"Car Jacking Latest Pot Club Crime"

The latest story on the Alameda MMJ pot club crime wave darkly
suggests that the clubs may be responsible for an increase in MJ
arrests among students. Funny, no one in the neighborhood even
noticed the presence of the first Alameda Co club, We are Hemp,
during its first years of operation. Now, the sheriff's department
is portraying the dispensaries as crime magnets. Banks, jewelry and
convenience stores are also crime magnets, but the sheriff never
suggests that they are a problem. It's the sheriff's responsibility
to keep the neighborhood free of robbers and thugs. If dispensaries
can't operate safely, it's a sign of a larger law and disorder
problem in Alameda Co. - DG

Car Jacking Latest Pot Club Crime
By : Linda Sandsmark : 9/29/05 (San Leandro Times)

A woman was carjacked and robbed Monday afternoon after she left The
Health Center (THC) marijuana club at 15998 East 14th Street.
Citizens in the area saw the crime occur about four blocks from THC
and called police on their cell phones.

An African-American male wearing a ski mask and carrying a gun
reportedly pulled the woman from her car and drove off in it. The
unidentified woman, who is from Garberville in Humboldt County,
walked back toward the clinic and her car was found on nearby Liberty
Street.

"She doesn't want to pursue a criminal complaint in spite of the fact
she was carjacked," says Alameda County Sheriff's Department
spokesman Lt. Dale Amaral. "When you have this kind of drug
distribution center it's an absolute magnet for every thug in the
nine Bay Area counties. We're running from call to call."

Amaral points out that no matter how armored the clinic buildings
are, the people entering and exiting are still targets. He advises
them to be aware of their surroundings and to drive to the nearest
police station or flag down an officer if they think they are being
followed.

Crimes including burglaries and robberies at many of the dispensaries
have caused widespread community concern. On Sept. 12 money and
marijuana were stolen from the Alameda County Resource Center (16250
East 14th St.) when burglars chopped through the wall of an adjacent
fellowship hall during the night. On August 19 the owner of A Natural
Source (ANS) shot and killed a suspect who fled the clinic after a
strong-arm robbery. ANS is located at 16360 Foothill Blvd. in
unincorporated San Leandro, between a Montessori school and the BASIS
Charter School.

"We were digging out bullet holes from apartment complexes nearby
afterward. We've had one shooting and there's no end in sight. It's a
target-rich environment," says Amaral. "The sheriff's department is
devoting a tremendous amount of resources to these clubs."

According to Shawn Wilson, Chief of Staff for County Supervisor Alice
Lai-Bitker, members of the Community Development Agency and the
Sheriff's office met with Supervisor Nate Miley last week regarding
issues pertaining to a county marijuana ordinance adopted in June.
Clinics had been given until Aug. 30 to apply for a permanent
operating permit and the Sheriff's Department is responsible for the
permitting process.

Three clinics met the Aug. 30 deadline: The Health Center, Alameda
County Resource Center, and Compassionate Collective of Alameda
County. Three others - A Natural Source, We Are Hemp and Garden of
Eden - didn't turn in the 21-page application for their employees and
had been ordered by the Sheriff to close by Sept. 30.

"The application included questions on credit card debt and their
ex-spouses," said Wilson. "They didn't feel their employees should be
under that much scrutiny. But the sheriff's department felt they
needed that information to make sure the clubs didn't have ties to
drug cartels."

Wilson said that since the Board of Supervisors had not approved the
application form, the pot clubs will be allowed to operate beyond the
Sept. 30 closure date until the issue is resolved. He added that the
Board will now draft another form, which may or may not contain the
disputed questions.

The first public reading is scheduled for Oct. 4, and the second for
Oct. 11. If that goes well, dispensaries will be given another 10
days after that to submit their applications.

The three clubs which have not yet filed will now have another chance
to do so. The three that have already turned in their applications do
not have to reapply.

Wilson says the Supervisors will also clarify the number of clinics
that will be approved and their geographic locations. A map approved
by the Board of Supervisors indicated five locations, but the
ordinance specifies three.

"The Board of Supervisors is trying to get it under control, to their
credit," says Amaral. "The quality of life for the community we're
sworn to protect has declined, and it's sad. We hope that the
supervisors can limit the clinics to three. What citizens can do is
support the board of supervisors in their efforts to try to regulate
the clinics, and voice their opinions about where they should be
located."

Clinic location has also had an impact on neighborhoods. Though the
clubs may not be selling directly to students, the county's School
Resource Officers report a 36-percent increase in arrests on nearby
school campuses for minors possessing marijuana, possibly due to
increased supply in the area.
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Dale Gieringer (415) 563-5858 // canorml [at] igc.org
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