated that her office had no
interest in harassing patients. "We support (medical marijuana)
wholeheartedly, but Proposition 215 is being severely abused," she
told the SD Union-Tribune. "It's just really gotten out of hand."
Medical marijuana activists hope that the city will move to enact
regulations to license dispensaries, like other cities and counties
in California. The city's medical marijuana task force had
previously declined to take up the issue of dispensary licensing.

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2215-R Market St. #278, San Francisco CA 94114