Warrants served at Fresno Co. pot dispensaries

Source: Fresno Bee

Law-enforcement authorities served search warrants this morning at five medical marijuana dispensaries in Fresno County.

Sheriff Margaret Mims said authorities believe the dispensaries are making a profit off marijuana sales, which is illegal under state law; the dispensaries are required to be non-profit operations. Local, state and federal agents seized seized bank records, phone records and information about deliveries, Mims said.

... The seizures capped a six-month investigation, Mims said. The sheriff and county Supervisor Debbie Poochigian, whose district includes the Clovis Avenue-area dispensaries, said they had received complaints from neighbors about illegal drug deals and excessive traffic.

Read more: http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/06/01/2410478/warrants-served-at-2-fresno-co.html

Here's another "not for profit"....

n/t

This is such bullshit. And it's the local pork, not the feds. Really disgraceful! Stealing medicine from patients is pretty fucking sadistic.

Methinks they've spent too long online in their mommy's basement!

:rofl:

Law-enforcement authorities served search warrants this morning at five medical insurance providers in Fresno County.

Sheriff Margaret Mims said authorities believe the insurers are making a profit off health care.


That's kind of how I would have preferred that item to read. We return you now to your regularly scheduled thread.

To comment on.

I don't know how many times it has be said. A lot more, since there are moneyed interests in the War on Pot who don't want their spigot turned off.

and all we get are token "investigations."

The law says nonprofit for a REASON. If they're generating profit, they're ripping off the medical marijuana users who depend on their services. They're driving up the cost of medical pot for their own GREED, and nothing more. The law is simple...they can sell it, but only at cost.

Unless you're a fan of pot dispensary owners driving Bentley's and living in million dollar mansions, you shouldn't have a problem with this.

having their records and computers seized, since making a profit off medicine is such a godawful crime?

I don't object to the dispensaries being forced to be non-profits. I object to them being forced to be non-profits while billion dollar companies can do more or less whatever the hell they want.

California voters made medical marijuana legal. California voters also required that it be sold ONLY by non-profits. The conditions were part of a package deal approved by the people of California. We can't just ignore the terms we don't like.

FWIW, I'd happily support a proposition requiring ALL drug companies to be regulated as nonprofits.

and live in million dollar mansions. :3

"Sheriff Margaret Mims said authorities believe the dispensaries are making a profit off marijuana sales, which is illegal under state law; the dispensaries are required to be non-profit operations"

Im not saying the law is RIGHT, but for now it IS the law. If the MM industry wants to be accepted, its gotta play by the rules.

This is most likely just harassment. I would like to know how much income staff members were making. Non-profits are allowed to pay their staff.

capitalism + health care and energy = good.

duh.

Insurance companies who also make profits from the sick. :sarcasm:

I've been to Buds 4 life, but only in Friant. So profit for putting yourself on the line of getting busted. Profit paying electric bills and rent. So if they can't make money, how do they survive? If they can't make money, why go through all this shit? When are we just going to legalize it and stop this bullshit that the DEA does. Most shops charge the going rate as other shops. They just need excuses and lies to make these busts.

By making money.

You see, it's possible to make money without making profit. Electric bills and rent are not profit.... unless, of course, you're "renting" from yourself (a popular income evasion scam). Paying your employees is non-profit (unless you're paying them excessive amounts, but there's a lot of wiggle room).

"Most shops charge the going rate as other shops."

Yeahbutno.

That's illegal, too, right there.

It's called price-fixing, and it's also a *crime*. People go to jail for it.

"When are we just going to legalize it"

We/They did. For organizations who run as non-profit.

If you claim you're non-profit, but own multiple houses, multiple cars, or basically live like a pharmaceutical executive or insurance company executive, well, you're scamming people, and scum who loses their license.

I'm just hoping that the DEA and voters go the other direction: Keep raiding pot exploiters, *and* pharma exploiters, and make all for-profit drug business illegal.

You can own a nonprofit and STILL take home $100,000 a year. Or more.

You simply set a fixed wage for yourself...any number that isn't "abusive" will qualify. Now assign a wage for your staff, add together all of your bills, set a fixed cash reserve amount, determine how much your product costs, and then calculate your total cost of doing business based on those numbers. THAT is how much you can charge.

If it costs $50 an ounce for you to produce your weed (buy it from grower, grow it yourself, whatever), and you sell 36,500 ounces a year (100 ounces a day, every day), and you have four employees who make $75,000 a year (wage + benefits), while you make $100,000 a year, and it costs $40,000 a year for you to advertise, pay the rent, and keep the lights on, your total operational expenses are about $2,265,000 a year. $2,265,000/36,500 = $62 an ounce.

It doesn't matter if the street market is selling that same pot for $75 an ounce, or even $150 an ounce. If you're a non-profit, you sell at cost...which means that cost + expenses have to be the only considerations when setting price.

"It's not profit, it's set-aside funds for anticipated legal expenses".

:evilgrin: