Undercover operation nets medical marijuana patients

One local veteran plans to fight the county’s murky medical marijuana laws

By Steven Bartholow and Hoa Quach, SDNN

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

42 comments | read comments | post a comment

Medical marijuana dispensary in L.A. (Courtesy of Caveman 92223/Flickr)

After a four-year stint in the U.S. Navy, Eugene Davidovich started to feel anxious, restless, and suffered migraine headaches.

In 2002, at the end of the third class petty officer’s service — which garnered him 10 medals — Davidovich’s doctor prescribed him various drugs and anti-depressants.

Though the drugs treated his initial symptoms, they caused him to experience worse side effects.

Finally, the hesitant patient accepted a prescription for medical marijuana.

Now, years later, after his arrest in a sting operation conducted by the San Diego Police Department, Davidovich is navigating a complicated maze of murky medical marijuana laws that have plagued the state and San Diego County for years.

“[State medical marijuana laws] are complex,” said Jim Lange, director of San Diego State University’s Drug and Alcohol program. “There certainly is vagueness to the law, probably because it is difficult to legislate medical decisions, and [state laws are] in conflict with federal law.”

Operation Endless Summer

On Nov. 13, 2008, Eugene Davidovich received a call from a man who identified himself as “Jamie Conlan.”

That’s when Davidovich’s ordeal began.

According to Davidovich, Conlan said he found Davidovich’s contact information on the Web site Cal NORML, a medical marijuana advocacy site. Conlan was looking to join a collective (also referred to as a collaborative) - a group of medical marijuana patients, who pool their resources to grow and distribute pot. After a well-publicized raid on San Diego medical marijuana dispensaries in 2006, patients had few places to safely obtain the drug.

Collectives offered an alternative.

Read the History of medical marijuana in the U.S.

Davidovich said he met Conlan that night, asked to see Conlan’s doctor’s recommendation, which would allow him to use medical marijuana. The police video even shows Davidovich calling Conlan to come out of the house to ensure it was the same person who joined the collective over the phone. According to court documents, Davidovich sold Conlan 6.92 grams of “high-grade” marijuana for $120.

Police video of Davidovich

More than two months later, in February, Davidovich was charged with four counts of possession, transportation and sale of marijuana — netted in the SDPD’s sting, dubbed Operation Endless Summer.

The operation began when a report by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service detailed drug sales in military housing, said deputy district attorney of the narcotics division Chris Lindberg.

The three-month long operation charged 37 of the 52 suspects it netted with criminal offenses, and rounded up nearly $19,000 in cash, guns, narcotics, methamphetamine and marijuana.

Later, a story in The San Diego Union-Tribune noted the operation had few ties to the military, despite the district attorney office’s claim that military connections played a major role in the sting. One cancer survivor also implicated in the sting, told the U-T she knows no one in the military.

Check out more medical marijuana videos at our Youtube page.

Conlan, an undercover agent who lied about symptoms and used a fake I.D. to obtain a doctor’s recommendation for medical marijuana, claimed in court documents the marijuana he bought was sold by Davidovich for-profit, not as a part of the collective.

Davidovich thought he was within the scope of the law, because he asked to see Conlan’s doctor’s recommendation before he sold him the pot. Advocates for medical marijuana are claiming entrapment, since the undercover agent lied to get the recommendation, but Lindberg said, “Legally, it doesn’t qualify for entrapment. Entrapment is an inducement that will get anyone to do the crime. The police officer was buying it for the going rate. Medical marijuana recommendations are very easy to obtain. There are certain doctors in town who basically if you walk through the door will give it to you for $150.”

The deputy district attorney said it was not illegal for the agent to falsely obtain the recommendation.

Activists have also decried the sting, saying it targeted patients.

“The scarce resources we have in this city would be much better spent on working with medical cannabis patients to establish a sanctioned source of medication rather than investigate, prosecute, and damage people’s lives,” Davidovich said.

Lindberg said patients were not targeted, and noted district attorney Bonnie Dumanis’ vocal support for safe access to medical marijuana for qualified patients. Lindberg said the people netted in Operation Endless Summer broke the law - plain and simple. Medical marijuana patients or their caregivers may jointly grow and cultivate cannabis - as they do in collectives - but all members must be involved throughout the process; the sale of marijuana after the fact is illegal, Lindberg said.

“They weren’t being prosecuted because they are medical marijuana patients - people are being prosecuted for engaging in illegal drug sales,” he said. “There is no provision in medical marijuana law to sell drugs for profit or otherwise. These people were selling drugs to an undercover officer who, basically, the sole contact they had with them was calling them up on the phone; the people would come over to his house, and exchange marijuana for cash.”

The terms collective, cooperative, and dispensary are thrown around and seen as interchangeable by the public at large and much of the medical marijuana community. They all provide a means for patients to safely acquire marijuana.

The attorney general’s 2008 medical marijuana guidelines define the differences.

Statutory cooperative: “Must file articles of incorporation with the state and conduct its business for the mutual benefit of its members… and act as nonprofit corporate entities.”

Collective: “Should be an organization [not an incorporated business] that merely facilitates the collaborative efforts of patient and caregiver members including the allocation of costs and revenues.”

Dispensary: A storefront business that sells marijuana to qualified patients. These are not recognized by the attorney general guidelines and are considered illegal by the District Attorney’s office.

Davidovich, however, says he did not sell the drug for profit.

“There was absolutely no profit built into the reimbursement,” said Davidovich, who says the cost of rent for the collective’s facility, the electricity bill and equipments, and the cost of nutrients, soil, water, packaging and delivery, not to mention his time, outweigh the dollar amount sales bring in. “In fact often it was way below cost and I had to subsidize the loss from my paycheck at my regular job to pay for rent of the facility, or the electric bill, as the reimbursement collected from the members was not enough to cover the costs. I did not see or collect any profit from any delivery to any of the collective members.”

Davidovich would not say what the collective’s monthly costs amount to, or the monthly dollar amount in reimbursement from sales. It will be detailed in a preliminary hearing on Monday, he said.

What if Davidovich’s claim is true; that he didn’t sell marijuana for profit? Lindberg said, in no uncertain terms, that’s unlikely: “Of course they are selling for profit. Why else are they engaging in the activity any way?”

‘I am not a dangerous drug dealer’

Eugene Davidovich, a defendant in the Operation Endless Summer case.

Davidovich’s troubles didn’t end with Operation Endless Summer. Shortly after he was arrested, the El Cajon resident - who said medical marijuana allowed him to resume a normal life, and pursue his master’s degree in business administration - separated from his wife and son, and left his job as a software specialist so he could focus on winning his case.

Davidovich believes he was singled out for being a veteran, and that the arrest has cast a light on his struggle with anxiety, and tarnished his image among other members of the military.

He blames the county’s obscure medical marijuana laws for his legal woes - and his attorney, Michael McCabe, plans to argue Davidovich’s case.

McCabe, a medical marijuana activist best known for his victory in People v. Konow, said local authorities chose to “create” a crime. In the case that made him well known, the attorney defended Carolyn Konow, who was prosecuted for operating a dispensary, California Alternative Medicinal Center, which had been operating for two years.

The case against Konow, which was taken to the state Supreme Court, was dismissed by Judge William Mudd, because Proposition 215 - the state’s Compassionate Use Act of 1996 - was not clear, leaving patients vulnerable. Mudd also said Konow’s clinic followed all guidelines for a dispensary. McCabe sees parallels between Konow and Davidovich’s cases - but, he said, authorities went one step further in Davidovich’s case.

“What [authorities] did wrong in this particular case was singling out individuals who were medical marijuana advocates and targeting them for prosecution originally under the guise of an operation to clean up drug dealing to servicemen, which it wasn’t at all,” McCabe said. “They didn’t simply investigate; they created a crime where none really existed by going to the lengths of supplying false identification to the undercover agent and having him go to a medical marijuana physician, a physician who was known for his cooperation and his participation in the medical marijuana [community].”

Davidovich said he’s looking forward to his day in court - if not for his own benefit, for the safety of other medical marijuana patients.

“I am not a dangerous drug dealer, I did not possess any illegal drugs and I was operating the collective under what I truly believed was the guidance of California state law,” Davidovich said.

” … The reason I am speaking out is to make as many patients aware of the current state of fear in the city as possible, so that this does not happen to any other collective or coop that is abiding by state law, and so that this bias-driven selective prosecution can end.

“I love this country, respect our system of laws. I was not trying to do anything illegal here or profit from it, in any way.”

‘It’s not like San Diego County is starting from scratch’

There’s no indicator that Davidovich’s case will be the last. Not until the state’s laws and county’s enforcement on medical marijuana use become more clear, and until patients are educated about the do’s and don’ts.

Aged propositions - created and passed by voters - are vague, primarily because they set the spirit of the law, and the legislature is required to fill in specific guidelines.

In 2003, the state Senate approved SB 420, a bill which clarified parameters of medical marijuana use in the state. The bill requires counties to create local programs to issue medical identification cards and set safeguards for patients.

But, different local laws trump state law, and have led to a number of court cases with varied results. In 2008, the attorney general set boundaries for law enforcement, outlining when a patient should be arrested or have his or her marijuana confiscated.

Medical marijuana crop. (Photo courtesy of Scott Beale / Laughing Squid of laughingsquid.com)

Procuring the drug is tricky. The U.S. attorney general’s guidelines allow collectives to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes, and allows for marijuana transactions among collective members - as long as no individual profits from the transaction. But, in the guidelines, the attorney general notes, “the earnings and savings of the business must be used for the general welfare of its members or equitably distributed to members in the form of cash, property, credits, or services.”

Deputy district attorney Lindberg said laws do not allow the sale of marijuana - period. Questions remain: When are patients considered “members” of a collective? Once a collective is established, are patients still able to join? What is the difference between buying marijuana once it’s grown and paying into a collective before it’s grown? Those questions remain unanswered by state law, advocates said, and it’s affecting patients who seek safe access to the drug.

Despite the fact state law is difficult to navigate, state assemblymember Lori Saldaña said it’s the local government’s responsibility to work with constituents. The county should look to others counties, which have clear medical marijuana laws, to help establish guidelines.

” … It’s not like [San Diego County is] starting from scratch,” Saldaña said. “It’s the only county that hasn’t developed any regulations. The concerns I’ve heard expressed, informally, are around properly regulating drugs.”

Saldaña also said state legislators will not interfere with the county’s guidelines, and she hopes local officials will implement them as soon as possible.

“[Legal costs and the] cost of delaying is substantial,” Saldaña said. “It’s up to the county to comply with the state law - state legislators will not interfere. But, they need to look at delivery for the chronically incapacitated and ask, ‘How do they get access to medical marijuana?’”

McCabe agrees with Saldaña, and said if patients can’t safely grow and purchase medical marijuana, they will have to seek alternative outlets - namely, the black market, which, the attorney said, increases the risk of violence and prosecution. Until the government steps in advocates need to do a better job of educating the public McCabe said.

“The movement has to attract the public support and to educate the public just what it’s about. The current system fosters crime by making qualified patients and caregivers go to illicit sources rather than promoting law-abidingness,” McCabe said.

Moving forward at a local level

San Diego: Mendicino County medical cannabis card (Flickr photo courtesy of Nirmal Thacker)

Mendocino County medical cannabis card (Flickr photo courtesy of Nirmal Thacker)

San Diego County, along with San Bernardino County, has fought state law regarding medical marijuana. San Diego patients still don’t have medical ID cards, due to a lawsuit launched by the County Board of Supervisors in 2006.

The board claimed federal law, which prohibits the use of marijuana, supersedes state law. Determined to take the case to federal court, the county spent $5,000 on the case, which was rejected by the Supreme Court for a hearing on May 18. That was the most recent defeat; the San Diego Superior Court rejected the case in 2006, and the state Supreme Court declined to review it in October 2008.

Board chair Dianne Jacob said in a January statement, despite the appearance that the board is anti-medical marijuana, the board’s attempt simply aimed to reconcile state and federal law. The board voted 4-1 in closed session to pursue the case at the federal level.

“It doesn’t matter what side of the debate you’re on - and I’ve heard compelling arguments from both sides - the prudent step is to resolve the existing conflict between state and federal law,”

(Photo courtesy of Chron.Ron)

Jacobs said in January. “The feds view medical marijuana as illegal. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration have raided homes and dispensaries in the last year. Were we to proceed with implementing the state’s plan, we would be facilitating the arrest of our own residents. We need to end the confusion with a definitive ruling that protects all parties.”

Some confusion was laid to rest when attorney general Eric Holder announced the federal government will allow state laws to take precedence in terms of medical marijuana laws. McCabe is hopeful that the federal government’s statements will change the local climate.

“The Obama Administration can’t limit the law under the books but can direct the state attorneys what conduct they are to prosecute and what conduct they are not to prosecute,” McCabe said.

Also at a local level, two city councilmembers - Donna Frye and Todd Gloria - are hoping to help clarify laws.

Mark Sauer of Frye’s office and Travis Knowles of Gloria’s office are collaborating to clarify San Diego’s guidelines for distributing medical marijuana to qualified patients. The councilmembers hope to re-establish a task force to help cooperatives and collectives understand Proposition 215’s guidelines.

“[Frye] and I have heard from several constituents who have run afoul of the law for possessing/distributing marijuana even though they had legitimate doctor’s letters and appeared to be acting in good faith,” Sauer said. “We believe patients, and those running cooperatives allowed to distribute medical marijuana under Proposition 215 and the state attorney general’s August 2008 guidelines should be able to know what is legally required of them.”

What’s next?

The county board of supervisors will discuss how to issue medical ID cards on June 16, and implement the program July 1.

As for Davidovich, he hopes his case closes during the preliminary hearing on Monday. Some say, though, Davidovich’s attorney McCabe may find himself taking this case to the Supreme Court. But, McCabe is “cautiously optimistic” about the defendant’s chance at winning at the local level.

“I’m hopeful the climate will change and the will of people will be respected,” McCabe said. “That is, after all, what our government is supposed to be all about.”

Editor’s note: Chair of the County Board of Supervisors Dianne Jacob opted to re-release a statement rather than participate in an interview. An interview request was also made for San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne; however, his office thought the interview with deputy district attorney Chris Lindberg would be sufficient. Peter Hughes of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Medical Marijuana Evaluation Center have not yet responded to requests for interviews.

Legalize marijuana to save California? Maybe…

Medical marijuana store opens in Pacific Beach

Tags: marijuana, san diego county, SDNN, senate bill 420 proposition 215

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 at 4:26 pm and is filed under Arts & Entertainment, Health, Local News, Politics & Government. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Comment by: AB390 Posted: June 3, 2009, 5:33 pm

This is a waste of law enforcement resources. Marijuana should be legal not only for patients but for any adult that wants to use it.

If you want marijuana to be legalized, taxed, and regulated for adults, YOU can make it happen. Tell your legislators to support California Assembly Bill 390. It’s easy. Visit yes390.org

Comment by: Jana Posted: June 3, 2009, 7:01 pm

It is so rediculous to have so much confusion on this issue. I don’t smoke marijuana but believe there are many people that need this as medicine versus hard narcotics prescribed by doctors. Please get it together, it’s tiresome reading all this crap. Go after the meth users that are typically stealing and hurting society in a much greater way than any marijuana users. The gangs, crime, murders, DV…keep are cities safe from the hard core users and crimes.

Comment by: Richard P Steeb Posted: June 3, 2009, 7:26 pm

A criminal waste of resources, and a gross injustice. Cannabis prohibition is a crime against humanity, and corrupt from its inception.

Google “Francis L Young”. Try “US Patent 6630507″.

To keep Cannabis illegal while tobacco and alcohol are dispensed freely is murderously stupid.

http://tinyurl.com/Henningfield-Benowitz
http://www.google.com/search?&q=tashkin

ANY questions???

–Richard P Steeb, San Jose California

Comment by: Allen Ronner Posted: June 3, 2009, 8:04 pm

I am writing to correct some of the misstatements in this article about Eugene Davidovich and the “Operation Green Rx/ Endless Summer Drug Sting”. “Operation Endless Summer was targeted at drug dealing in military housing.” WRONG. They rented a house in a normal looking neighborhood in Pacific Beach that has no distinction whatsoever as military housing. Records of calls show NO complaints of drug dealing in that area, nor was anybody they listed currently related to the military. They did a multipronged effort, finding local meth and cocaine dealers in Pacific Beach and luring them to the same house that they spent months infilitrating an luring local medical marijuana patients and providers. They then attempted to combine the two issues and still attempt to intermingle the two situations when it suits their convenience. In his video he goes back and forth between marijuana sales is illegal and “these people were selling drugs.”
Further, the story from the district attorneys office is constantly changing. First they said that “for profit sales” are not legal. Now they have changed it to “any sales is not legal”.
Also, although it is well known the undercover police officers are allowed to lie to suspects, nothing in the law allows the police to lie to doctors to falsely obtain prescriptions, which officer Scott Henderson aka “Jamie Conlon” did. This officer committed medical fraud and obtained a medical recommendation from a doctor. Is the doctor also on trial? Hmm. Would the police obtain a prescription for painkillers and then go arrest the pharmacist who tries to help them?
“Entrapment” is 2: the action of luring an individual into committing a crime in order to prosecute the person for it. (2009 Websters dictionary ).
This case against all the medical marijuana providers fits the definition of entrapment to the letter. The district attorney’s office is fully aware that these individuals believed they were following the law and this is why they took the time and money to have a medical marijuana recomendation from the doctor. The sole purpose and intent was to entrap and prosecute anybody who attempts to help patients in the medical marijuana community.
The San Diego Power Structure has attempted to thwart a state law that they dislike since its inception. They will go to any lengths and spend countless millions. Your article states that County law trumps state law. Any attorney will tell you that it is against the law for any county law to supercede a state law. San Diego County does not care about the law. Most of their judges are former district attorneys and they conspire together to arrest and convict anybody who tries to help medical marijuana patients in San Diego. Please call the District Attorneys office now and tell them that you do not want your taxpayer dollars wasted on medical marijuana.
Please ask Chris Lindberg why the operation was first named “Operation Green Rx and then changed to “Operation Endless Summer”. Is this because they realized that the community at large and specifically taxpayer citizens would not be happy to know how millions of dollars of taxpayer money has been wasted?
Proposition 215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act was passed by a majority of California Voters in 1996. Prop 215 was co-written by a man who operated a medical marijuana store in San Francisco. In 2004 the legislature broadened the writing to include protections for those selling medical marijuana. So to say in sales is not legal is simply not true. This activity would not be prosecuted anywhere else in California. San Diego has been violating the will of the people for over ten years.
The reality is that if a person is told they are sick, they are very unlikely to be suddenly able to wait 4 or more months before they can save up and grow some marijuana. If a sick person suddenly had a green thumb, a bunch of money, an extra unused room at their house or apartment and the expertise needed to set up a grow room. This is unrealistic and the DA’s office knows this.
Medical Marijuana advocates have spent years trying to work with the DA’s office to get clear directives on how to carry out state law. The DA’s office instead would rather arrest and incarcerate countless dozens of people for medical marijuana offenses over the years. They then go on tv and brag about arresting “dangerous drug felons.”. With all the meth and heroin coming over the border, don’t they have better things to spend their time and money on?
Most providers are also patients and they have found collective ways to help each other. Collective simply means 2 or more people with something in common associating together. It does not matter if the suspects had just met the officer. The mere fact that he told them that he had a medical marijuana recommendation from a doctor and showed that he was liscenced and legally approved to obtain marijuana means that when he purchased the marijuana he was collectively associating with this person. If the DA and the County Board of Supervisors even spent half the money on establishing safe regulations over the years as they have on arresting medical marijuana providers and putting them on trial, San Diego would not have this problem.
Most counties have guidelines and regulations to zone and tax these dispensaries. Oakland has collected in the tens of millions in taxes last year alone. Ditto for Los Angeles.
One does not have to look far to see that San Diego County’s harassment of medical marijuana providers is what is against the law. People, please call and complain. Please call the District Attorneys office and tell them to drop all cases against the medical marijuana community. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!

Comment by: Cranky Posted: June 3, 2009, 8:57 pm

The reporter left out a very important part of this story. In the beginning the DEA was much a part of this op but when AG Holder announced the change in policy they dropped out of the case. That among a few other reasons, also not reported here caused the Sheriffs Dept to change the name of the operation. This whole deal has stunk from the beginning.

Californias voted to make medical marijuana legal over 10 yrs ago. Ten Years now the local Cops have refused to honor our Democracy and the will of the Voters, those that pay their wages. All because of some misguide prejudice they continue to cause countless SD citizens to suffer with ungodly pain. Those same Cops have made numerous decisions that affect a persons life much like God does, but they do it with meanness and spite while they revel in the jailing and punishment of Lawful Californians. Abe Lincoln once said that Prohibition runs counter to the very ideas and principals of a Democracy. It’s way past time the Cops in SD County bowed to the will of the people and stopped playing God.

Comment by: Corey Munoz Posted: June 3, 2009, 11:40 pm

I AM OUTRAGED AT THE NEEDLESS WASTE OF TAXPAYER MONEY THAT IS CONSTANTLY SPENT IN SAN DIEGO TO TARGET MEDICAL MARIJUANA! THE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND THE DA’s OFFICE LOST THEIR MULTIMILLION DOLLAR BID TO OVERTURN THE STATE MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAWS!
How much more of our taxpayer dollars were wasted with this latest “operation”. The fact that it has already quickly been proven that the District Attorneys Office has been lying to the public should serve as a strong indication that they cannot be trusted to uphold our laws or spend our taxpayer money. The District Attorney and the San Diego Police Department can create their own job security by arresting whoever they want when they want. The more people they arrest, the more clogged the courts, the more crowded the jails.
AND ALL THE MEANWHILE THEY ARE LAYING OF TEACHERS!!! Vote these people out of office any chance you get! Get rid of the mayor! Get rid of the DA. Vote Bonnie out of office! Send a clear message to these people to quit wasting our money!!!

Comment by: Billy Bobs Posted: June 4, 2009, 12:44 am

SD is pathetic wasting money on cannabis Bull…

Comment by: TakeAction! Posted: June 4, 2009, 1:35 am

I have been reading the newspaper lately and been doing more and more research after a friend of mine was arrested. He was legally blind but did not want to take taxpayer money (SSI). He lived meagerly with a 1980’s car and old furniture. He was a legitimate medical marijuana patient. Apparently San Diego has not wasted enough money with their ludicrous bid to overturn state medical marijuana laws. They had to do this “Endless Summer” entrapment sting and spend 6 months with over a dozen undercover officers spending endless hours and endless taxpayer dollars to clog up endless courtrooms and coming up endless jail rooms with a bunch of sick individuals who will now need endless medical care from the jail infirmaries. Endless waste of taxpayer dollars. Did I say endless? I just read about the states interest in borrowing money from San Diego County.
I hope San Diegans will demand a full investigation and financial accounting for this “endless summer” nonsense. Quit wasting taxpayer money on clogging up our court system. Do you want to pay for endless medical bills when all these people go to your already overcrowded County jail?
If you want to cut the budget, start here.
Also, if you do not think sales is legal, conduct a study. 56 out of 58 counties disagree, and many are placing small taxes on dispensaries, non-profit or not.
Sales is exempt from prosecution in California in state law. Sales is very legal. It is really time for San Diego to stop terrorizing its own citizens and drop these charges. Then zone, tax and regulate. But you are not going to be able to do it while you have people on trial.
The choice is to now do an investigation into the 20-60 stores now open and raid and arrest all those people, or zone them into specified areas so they are away from schools and churchs.
Please call the DA’s office and the San Diego board of Supervisors and tell them to STOP wasting our money?

Comment by: bugsthefarmdog Posted: June 4, 2009, 5:53 am

Marijuana use makes people stupid and enslaves them to a life of addiction. I don’t know anybody who smokes and has a future.

Comment by: mr. ihavehadit Posted: June 4, 2009, 5:55 am

Deputy district attorney Lindberg has done an unthinkable act against all American veterans!!! They stand for our flag and the Lindbergs of the land piss on it in theory and here’s the honest historical truth why: Are you American Lindberg!? Any 4th grade student understands this country was founded on the principles of individual freedoms.” A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.” -Abraham Lincoln U.S. President. These same people pushing prohibition would be targeted for treason investigation had they been around during the founding of our country! Don’t Be fooled American people any prohibition enforcement against us is as UN-AMERICAN as Hitler!! Bottom line remove this Un-American megalomaniac yesterday voters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment by: SmokingESQ Posted: June 4, 2009, 6:20 am

Bugsthefarmdog, based on your ignorant, judgemental, statements, you must not know many people. Open your eyes, idiot.

Comment by: California – Undercover operation nets medical marijuana patients « HempNews Posted: June 4, 2009, 7:50 am

[...] Steven Bartholow and Hoa Quach. Source. [...]

Comment by: James Hill Posted: June 4, 2009, 8:10 am

Marijuana use makes people stupid and enslaves them to a life of addiction. I don’t know anybody who smokes and has a future.

How about the president of the US??

Comment by: Bill A Posted: June 4, 2009, 9:43 am

When is San Diego going to stop spending there money on prosecuting medical marijuana?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kIO4w3IJ7k

Comment by: Mark E. Smith Posted: June 4, 2009, 10:01 am

SmokingESQ is right–Bugs’ statement is ignorant and judgmental. I don’t know of any elderly people who smoke pot for their glaucoma who are, have been, or are ever likely to be involved in crime in any way. Most have lived long, productive lives, and if they don’t have much of a future, it is because they are elderly, not because they smoke pot to relieve glaucoma.

The first person I ever met who smoked pot for glaucoma, more than twenty years ago, long before medical marijuana laws were passed, was in her nineties, a very straight-laced conservative woman, whose eminent oncologist son obtained it for her on the black market. She was so happy with the relief it provided that she openly bragged about it to anyone who would listen. Fortunately, nobody turned her in, and she passed away without ever having been arrested for her “crime.”

I don’t smoke, but I’ve met doctors, lawyers, judges, and school principals who did, and none of them fit the Bugs/Harry J. Anslinger stereotype of pot smokers as criminals. Prohibition only helps criminals. Our government has been deeply involved in drug-smuggling during the Viet Nam war and Iran-Contra, and persecutes small drug dealers and users as a means of retaining its dominance of the drug market from which it obtains billions of dollars to fund its black budget.

Comment by: Most popular stories on San Diego News Network Posted: June 4, 2009, 12:39 pm

[...] Staff // 1. Undercover operation nets medical marijuana patients [...]

Comment by: Robert Hendrix Posted: June 4, 2009, 2:28 pm

Sure sounds like Deputy District Attorney Lindbergh is thinks that ALL currently open dispensing collectives in San Diego are illegal. Is this accurate? Is he interpreting the law in his own way? Does this mean the raids on medical marijuana patients and collectives have not ended?
Scary times for patients here in San Diego.

Comment by: micheal Posted: June 5, 2009, 10:28 am

Conlan, an undercover agent who lied about symptoms and used a fake I.D. to obtain a doctor’s recommendation for medical marijuana…..
This is fraud and deciption on behalf of law enforcement.This practice should be illigal.If i went in to a pharmacy with a fraudulant prescription you damm well know they wont blame the pharmasist.which is what law enforcement has done.SAN DIEGO P.D. Seems to think they should not have to fallow the law.Maybe they should be arrested and let them explain why they are allowed to break the law….presenting a illiagely abtained not IS ILLIGALE PERIOD…

Comment by: Eugene Davidovich Posted: June 5, 2009, 11:30 pm

There are many patients and collectives in San Diego who have gone above and beyond what is required in order to comply and stay within the law. Every attempt made to date by collectives and coops to follow the law in San Diego has resulted in prosecutions or collectives having to operate so deeply underground and under such intense daily fear and pressure, that the potential public benefit they could be bringing to the community and to patients is stifled by this environment of fear.

We as a community need to educate the public on the benefits of medical cannabis and the laws that are already in place, as well as educate each other on the intent of our District Attorney. San Diego is not a safe place for collectives, here patients are rounded up in drug sting operations, prosecuted, and forced into taking plea bargains. The few that put up a fight are thrown in jail or worse as in Steve McWilliams’ case, are forced to take their own life.

It has been over a decade since the Compassionate Use Act. Several years since SB420, and almost a year since the California Attorney General’s guidelines. Still in San Diego according to the DA there is no such thing as a legal collective or cooperative, and according to Deputy District Attorney Chris Lindbergh anyone who engages in an attempt to cultivate and distribute collectively is obviously in it for profit, “why else would they get in to this activity”.

How many more years need to pass and how many more lives need to be destroyed until there is change in San Diego?

Please join me in the struggle for patients’ rights to collectively cultivate and distribute medication by supporting me in court on July 13, 2009 in Department 11 (220 W. Broadway San Diego, CA 92101). To learn more about my case please visit http://www.eugenedavidovich.com

Comment by: TakeAction! Posted: June 6, 2009, 12:37 am

MEDICAL MARIJUANA SUPPORT RALLY!
Be there or be square!!!!!!!
June 16th at the San Diego County Building on Harbor Drive, 8:00am
This will be the first County Board of Supervisors meeting since the United States Supreme Court has made it clear:
San Diego must follow state law!
Dont let them tell you this was only about cards.
This was a clear multimillion dollar attempt to overturn state law.
LET US STAND TOGETHER AND DEMAND OUR RIGHTS!!!!!

Comment by: Hurt to hear Posted: June 6, 2009, 10:30 am

The thing is medical marijuana is a scam. Lets call it what it is getting high! I see no problems with that, but do not fly it under a medical banner. Granted it does make aids and cancer patients feel better but it does not medically help them. The DEA is out to get clubs that are for profit which is basically all of them in the state. They are obtaining recommendations with MediCann and doing long and hurtful investigations. First they will take the doctors at MediCann and get them for substandered care practices and then come after any club that served them. Its a shame but it is the truth!

Comment by: Pete Posted: June 6, 2009, 5:25 pm

Hurt to hear, if marijuana is a scam than pain killers in general are a scam from Tylenol to morphine. All they do is make someone feel better without medically helping them right?

Of course that’s only true if you think making someones life livable by easing their suffering is doing nothing. I’ve got to be honest, that sounds like a ridiculously ignorant assertion to me.

Comment by: Sean Bennett Posted: June 7, 2009, 9:56 am

Hurt to hear - You really need to read up on the benefits of medical MJ. It wouldn’t hurt you to take an English class, and learn to write properly, as well. If you wish to be taken seriously you need to develop a logical argument, and present your viewpoint in a reasonable manner. Currently, your arguments are ambiguous, and uninformed. Please return when you stop drinking, and are in a more coherent frame of mind. I hope that’s your issue anyway. Otherwise I’m afraid you’re possibly an ignorant fool.

Good Luck with the rest of your life

Comment by: Robert Sommers Posted: June 11, 2009, 11:50 am

Does anyone know why the June 6th preliminary hearing was postponed?

Comment by: Donna Lambert Posted: June 13, 2009, 11:36 pm

I am a 46 year old woman who has learned about the beneficial effects of marijuana while on chemotherapy . While I am still sick now, I attend support groups and helped other patients to get their medicine at the lowest cost possible. I did this because I saw some people being taken advantage of and it bothered me.
So the police went and fraudulently obtained a medical marijuana card and spent 6 months specifically targeting medical marijuana patients and providers. I have proof of this. I was caught up in the mix of those arrested.
Now I am having my life destroyed. At age 46 I have no criminal record and was under the clear impression this was legal under California law. Not supposed to be happening? Well it is happening. To me and many others hear in San Diego, where this local government refuses to acknowledge state law.
It is sad to me to see that my government is really not a democracy at all. I have become aware that the government refuse to accept the will of the people, the voters. 70% of San Diegans approve of medical marijuana and 92% statewide. These numbers are equally spread between democrats and republicans.
It is a sad awakening for me in a City that I used to love and a Country I used to believe in. Now, because of these stupid conflicting laws, and that fact that those local politicians and the DA who do not like the law and refuse to follow it, I am having my life destroyed and could even go to jail.
If you are thinking what a waste of taxpayer money this is, I have more. The chemotherapy triggered an autoimmune disease called Sjoegrens, for which I must receive regular medical treatment. And my immune system is so destroyed by this and the Hepatitis C and the chemotherapy, that I get sick very easily. I catch any minor cold that I am exposed to and where others are in bed for 2-3 days, I will be bedridden for a good two weeks. I am very afraid that if I am put in a jail with many other people I could easily catch something and die. I do not mean to be dramatic but I truly do believe I am facing a death sentence by the San Diego Court. I am really frightened that I am medically unable to withstand what I am facing. I hate to risk sounding like I am exaggerating but I am actually very serious.
I have chronic pain from a serious car accident, I am into the 4th and final stage of cirrhosis.
Will putting me in prison for medical marijuana benefit society in any way? Is it worth the taxpayer money of incarceration and the additional taxpayer money of medical care and a potential liver transplant. Will they be responsible enough to make sure to provide my 3rd skin cancer surgery? Oh yes, I have skin cancer, too.
What about if the hepatitis C that triggered my cirrhosis comes back? Will they stay on top of that. Do you, the taxpayer, believe that this is a good use of your taxpayer money? Is the satisfaction these people receive from destroying my life a good exchange for a full time school teacher for one year?
I do not believe so. And I really need your help. Honestly, I am extremely scared. If each person reading this who felt at all like what happened to me is not okay, I would so much appreciate you taking the time to call anybody in your local government and tell them about it. All their phone numbers are online. Thank you so much for taking your time if you do.
IF YOU DO NOT LIKE YOUR TAXPAYER MONEY WASTED THIS WAY PLEASE CONTACT THE DISTRICT ATTORNEYS OFFICE (619-531-4040) AND ASK THEM TO DROP THE CASE AGAINST DONNA LAMBERT

Comment by: Eugene Davidovich Posted: June 15, 2009, 11:01 am

To answer Robert Sommers question:
The preliminary hearing was moved to July 13 as per the request of the prosecution. I went in on June8th to accept the change of date.

The preliminary hearing will be held in Department 11 on July 13th at 8:15 am.

Comment by: Marijuana advocates rally at county building Posted: June 16, 2009, 1:24 pm

[...] Links: Undercover operation nets medical marijuana patients | History of medical marijuana | Surfboard marijuana smuggler busted at Imperial Beach | Border [...]

Comment by: Salm: Cocaine as farce, the War on Drugs won’t stop Posted: June 18, 2009, 12:53 pm

[...] Undercover operation nets medical marijuana patients [...]

Comment by: Donna Lambert Posted: June 20, 2009, 6:43 pm

I have attended monthly meetings at “Americans for Safe Access” in San Diego since I was on Chemotherapy in 2005. Prior to that I was in a serous car accident and had related surgeries. I have stage 3/4 cirrhosis due to Hepatitis C, I also have Sjoegrens disease (I believe caused by the chemo) which is an autoimmune disorder. I get sick very easily, and while others may be better in a day or two, a cold for me means being bedridden for 2-3 weeks. I also have skin cancer and my grandfather died of it. I have had two actual surgeries for the skin cancer as well as multiple burn-offs. I need continuous medical care. MY FRIENDS ARE THE OTHER MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS that I have met at groups like ASA, and another called Hope Unlimited.
Many medical marijuana patients have visible injuries. I am no longer even remotely shocked at amputations, or wheelchairs, or any other medical problem. I see the people beyond that. And like I said, these people are my friends.
To look at many people you might assume somebody to be healthy and when you talk to them you may find out they have a metal plate in their neck, or a brain tumor. In five years I have not met a single person who told me that there was nothing wrong with them but they just wanted a marijuana card. Not One.
What I have seen and experienced firsthand, is a community of San Diego citizens, who happen to be sick or disfigured living in fear. We are vilified and scoffed at by certain people who are against medical marijuana. I also noticed they use animal analogies to talk about human beings. “preying”, “wolves in sheep’s clothing”, etc. These people have full time staff whose sole job is to think of slanderous names to call its own citizens. I am deeply offended, and want the name calling to stop.
Month after month I have sat in the ASA meetings and heard patient after patient with similar stories, for example, a man with a cane and a broken back who has a very visible limp;
“The police kicked in my door. I told them I had a doctors permit. I had it on the wall, I had it posted. They shoved me down on the ground. They destroyed and took my lights and ripped out my plants and then arrested me.”
This is common.
This happens regularly in SAN DIEGO.
In fact, then when the patient gets into court they are denied the medical marijuana defense.
The fact is, the law is very confusing. But if they want to drop the charges If I passed a lie detector test, I would be willing to do so. On these two questions;

1) Did I 100% believe I was following the law?
Yes.
2)Did I believe I was respecting the County and city leaders, whom I interpreted as “not wanting storefronts?”
Yes
3)Was I trying to help people because I know how important and vital marijuana can be for people who are ill, in pain, on chemo, and otherwise suffering
Yes
4)Was my money my motivation for doing this?
No

I read the law prior to being arrested and did feel I was doing my best to comply and stay within the law and respect the wishes of County and City leaders. Since my arrest, I have spent four months reading the law since I was arrested and it is no clearer now than when I started.
I know with 100% certainty that I was acting with compassion and the people that I feel it would be morally wrong not to help others.
I will publicly say that I do agree with one comment made by the prosecutor Chris Lindberg. He said that anybody who wants to help other people with medical marijuana should see a lawyer first. I do agree with that. Not because I believe a acted wrongly, but because the stress that I have experienced with being arrested and waiting for a trial are taking their toll on my stress level and causing my autoimmune problems to flare up so that I am extreme pain even typing this.
I have real concerns about my physical and mental health. I have even greater concerns about catching something getting very ill or dying
if they put me in jail. I also cannot morally sign a paper saying that I am a “gang/ narcotics offender” when I know that I am not a criminal. I have no criminal record. I was trying to do something good. For this I am being destroyed.
So what do I do? I am doing the only thing I can think of that is morally right, and that is to try to make people aware that medical marijuana is a PLANT. It has been used in the medical books for over 5,000 years. There has never been a single recorded overdose death in the history of the world. Marijuana was made illegal in 1937 for purely political reasons.
In 1996 the voters in California voted to change that. In 2004 this was expanded. There are very powerful people in San Diego and I hope that they can understand that medical marijuana patients are San Diego citizens. Many are veterans. They are school teachers, nurses, police officers and they are your brothers, sisters, children and parents. We are human, we are people, and we are struggling with illness and pain.
Many stay in the closet out of concern for their jobs, or for exactly what is happening to me. Many medical marijuana patients live in fear. I am hoping that can change.
I do not know my future, and I am scared. I don’t know what else I can do, except try to let people know. I also have a face book page which I am posting my feelings about this situation.
Sincerely, and thank you much for the people that are supportive and know the truth.
Donna Lambert

Comment by: Border Patrol seizes $300,000 worth of marijuana Posted: June 22, 2009, 5:01 pm

Comment by: Steve Francis: Debunking call to legalize marijuana Posted: June 22, 2009, 7:25 pm

Comment by: jason Posted: June 23, 2009, 5:10 am

Bonnie Dumanis is a VERY STUPID woman.

Simply the worst attorney general………….the woman should be fired

Comment by: Allen Ronner Posted: June 23, 2009, 11:02 pm

Item 20 on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, June 23, 2009

20. SUBJECT: PROHIBITING MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES IN THE UNINCORPORATED AREA (DISTRICTS: ALL)
OVERVIEW:
Recently, the United States Supreme Court denied the County’s petition requesting the Court to consider the County’s lawsuit related to the conflict between federal and state law on the possession and use of marijuana for medical purposes. The sale and use of marijuana is illegal under Federal law for any purpose. However, marijuana use is allowed under State law when it is being used for certain medical purposes. Due to the Supreme Court’s denial of the petition, the County will be issuing medical marijuana ID cards beginning July 2009. The purpose of the State law relating to identification cards is to allow qualified patients to apply for and receive medical marijuana identification cards.

The for-profit sale of medical marijuana is illegal. In an effort to protect unincorporated neighborhoods from the serious negative impacts which medical marijuana dispensaries may cause, action is needed to make certain that the County’s Zoning Ordinance is clear regarding their establishment. The proliferation of these dispensaries is a threat to public safety, public health, and community character. Today’s action will direct the Chief Administrative Officer to work with County Counsel to draft an ordinance for the Board’s approval prohibiting medical marijuana dispensaries from operating within the unincorporated area.

If you want to read it for yourself this is the link:
http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/bos/agenda/index.doc

Comment by: Hurt to hear Posted: June 24, 2009, 2:32 pm

Who really cares. We need to legalize it and put quack doctors out of business and make some money for the state instead of these snake oil sales men. And Sean I have not seen you make an argument so you can shut it!

Comment by: Hurt to hear Posted: June 24, 2009, 2:36 pm

Pete so getting high for your headaches is a better to treat yourself than a non impairing drug like asprin? You dont make sense. Quack doctors like the ones at MediCann give away recs for anything and I mean anything. They have turned MMJ into a joke just like most of the people who use it. It should be for seriously ill people and dying patients not for your average Joe and Jane to use for headaches, pms or what have you. It should be legalized but get real medical use for everything you are foolish!!!!!!!!!1

Comment by: Medical marijuana shops sprout up in Pacific Beach Posted: June 26, 2009, 9:22 am

[...] Links: Marijuana advocates rally at county building | Marijuana found at Imperial Beach | Undercover operation nets medical marijuana patient | Medical marijuana cards no longer a pipe dream? | Legalize marijuana to save California? [...]

Comment by: J Posted: June 29, 2009, 3:29 pm

I think it’s coming time to vote on completely legalizing marijuana. This waste of taxpayer dollars has to stop. Marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol and the authorities will be just as likely to use it as you or I once it is legalized.

Comment by: Eugene Davidovich: Hearing proves obvious bias against medical marijuana Posted: July 14, 2009, 9:22 am

[...] = ‘SDNewsNetwork’; Editor’s Note: Eugene Davidovich is a medical marijuana patient who was arrested during Operation Endless Summer (also known as Operation Green Rx). His preliminary hearing was Monday morning with a number of [...]

Comment by: Inflorescence Posted: July 16, 2009, 11:38 pm

“Comment by: Hurt to hear Posted: June 24, 2009, 2:36 pm

It should be for seriously ill people and dying patients not for your average Joe and Jane to use for headaches, pms or what have you. It should be legalized but get real medical use for everything you are foolish!!!!!!!!!”

Perhaps you didn’t read the initiative very well when you didn’t vote for it but obviously plenty of people did (56%) noticing that prop 215 says:
“….or ANY other illness for which marijuana provides relief.”

not just what YOU think it should be for.

Comment by: Steve Francis: Clamping down on San Diego’s marijuana Posted: July 21, 2009, 8:30 am

Comment by: Donna Lambert Posted: July 31, 2009, 12:43 am

Interview with Attorney Gerald Singleton, Donna Lambert and Bonnie Dumanis
http://www.kusi.com/news/goodmorning/52084742.html

I am also currently facing trial from this operation GreenRx where a narcotics detective lied to a doctor to obtain a medical marijuana recommendation and then went arrested anybody who tried to help him. Good interview on this link.

I would like you to see the link to KUSI story My attorney is Gerald Singleton.

(760)697-1330

Sincerely,

Donna Lambert

Comment by: Jon Posted: August 20, 2009, 2:13 pm

“Marijuana is one of the most non-toxic therapeutic substances known to man”
DEA Judge Francis

Pot is far safer than alcohol, yet we are spending our own money to search, prosecute, and jail non violent people for using it? How is that not inhumane?

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