California, Bakersfield

[Midnight toker]

<span class=postbold>See Also</span>: County passes medical marijuana ordinance

Board to vote on marijuana plan

The Bakersfield Californian
BY EMILY HAGEDORN, Californian staff writer
e-mail: ehagedorn@bakersfield.com | Sunday, Jul 9 2006 9:15 PM
Last Updated: Sunday, Jul 9 2006 9:19 PM

After the issue of medical marijuana dispensary regulations came up a few weeks ago, county officials and cannabis proponents met to find a compromise.

It was a nice try, but not good enough, says the Bakersfield chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

A revised ordinance is now up for vote at the Kern County Board of Supervisors' meeting Tuesday morning.

The original measure, which was brought up June 13, would have enabled the Sheriff's Department to know each person involved in every medical marijuana transaction, limited hours of operation and required disclosure of any firearms on the dispensary premises, among other things. Since then, those actions have been scaled back.

The Sheriff's Department can only see the names of patients and caregivers when they get a warrant or court order. Dispensaries can be open until 8 p.m. The requirement for disclosure of firearms was deleted.

"We worked it out," said deputy county counsel John Irby. "We want to have a system under which the sheriff can inspect the premises to ensure they are complying with state medical marijuana law."

But NORML, along with some local dispensaries, doesn't want the sheriff involved at all.

"I don't have a problem with there being an ordinance," said Ed Sulla, vice president of Bakersfield NORML. "But we think it should be the health department to handle it."

Jim McGowen, owner of the American Caregivers Collective, a dispensary on Gillmore Avenue, worries this oversight by the Sheriff's Department will allow for an abuse of power.

McGowen's customers are worried they will be outed as marijuana users and lose their jobs, he said.

"I see this as a cover-up the police are using to get what they want," McGowen said. "It's probably going to put these dispensaries out of business, put these patients back on the street (to find marijuana)."

The sheriff is involved because that department manages regulatory business licenses in Kern County, Irby said. Other businesses that the sheriff regulates include pawn shops, massage parlors and bingo halls.

Other measures in the proposed medical marijuana dispensary ordinance include:
<ul>
<li>Grounds for suspension and revocation of the license.</li>

<li>Requiring documentation of patient physician recommendations and financial records.</li>

<li>Restrictions on minors using medical marijuana.</li>

<li>Limit on the number of dispensaries allowed in the county.</li>
</ul>
The supervisors also will vote on requiring the dispensaries to pay a $166 yearly fee.

[palmspringsbum]

S. Bakersfield teen's shooting death may be drug-related

<img src=/bin/icon_video.gif> Video
Posted 9/26/06
KGET TV 17

BAKERSFIELD - The shooting death of a teenager in south Bakersfield that surprised locals and devastated family members may have been linked to legally prescribed medical marijuana growing the backyard, officials said.

Leon Banks, 56, was shot Wednesday evening when he discovered suspected robbers in his backyard. Banks was taken to the hospital for his minor injuries and was later released. He was taken to the hospital a second time Thursday morning when the robbers returned and shot him again, causing more serious injuries.

That is when police said Banks’ 19-year-old son, Leonard Banks, tried to defend his home with his father and was fatally shot.

Police are searching for a man in his 20’s, 5 feet tall, 170 pounds with dark short hair wearing an oversized white T-shirt.

Police said a 17-year-old black man, 5-foot-8, 120 pounds wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans, and a black woman in her 30’s, 5 feet tall, about 155 pounds with braided black hair and a pink blouse also were seen running from the area

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Police Make Major Marijuana Bust On Westside

<table class=posttable align=right width=240><tr><td class=postcell><a href=http://mfile.akamai.com/12875/wmv/vod.ibsys.com/2006/1103/10235181.200k.asx><img class=postimg src=bin/bakersfield_bust.jpg></a></td></tr><tr><td class=postcap><img src=/bin/icon_video.gif> Video: Police Make Major Marijuana Bust</a></td></tr></table>TurnTo23.com

POSTED: 5:55 pm PST November 2, 2006
UPDATED: 11:07 am PST November 3, 2006

Bakersfield -- Four people were arrested after the CAL-MMET drug unit found more than 15 pounds of marijuana and several marijuana plants at a property west of Bakersfield.

Carl Sterner, Kristien Davis, John Williamson and Tim Ventura were all arrested this morning after police found 15.75 pounds of high quality marijuana, 6 grown marijuana plants and 119 starter plants.

Police also found a small quantity of methamphetamine and 17 guns.

The CAL-MMET unit developed information that led to a search warrant and the raid.

Through their investigation they believe the suspects were possibly supplying marijuana to the local medical marijuana shops for resale.

Copyright 2006 by TurnTo23.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[palmspringsbum]

Marijuana plants, guns seized from home; 4 arrested

The Bakersfield California
Last Updated: Thursday, Nov 2 2006 9:24 PM

Authorities seized more than 120 marijuana plants and 17 guns from a northwest Bakersfield home today.

Kristien Davis, John Williamson, Carl Sterner and Tim Ventura were arrested following the search of the residence near the 3800 block of Nord Avenue, according to a news release.

Authorities found about 16 pounds of marijuana, along with 119 starter marijuana plants and six larger plants in the home. A small amount of methamphetamine and 17 guns were also discovered.

Authorities believe the four individuals were supplying marijuana to the local "medical marijuana" shops for resale, the news release said.

Jim McGowen, owner of medical marijuana dispensary American Caregivers Collective in Oildale, said people who illegally sell marijuana to legitimate dispensaries hurt the entire industry.

"They go under the pretense of being patients and they're just drug dealers," he said.

Dispensaries receive their marijuana from their patients, who are allowed to grow six marijuana plants and can keep as much as half a pound of what they harvest, McGowen said. The remainder is sold to dispensaries, which then sell it to patients who don't have the means to grow their own marijuana.

-- By Californian staff writers Jason Kotowski and Stacey Shepard

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Paralyzed man arrested for pot possession says he didn't break laws

<img src=/bin/icon_video.gif> Video

KGET TV 17
Posted 11/2/06


BAKERSFIELD - A tip lead Sheriff’s deputies to search a northwest Bakersfield home for drugs, said to be grown for medical marijuana shops.

The man who lives at the home said he grows marijuana but denies the allegations.

Carl Sterner said he spoke with law enforcement officials before he started to grow medical marijuana so that he would not break any laws, but police said Thursday he did just that.

“I didn’t want to do anything illegal,” Sterner said. “I want to know what rights are regarding medical marijuana.”

Sterner said he grows marijuana in his northwest Bakersfield yard, but police came and took it all away.

Sterner said the starter plants were just seeds, and he didn’t now about the meth that belonged to one of his roommates. Meanwhile, officials said the California Mutli-jurisdiction Meth Enforcement Team searched the home after a tip.

“They were told that we were running a drug lab out here, and I told her, ‘That’s the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. Come on in!’” Sterner said.

Deputies said they believe Sterner was growing the pot for medical marijuana shops, but he said it was only enough for his personal use. Sterner said buying at the store costs too much, and he needs the pot to live in peace.

“I’m paralyzed on my left leg. I have a lot of pain and I can’t sleep very good. It relaxes me,” said Sterner.

It’s said stores buy from local growers, but that practice is federally regulated. Two Bakersfield dispensaries said they would not say from where or from whom they got their pot.

[budman]

Veteran knocks sheriff's version of marijuana bust

The Bakersfield Californian
BY STEVEN MAYER, Californian staff writer
e-mail: smayer@bakersfield.com | Friday, Nov 3 2006 10:50 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Nov 3 2006 10:54 PM

As white-haired Carl Sterner rolled his wheelchair into the kitchen of his Rosedale-area home Friday, he looked more like a kindly grandfather than a dangerous drug lord.

But on a recent Thursday -- the actual date is uncertain -- several officers from several law enforcement agencies knocked on Sterner's door and demanded entry.

By the end of the day, police had loaded up several pounds of the 75-year-old's medical marijuana. They also confiscated his gun collection and the household vacuum cleaner.

Sterner suffered a stroke in 2001 that left him partially paralyzed on one side of his body. He uses a wheelchair to get around and suffers needle-like pain in his leg and hip.

But medical marijuana helps tremendously, he says. So after getting a recommendation from his doctor, the former building contractor started using cannabis to manage the pain. He swears by it.

"It's much better than any pain pill," he said. "And the next morning you wake up feeling good, not rummy and dummy."

On Thursday, the Kern County Sheriff's Department announced in a press release that officers had, that very day, arrested Sterner, Kristien Davis, John Williamson and Tim Ventura following the search of the Nord Avenue residence.

Ventura was being held without bail for violating parole, according to sheriff's Sgt. Richard Wood.

Davis was charged with possession of small amount of meth and narcotics paraphernalia and was released after posting bail. She was being held on $11,500 bail, Wood said..

On Friday, Davis said she doesn't use meth and wouldn't have it in the house.

Wood said he had no information on what charges, if any, were brought against Williamson and Sterner.

"I don't know if they had any paper or permits to grow medical marijuana," Wood said. "It's not uncommon for guys to claim it's medical marijuana to avoid getting in trouble."

But even if the marijuana was being used for medicinal purposes, there was far more marijuana at the residence than what the law allows, Wood said.

In the department's release, authorities said they removed 16 pounds of dried pot and more than 120 plants, most of them "starter plants."

But on Friday, Sterner and Davis said the sheriff's release was incorrect. Only Davis and Ventura were arrested, they said. And the raid didn't happen Thursday, Nov. 2, they insist. It happened Oct. 26.

Several pink copies labeled "search warrant receipt" left by police at the house support Sterner's version. The pink copies are dated Oct. 26.

A Sheriff's Department spokesman Friday afternoon said he couldn't verify whether four people had been arrested or two. And it was apparently too late in the day to determine which day the bust actually occurred.

Whichever day it happened, Sterner wishes it hadn't. He's quite open about his efforts to grow his own, and admits he probably screwed up by harvesting more pot than county guidelines allow.

"I could write a book on how not to grow marijuana," he said.

The plants from this year's first and only harvest were full of seeds, a big no-no when attempting to produce high-grade medical cannabis, said Jim McGowan, owner of American Caregivers Collective, a medical marijuana dispensary in Bakersfield.

"It's a science," McGowan said of marijuana cultivation. "Carl did not grow medical-grade cannabis."

Before he started his garden, Sterner said he spoke with Sheriff Mack Wimbish and a chief deputy about what he needed to do to stay out of trouble.

But he should have stayed within county guidelines, McGowan added. For people who have a doctor's approval, no more than 12 nonflowering or six flowering plants are allowed. And after harvest, no more than eight ounces of dried weed may be kept for personal use.

As far as the dozens of starter plants are concerned, Sterner said they were "volunteers," less than 2 inches tall and not viable.

As a disabled man on a fixed Social Security income, Sterner said he felt he needed to grow his own supply and maybe make some extra money by selling his excess crop to local dispensaries. At $45 to $75 for one-eighth ounce at medical marijuana shops, the cost was becoming prohibitive, he said.

Asked if he sells marijuana out of his home, he bristled.

"Absolutely not!" he said.

But he wonders why some people have a problem with a disabled Navy veteran using cannabis to get relief from daily pain.

"I just want to be left alone," he said.

-- Californian staff writer Jason Kotowski contributed to this report.

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Nature’s Medicinal donates to Toys For Tots

By Jason Friedly, Contributing writer | Wednesday, Dec 27 2006 10:11 AM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Dec 27 2006 10:08 AM
The Bakersfield Californian

The holiday spirit was in full force throughout the month of December at Nature’s Medicinal in Bakersfield.

<table class=posttable align=right width=300><tr><td class=postcell><img class=postimg width=300 src=bin/natures_medicinal_toy-drive.jpg></td></tr><tr><td class=postcap>Nature’s Medicinal, a local medical marijuana dispensary, donated more than 500 toys to the U.S. Marine Corps’ Toys For Tots program.</td></tr></table>The medical marijuana dispensary, at 323 Roberts Lane, donated more than 500 toys to the U.S. Marine Corps’ Toys For Tots program.

The donations were given by patients of the dispensary.

“Our patients took the time to go out and purchase these toys,” said Nature’s Medicinal employee Gilbert Banuelos. “Not only did they show their generosity, but they displayed unselfishness, setting aside their physical maladies in order to provide for the needy children. That’s what it’s all about. Seriously, some of these people also have transportation issues yet they still came through for the children.”

Patients were offered a discount on their medicine in exchange for a new and unwrapped toy. These items were in turn donated to the cause.

“It feels good to help the children,” said medical marijuana patient Jessica Franco. “It shows a sense of responsibility to our community, and right now children are the focus.”

Nature’s Medicinal has also donated to the Bakersfield Homeless shelter this year and has plans to include more charitable organizations in the future.

“Each year we plan on allowing our donations to grow,” said Banuelos. “Not only in the amount, but in the organizations as well. Our patients and employees are kind and generous people who want to give back to the community. That’s all, that’s it.”

Strangely enough Nature’s Medicinal has encountered some organizations who would either not accept donations or only receive them on the basis of the dispensary’s anonymity.

“We offered some organizations assistance as well,” said Banuelos. “ A few turned down our offers and others accepted them, but seemed a little bit apprehensive on taking them. People have a certain image etched in their minds about medical cannabis, and hopefully in the long run this stigma will change.”

The toy drive however will remain a yearly tradition.

“We were very pleased that the Marines allowed us to participate, and even though they are changing their program coordinator next year, we hope they will allow us to help as well,” said Banuelos. “They were very open-minded when we contacted them about our intentions and I feel we all came out winners. Especially the children who get to have a Christmas. It’s a win-win situation.”

Jason Friedly is a journalism student at Cal State Bakersfield. He is a lifelong resident of Bakersfield.

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Medical marijuana stolen in home invasion robbery

EyeOutForYou.com
December 14, 2007



Bakersfield Police are investigating a home invasion robbery in Northeast Bakersfield.

Officers say three men showed up at ;the door of a home in the 7000 block of College Avenue about 8 p.m. Thursday. The men apparently got away with some cash, electronic equipment and some medical marijuana. The 50-year old homeowner had a medical marijuana card -which allows him access to medical marijuana.

Police have released the following description of the three suspects:
Hispanic, 20's to 30's,wearing black clothing. One of the men has a tattoo on his face. They took off in what looked like a gold sedan. Anyone with information on this case should call Bakersfield Police Department at 327-7111.
Story Created: Dec 14, 2007 at 2:20 PM CST

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CORRECTION: No plea yet from pot shop owner

Last Update: 2/22 10:50 am


(KGET 2007) William Eugene Connelly, 50, who ran a local medical marijuana dispensary, is set to enter a plea to federal felony charges of drug possesion and sales on March 3.

The DEA says it incorrectly indicated in a news release sent to KGET Friday morning that a plea had already been entered.

"It was our fault the release went out early," said the DEA's Stephen Peterson. "A lot of things can happen between now and then."

The U.S. Attorney's office charged Connelly with having 40 pounds of marijuana at the Seven Seas dispensary, with the intent to sell it.

Although California's voters approved a ballot proposition legalizing marijuana for medicinal uses, the drug still remains illegal under federal law.

Connelly told KGET there is much more to his side of the story, but deferred discussing the case until after sentencing.

The U.S. Attorney's office said Connelly intended to sell the dispensary to Crystal Castro, 23, and Julia Quiroz, 39, both of Bakersfield.

Both Castro and Quiroz are relatives of a Bakersfield man named Fidel Castro, and the target of a Drug Enforcement Agency investigation.

Federal agents say Castro was the leader of a methamphetamine and cocaine ring that distributed drugs to members of the Norteno street gang in Stockton.

Through the investigation of Fidel Castro, DEA members seized about 188 marijuana plants and about a pound of marijuana from Connelly's dispensary. They also collected 15 kilograms of cocaine, about 250 grams of methamphetamine, $50,000 in cash, vehicles, and an uzi. Connelly was not implicated in the methamphetamine and cocaine bust.

U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar says both Connelly and Crystal Castro face a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison, and a $1 million fine if they plead guilty.