Hy Spliff! This is so typical of LEO tactics when the need for a bit of publicity that demonstrates how tough they can be on the evil cannabis retailer. After watching the news feed and hearing how the same thing occurred at two other dispensaries where the cases pleaded out to guilty charges it would not surprise anyone at all that even if there was absolutely nothing wrong with the way this dispensary was running their business and the laws were being followed, they still were forced to plead out to some charges and never get to reopen again.
What does frustrate me in these highly publicized cases as to why there is no administrative regulatory process like would occur as if this were say an illegal sale of alcohol? Some government agent/agency would build a case, (ie serving an underaged customer at a bar who may have used a fake id to get booze) through evidence then a series of notices would lead to a hearing before an administrative board would occur, guilt or innocence would be adjudicated and if found guilty fines or suspensions of the license would occur. In the case of a dispensary where is the mechanism whereby an inspector that wanders in unannounced and audits the dispensary for compliance and builds that case if the dispensary has compliance issues? A non-compliant dispensary should be shut down if it consistently violates community standards/laws. That process is not being followed in these cases.
Why anyone would invest tens of thousands of dollars into a, yes profit making business, that administers a state sanctioned distribution of a product that the voters have approved of only to face the uncertainty of how long their business will be allowed to exist before such time that some LEO will simply storm the doors, media in tow, make a big show of all the plants they hack down, strip the computers which carry all patient data, seize all the assets, and in this case take the CHILDREN away from the business owners. What complete and unadulterated bullshit. If you decide to serve this market, own a dispensary, the market decides to pay your prices and you are in compliance through regular checks of your business and it's routines you deserve to be afforded the protections of every other legitimate business that is granted the license to conduct that business. For the business owner who knowingly opens a dispensary outwardly and openly in the face of these arbitrary and heavy handed enforcement actions I can only admire your fortitude in the face of these herculean forces.
The decision to accept a plea of guilty in these matters is a personal one and more often then not driven by the economic impact of going to trial. But at the end of the day if there is even one jury member that decides the government did not make their case you have been vindicated. To all those business owners who attempted to follow the rules and open a retail MMJ storefront than have been forced to fight the fight, not taken the deal and been vindicated you have my personal admiration and respect for having done so against what must have seemed to be insurmountable forces. It is to you, the MMJ community and the citizens of this great country owe their deepest gratitude.
