For those who think Craigslist is the perfect place to peddle meds, think again. Even smaller local law enforcement agencies are turning into data miners.
Case in point: Oroville police spotted a Craigslist post offering to trade a ski boat for cash and/or “215,” shorthand for the medical cannabis that’s authorized for patients under Proposition 215. Oroville police initiated contact with a Eureka man then busted him for drug sales when he showed up at a local park with three pounds of cannabis, the Chico Enterprise-Record reports. The newspaper didn’t say whether police contacted the person who posted the boat ad or whether they used the seller’s email account to woo unwary buyers.
Cannabis stolen in Santa Rosa home invasion; 2 arrested
Two Santa Rosa men were arrested Monday in connection with a home-invasion robbery where marijuana was taken. The victim was beaten and held at gunpoint during the Feb. 5 pot robbery, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports, but didn’t suffer serious injury. The news report didn’t name the victim, perhaps because he’s now under investigation by police for possible involvement in drug sales.
The two suspects were arrested Monday, the Press Democrat reports, and police found more than 100 pounds of processed marijuana at one of the suspect’s homes. One of the men, who had a prior record for robbery, also faces charges of unlawful possession of a handgun by an ex-felon and suspected possession of marijuana for sale.
Eureka police find butane ‘hash lab’ at grow site
Two women were arrested Friday after Eureka police served a search warrant and found evidence of butane hash production along with hundreds of marijuana plants. Police also found about 21 pounds of dried marijuana, the Eureka Times-Standard reports.
One woman was arrested on suspicion of cultivation and possession of marijuana for sale and manufacturing a controlled substance. A second woman was arrested on suspicion of possession of over an ounce of marijuana. The officers called PG&E, which shut off power to the home because of a possible fire hazard.
San Marcos bans cannabis dispensaries – again?
San Marcos officials apparently weren’t willing to sit back as the California Supreme Court considers whether bans on medical cannabis dispensaries are legal under state law. So they were set to adopt a moratorium on medical cannabis dispensaries in San Marcos, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports, even though dispensaries have been banned in San Marcos since 2006.
“If the ruling issued by the Supreme Court does not uphold local agency control of these dispensaries, the City’s current prohibition would be effectively preempted with no regulations in place,” City Attorney Helen Holmes Peak wrote in a staff report on the moratorium ordinance.
You read that right: Dispensaries are already banned in San Marcos, but the City Council used the guise of a so-called urgency ordinance to ban them once again, just to make sure. The catch-all provision of Government Code Sec. 65858 is only supposed to be used to block new development projects, such as affordable housing, until appropriate zoning regulations can be developed. In real life, cities and counties often use GC 65858 for any “emergency” that comes their way, regardless of whether building or use permits are pending.