Vaporizer Blog

Over 1,100 plants seized during raid on illegal Marijuana Dispensary

November 01, 2018

Members of the Riverside County Cannabis Regulation Task Force seized as many as 1,150 marijuana plants, 159 dried plants, and 21 pounds of processed cannabis during a raid on Desert Cann Wellness Center, which
is located at  30565 Gunther St in Thousand Palms. They also recovered more than $9,000 in cash from the spot.

Led by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, the officials of the Cannabis Regulation Task Force, raided the dispensary Tuesday as it was operating in an area where the county does not currently
permit the distribution of cannabis products.

The task force detained one of the employees of the dispensary, however, released him immediately after serving a search warrant.

“Dispensaries are not authorized to operate in unincorporated areas of the county,” John Hall, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office, said. “When businesses attempt to do this, they have an unfair business advantage over those that  work with cities to get the proper permits and make sure their products are regulated for safety.”

Desert Cann, 'offers safe access to Medical Cannabis for registered medical marijuana members...[and]...prides itself on bringing a new option in healthcare, one that can relieve, comfort and improve your quality of life," according to its company website. " It included a front lobby where customers bought their products and four large grow rooms.

The district attorney’s office, meanwhile, has served the business with a cease and desist letter today, informing them they are prohibited from continuing to operate commercially.

Woman attempts to kill Husband over Medical Marijuana argument

October 30, 2018

A 70-year-old Adams County woman is accused of attempting to kill her husband as he wanted to use medical marijuana.

Palma A. Conrad  is charged with attempted murder, attempted homicide, and two counts of aggravated assault after she stabbed her husband, Richard Conrad, multiple times in the chest, face, and neck.

Adams County Assistant District Attorney Miranda Blazek announced the allegations against Conrad in a press release on Tuesday.

According to a police affidavit filed by Officer Anthony Gilberto of the Littlestown Police Department, Conrad stabbed her husband because of his desire to use medical marijuana, saying she was “sick of it.”

Gilberto had responded to a 911 call from the Conrads’ house and as he arrived the couple's home in the 300-block of Lexington Way, found saw Mrs. Conrad exiting the home with a black eye and blood on her hands,
arms, and face.

Richard Conrad, was lying on the living room floor and covered in blood. He told police he was asleep in a recliner when his wife stabbed him in the chest. He said he punched his wife in the face in an attempt to stop the attack.

Richard Conrad was flown to a hospital by helicopter and was said to be in stable condition.

Palma Conrad told police she argued with her husband because he wanted to use medical marijuana. She said she was upset and "sick of it" over her husband getting medical marijuana, so after an argument, she walked into the kitchen, saw the knife, and decided to kill him, the criminal complaint states.

Palma also told police that she had thought about killing her husband for over a month and was “disappointed” to know he was still alive.

Police took her in a police car and placed in Adams County Prison on $100,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 7.

Former Postal Worker sentenced for stealing Marijuana

October 30, 2018

A former employee of U.S. Postal Service Friday was sentenced to six months in jail for stealing marijuana. 

Makhya Curtis, 24, of Highland Springs, looted at least one parcel of nearly 3 pounds of illegally shipped marijuana on June 23, 2017, 

However, the package handler was caught while leaving the Sandston Mail Processing and Distribution Center with more than a kilogram of marijuana.

U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne sentenced Curtis, who admitted using marijuana but was not involved in illegally shipping it.

The U.S. attorney’s office sought a six-month sentence. However, Curtis’ lawyer, Vaughan C. Jones, asked for home confinement instead of jail. He sought the court's permission so that she could continue to work her two jobs, care for her 5-year-old son and participate in a drug treatment program.

According to Court documents dozens of damaged parcels were recovered from the Sandston distribution center that had been removed from the mail stream, opened and searched from March to June of 2017. 

The damaged packages were then placed back into the mail stream, sometimes with the contents removed. 

Curtis was employed at the center as a mail handler — loading, unloading and moving bulk mail — when she learned that marijuana was being shipped through the mail.

The postal inspectors reviewed surveillance footage from security cameras after getting reports of the high number of damaged packages and found that Curtis opening some packages.

On June 23, 2017, also inspectors watching via video saw her remove several packages from bins and open them. She was seen placing the contents of at least one parcel into her personal bag and was intercepted by inspectors when she left the facility on a break.

Later, a total of 1,338.9 grams, or nearly 3 pounds, of marijuana was recovered during a search of her bag.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service reported that in 2016, inspectors seized mail containing more than 40,000 pounds of illegal narcotics and $22.5 million in drug-trafficking proceeds.

Gwinnett Man administers Marijuana to Teens before raping them

October 30, 2018

A Norcross man gave marijuana to a 14-year-old and 15-year-old before sexually assaulting them. This was informed by the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office. The accused has been identified as Ronnie Antwan Stone (34).

According to the DA’s office, Stone sent a car to pick the girls, cousins, with whom he was chatting online the day after Christmas in 2016. He had met them at a Christmas gathering.

During their interrogation, the girls informed the police that Stone offered them “a drink of some sort” and marijuana after they arrived in his home in Norcross.

While the senior cousin smoked the marijuana, the younger one did not, they told police. Stone had sex with the 15-year-old, said the 14-year-old to the police. He then ordered the 14-year-old into another bedroom, where he raped her, the DA’s office said.

While one of the girls’ mother went to pick them up from the home, Stone had already fled the spot. Later, he informed his girlfriend, who knew the cousins’ family, that he had consensual sex with the girls.

Charges of rape, aggravated child molestation, statutory rape, enticing a child for indecent purposes and contributing to the delinquency of a minor were leveled against Stone on Oct. 23 after a one-day bench trial.

Gwinnett County Superior Court Judge Ronnie Batchelor sentenced Stone to life, with the first 20 years to serve in prison. However, he was acquitted of one charge of aggravated sexual battery and one charge of enticing a child for indecent purposes.

Marijuana Activist Gabel is in Lincoln mayoral poll fray

October 29, 2018

Krystal Gabel, an advocate for marijuana legalization, announced on her Facebook page Thursday that she is running for Lincoln mayor.

"Lincoln needs fresh, nonpartisan leadership to build a smarter, greener economy that directly benefits the community and Nebraska’s future," Gabel says on her website.

Gabel has decided to contest the mayor election as an independent candidate. She lists the top item of her platform as legalizing marijuana in Lincoln.

"By implementing a full cannabis decriminalization policy within Lincoln City limits, residents will be able to legally possess marijuana and grow plants for personal use (no sales)," Gabel wrote on Facebook.

"The City of Lincoln and LPD would no longer pursue low-level marijuana cases (possession and consumption) and actively work to seal all past marijuana convictions en masse. My intent is to save the city thousands in marijuana enforcement costs and apply that money to city expenses that are currently funded by property taxes," she added. 

The other agendas of her political electoral manifestos includes starting a citywide free bus service, creating a zero waste program and encouraging e-commerce companies to expand and thrive in Lincoln.

This apart, one can see her full platform on her website. Gabel unsuccessfully challenged Gov. Pete Ricketts in the Republican primary earlier this year. She also had decided to run for Omaha City Council last year, however, she fell short in her attempt.

The other top contenders of the Lincoln mayor election are Mayor Chris Beutler, a Democrat, and Lincoln City Councilwoman Cyndi Lamm, a Republican.

Both Beutler and Lamm have announced they'll run for mayor in 2019, although the former would be ineligible to run again if the term limits proposal passes.

NY man tries to bring marijuana across Peace Bridge, arrested

October 27, 2018

U.S. Attorney James Kennedy informed that a downstate New York man has been arrested while he was trying to smuggle marijuana across the Peace Bridge into the United States.

The accused has been identified as David Dratch, 23, who is from Montgomery.
Officers arrested while he was entering the United States from Canada at the Peace Bridge Port of Entry on October 25.

After initially denying he had any drugs or prohibited items in his car, he was pulled over for secondary inspection, where a drug dog sniffed out the pot in the glove compartment, according to the Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Astorga.

The officers recovered the marijuana products along with a piece of paper naming a marijuana dispensary in Hamilton, Ont.

Dratch is now faces possession of a controlled substance, importation of a controlled substance, and smuggling goods into the United States. His charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

A U.S. magistrate judge released him after he was made an initial appearance before him.

Matoaca High School Student charged after classmates eat ‘Pot Brownies’

October 25, 2018

A student of Matoaca High School has been charged with lacing a batch of brownies with marijuana and giving portions to seven of her schoolmates earlier this year.

Notably, four of the seven students, who ranged in age from 14 -17, had experienced symptoms from the drug.

According to Chesterfield Police, the14-year-old student was charged with possession of marijuana and adulteration of food after lab results showed the brownies contained tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

"The lab was unable to tell us how much THC was in the brownies," a police spokesperson said.

It appeared the charges have been diverted by the court, according to police. That usually means the charge would be dismissed if the student met certain conditions.

Court uses diversion sometimes for first-time offenders which involve the juvenile being referred to counseling or attending an educational program with his or her parents offered through the court.

Police were called to Matoaca High back in January 31 after the student arrived at the school's clinic.

Out of seven, three students were picked up by their parents after experiencing symptoms of the drug and another student, 15, was taken to the hospital for a more severe reaction. That student had earlier gone to the school’s clinic with various symptoms after eating one of the brownies and, as a precaution, school officials called for an ambulance.

Police shut down 5 Marijuana Dispensaries in Toronto

October 20, 2018

The Toronto police shut down as many as five illegal marijuana dispensaries that have been running without license Friday.

According to Police spokesman Gary Long, during a co-ordinated raid the drug squad charged and released eight people under the new Cannabis Act.

The five dispensaries which are located at 66 Fort York Boulevard, 333 Spadina Avenue, 912 Danforth Avenue, 1506 Dundas Street West and 2655 Lawrence Avenue East were shut, informed Long.

The move to shut down illegal dispensaries came two days after recreational cannabis use was made legal across the country.

Meanwhile, police Chief Mark Saunders vowed to shut down more such illegal storefront cannabis operations as it is only legal to buy marijuana in Ontario from the province's online website.

The new Cannabis Act allow police to impose interim closure orders on any establishment they suspect is being used for the sale of illegal marijuana.

They also include provisions that allow police to go after landlords who knowingly lease their property to illegal dispensaries.

If tried and sentenced, illegal dispensary owners could, at best, lose their right to ever apply for a license in the future. 

At worst, they could face up to 14 years in prison for illegal distribution or sale of cannabis under the Cannabis Act.

According to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, approximately 600 dispensary employees were charged in Toronto between May 1, 2017 and Dec. 31, 2017.

More than 350 of them have already had all of their charges withdrawn, and that number could grow with many more cases still before the courts.

Ontario will be issuing licenses to operate dispensaries, but that system won't be in place until April 1, 2019.

Oakland County gets 1st licensed Medical Marijuana business

October 19, 2018

Oakland County got its first medical marijuana business approved Thursday. The Michigan Marijuana Licensing Board, a division of the state’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, gave its green signal to open the Green House dispensary in Walled Lake.

Jerry Millen, one of three co-owners of Greenhouse, however, informed that the dispensary, won’t open its door until January, as there won’t be state-approved products — actual marijuana and pot-infused edibles — available that have been grown, processed and tested before then.

According to the law, an applicant has to go through thorough and often tedious financial and criminal background checks and have to prove they have enough liquid assets that would support running a highly regulated business.

Green House dispensary is one of 10 licenses that were approved by the board. Others are located in Kalamazoo, Adrian, Bay City, Vassar, Ypsilanti, Mount Morris and Detroit, including Utopia Gardens, on Lafayette on the city's lower east side, which has been operating under emergency rules for months.

The total number of licenses that have been approved this year in Oakland County include nine growers; five processors; 29 dispensaries; three transport companies and four testing facilities.

The state has asked the 200 marijuana businesses, mostly dispensaries, which are operating under emergency rules, to either get a license or shut down by Oct. 31.

Approximately 300,000 Michigan residents have been certified to use medical marijuana, which Michigan voters approved in 2008.

The state voters will consider a ballot proposal on Nov. 6 that would legalize marijuana for the recreational use of the adults.

Canada becomes 2nd Nation to legalize Marijuana for all Adults

October 17, 2018

Canada legalized possession and use of recreational cannabis for all adults on Wednesday.  With this, Canada became the second country in the world and first G7 country to legalize marijuana sales nationwide.

Canada also became the largest country with a legal national marijuana marketplace.

The first recreational cannabis to be legally bought in Canada was purchased at midnight on Wednesday (02:30 GMT) on the eastern island of Newfoundland amid queues of hundreds of people.

Ian Power, from the town of St John's, began queuing at 20:00 along with many others so he could "make history" and finally became the first person to buy recreational cannabis.

"It's been my dream to be the first person to buy the first legal gram of cannabis in Canada, and here I finally am," he said.

"I am going to frame it and hang it on my wall. I'm not even going to smoke it. I'm just going to save it forever," he added.

As per the law, adults will be able buy cannabis oil, seeds and plants and dried cannabis from licensed producers and retailers and to possess up to 30 grams (one ounce) of dried cannabis in public, or its equivalent. Besides, they can grow more than four plants per household.

However, someone caught selling the drug to a minor could be jailed for up to 14 years.

The legalizing cannabis is expected to create an industry worth more than $4 billion in Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau campaigned on a promise to legalize marijuana in 2015, and his Liberal government delivered in the form of Bill C-45, otherwise known as the Cannabis Act.

While Trudeau cast the bill in a public health lens, in order to make marijuana more difficult for teenagers to access and erode black market profits, the global financial community is eagerly looking at Canada to see how legalization plays out.

Possession of cannabis first became a crime in Canada in 1923 but medical marijuana has been legal in the country since 2001.

First Medical Marijuana Dispensary opens in DuBois

October 16, 2018

The first medical marijuana dispensary opened its doors Monday in DuBois. Grassroots Cannabis, an Illinois-based medical cannabis company, opened a new Herbology medical cannabis dispensary on South Brady Street.

A public ribbon cutting ceremony was held at 3:30 p.m. to celebrate the grand opening of the dispensary.

More than 40 patients stopped by the dispensary of the company, which has licensed business operations in six states.

Cannabis products, including flower, ingestible and topicals, cannabidiol (CBD) products, concentrates, oil vape cartridges and disposable vape pens are available in the dispensary.

Grassroots Cannabis is the second Herbology location in Pennsylvania and the fourth Herbology location nationwide.  

The dispensary will be opened from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Speaking about the opening of the dispensary, Ian Gibbs, Outreach and Marketing Manager for Grassroots Cannabis said, "For most people, there aren't many locations in Pennsylvania and DuBois is a nice centralized area."

Officials said the cannabis products come from Cresco Yeltrah's marijuana cultivation facility in Brookville.

Some of the patients were also happy that a dispensary opened closer to them.

"Now that we have a dispensary closer in my area it's a godsend," patient Jason Martinez, who uses medical cannabis to alleviate symptoms related to his blood cancer. Martinez no longer must drive to Butler for his prescriptions.

Grassroots Cannabis is the largest medical cannabis provider in Illinois and it is one of the largest multi-state cannabis companies in the nation. 

According to officials, a dispensary will also be opened in Altoona soon.

Montclair Police arrests 8 persons in 300-pound marijuana seizure

October 15, 2018

Montclair police arrested 8 persons including five women after it seized nearly 300 pounds of marijuana from them. The suspects are all 21-year-old or older, said officials.

The Montclair Police Department’s Special Enforcement Team and Detective Bureau arrested the suspects after serving the warrant at the 4000 block of Holt Boulevard about 9:45 a.m.

According to a release issued by the Department, more than 200 pounds of marijuana edibles and more than 80 pounds of various forms of processed marijuana were seized by the officers from the spot. This apart, police also seized computers and firearms.  

The release further said that the five women and three male security guards, employees of the establishment, were arrested on suspicion of possession for sale of cannabis.

“The clandestine dispensaries often have poor ventilation and unsafe building code violations, making the establishments unsafe for the surrounding communal properties and those working inside,” the release said.

However, more details about the matter were not given by the police.

Meanwhile, the Montclair Police Department has asked people having additional information regarding this incident to contact at 909-621-4771. They also can submit their anonymous tips by calling 1-800-78-CRIME.

The city has an ordinance prohibiting all commercial cannabis activity. However, since the passage of the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act in 2010, three doctors have been appointed in the city – a physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor, a radiation oncologist and a psychiatrist. 

They prescribe the cannabis for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, inflammatory bowel syndrome and chronic patients with less than 12 months to live. Patients with HIV/AIDS or cancer and have chronic pain, severe nausea or problems with weight gain can also be prescribed. In addition, patients resistant to others drugs can be prescribed marijuana for seizure disorder, intractable skeletal muscular spasticity and glaucoma.

Mt. Pleasant gets first two applications for Medical Marijuana licenses

October 10, 2018

Mt. Pleasant received first two applications for local medical marijuana licenses after it began accepting applications on Monday, Oct. 1.

Both the applications, which the city has received, are from Green Bronco LLC, of Rochester Hills. They have sought conditional approval for provisioning centers at two locations: 1318 E. Pickard and 1322 E. Pickard.

As per the new ordinance, which was approved earlier this year, only three provisioning centers will be allowed across the city and they will allow up to five Class A growers (500 plants) and up to three Class B or C growers (1,000 and 1,500 plants).

Any business can apply for the annual city license with a fee of $5,000, which is refundable to those who do not receive final authorization from the city to operate. The application fee is $200 and is non-refundable.

The applicants can apply till Feb. 1 next year after which the city clerk’s office will review the applications and send the conditional approval.

If the city receives more than the allowed number of applications then it will hold a lottery to select the eligible applicants.  

The city is posting a list of applicants at its website www.mt-pleasant.org and the list will be updated weekly.

As per the guidelines to grant the official license to the applicants, the city requires all applicants, for all of the business types, to already have Phase 1 approval from the state. Then a business has to receive a special use permit from the city and Phase 2 site location approval from the state after receiving the conditional approval from the city.

Mormon Church backs deal to allow Medical Marijuana in Utah

October 06, 2018

The Mormon Church extended its support to a deal Thursday that would legalize medical marijuana in conservative Utah.

The church’s support to push medical marijuana forward came after months of fierce debate. It joined the lawmakers, the governor and advocates more the move even if a November ballot initiative fails.

Gov. Gary Herbert is slated have a discussion with all the lawmakers during a special session after the Nov. 6 election to pass the compromise into law.

The deal differs from the ballot initiative by removing a provision that would allow people to grow their own marijuana if they live too far from a dispensary and limiting the types of edible marijuana that would be available.

On the other hand, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opposed the ballot measure, leaders also made first-ever public statement supporting the use of medical marijuana if prescribed by a doctor and dispensed by a pharmacy.

The medical marijuana is currently legal in more than 30 states. However, the recreational marijuana will go before voters of Michigan and North Dakota this November. If passed, it will be a first for a Midwestern state.

Smoking marijuana would not be allowed under the ballot proposal, but the edible forms, lotions or electronic cigarettes will be allowed.

Michigan Pot Shops get new deadline for approval and closure

October 03, 2018

Michigan imposed a Halloween deadline Monday for dispensaries that are not fully licensed by the end of October to either get a state license or be forced to shut down.

The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) issued new emergency rules which could put dozens of facilities out of business.

According to the new rules, the dispensaries could be forced to shut down if they fail to receive a state license as per the Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act by Oct. 31.

The LARA has decided to enforce the Oct. 31 deadline despite a continued backlog in unprocessed applications and a court order that had temporarily allowed many existing businesses to operate until Dec. 15.

A Court of Claims judge overruled the state's plan to treat two different classes of dispensaries differently.

As many as 206 dispensaries that have been operating with approval from their local communities, but still haven't gotten a state license. They were issued cease and desist letters from the state in March ordering them to shut down.

The first deadline was June 15 for dispensaries to get a license or shut down. But the state didn't approve the first dispensary license until July 12, so the June deadline was extended to Sept. 15.

However, Judge Stephen Berrello overruled the state’s plan to make 98 dispensaries that hadn't turned in completed applications to close on Sept. 15, and allowed 106 retail shops that had turned in all steps of their application, which included building plans as well as community approval, to stay open until Dec. 15.

The new Dec. 15 deadline is the third time the department has extended the deadline for dispensaries to get a license or shut down.

After medical marijuana became legal in Michigan in 2008, the state has approved licenses for 37 applicants including seven growers, four processors, 19 dispensaries, three secure transporters and four testing facilities.

Michigan has received 702 applications and, in addition to the licenses approved, 72 applicants have been given preliminary approval for a license.

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