Federal lawsuit alleges Santa Ana Mayor took bribes for medical marijuana licenses

Last week, video surfaced of Santa Ana police raiding a medical marijuana dispensary. In the video, officers are seen smashing camera equipment, joking about kicking an amputee woman and appearing to eat the marijuana edibles after the store was cleared of customers.

While medical marijuana is legal in California, Santa Ana distributed a small number of licenses via a lottery system. This week, the owners of Sky High Holistic, the shop Santa Ana police were raiding in the video, filed a federal lawsuit with serious allegations against Mayor Miguel Pulido, claiming the lottery system was rigged:

The lawsuit alleges that prior to the November 2014 vote, a person hired by the city, who wasn’t identified, solicited $25,000 payments from individuals affiliated with existing marijuana collectives in Santa Ana. The individuals were promised successful inclusion in the lottery and assistance finding a location for a dispensary if the money was paid to support Measure BB, the suit contends.

The lawsuit also alleges Pulido and other city officials received limousine services, expensive dinners, money and gifts from individuals seeking control over Santa Ana’s medical marijuana market.


READ MORE: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/16/1393796/-Federal-lawsuit-alleges-Santa-Ana-Mayor-took-bribes-for-medical-marijuana-licenses?detail=facebook_sf