On a February night in 1997, after being handcuffed in his Isla Vista apartment while officers searched bedrooms, Zack Scrivner, then 23, admitted to a deputy he sold pot to “make money,” a sheriff’s report made available this week says. The arrest report fleshes out and at times contradicts what Scrivner — now a 37-year-old Kern County supervisor — told local media outlets in mid-October after he went public during his political campaign with the revelation he’d once been arrested on felony drug charges while a student at UC Santa Barbara. On Tuesday, Scrivner said [...]
A federal court ruling in favor of a permitted medical marijuana dispensary could make moot the City of Santa Barbara’s three-dispensary cap. The Green Well, the second medical marijuana collective storefront dispensary to receive a permit in Santa Barbara, has sued the city since the newly revised ordinance invalidates its permit and requires that it close. Though the lawsuit is ongoing, the November ruling means the city can’t enforce the new ordinance (therefore closure) on The Green Well until it gets due process of law. Whether Green Well will have to close remains unclear, but [...]
No Responses » Tagged with: Courts, Dispensaries, Ordinances, Santa Barbara
Seven people were arrested yesterday Friday during a sweeping series of raids aimed at an alleged illegal medical marijuana operation at the HortiPharm dispensary on State Street, which authorities said was also linked to a money laundering scheme. In addition to raiding the dispensary, the Daily Sound of Santa Barbara reports, authorities served search warrants at three addresses in Goleta, including a storage facility, a home on Almond Avenue in Santa Barbara that was allegedly being used as an indoor grow-house, and at 5423 Santa Rita Rd. in Lompoc. Santa Barbara Independent coverage with eyewitness [...]
No Responses » Tagged with: Dispensaries, Law Enforcement, Medical marijuana, Santa Barbara
With the ink barely dry on the City of Santa Barbara’s new draft medical marijuana dispensary ordinance, a group of community movers and shakers has announced its opposition to any dispensaries and called for an outright ban. Arguing that dispensaries pose a “public health threat to kids and businesses,” Fighting Back?—?an anti-drug and -alcohol nonprofit boasting a stellar board of community luminaries?—?called on City Hall to enact an outright ban. Medical marijuana dispensaries have been operating within city limits for the past 10 years, the Santa Barbara Independent reports, and Santa Barbara remains the only [...]
No Responses » Tagged with: Dispensaries, Law Enforcement, Medical marijuana, Ordinances, Santa Barbara
Fanning the flames of an already-raging debate over medical marijuana dispensaries in Santa Barbara, Assemblyman Pedro Nava presented a resolution yesterday commending a group of residents and community activists who have been vocally opposed to pot shops in their neighborhoods. Describing prior local laws on the issue as “woefully inadequate,” he called on city leaders to support the interests of the community coalition and crack down on dispensaries that are operating outside of the law, the Daily Sound of Santa Barbara reports. (Bud’s note: It’s unclear what Nava’s “resolution” constitutes or to whom it was [...]
No Responses » Tagged with: Advocates, Government, Medical marijuana, Ordinances, Santa Barbara
Craigslist is convenient for more than just would-be buyers and sellers. In Santa Barbara County, detectives are using the popular website to track down alleged illegal drug sales, reports the Los Angeles Times. On Thursday, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department announced that it had arrested two men on suspicion of pitching high-grade marijuana “clones” for sale. Though ads for medical marijuana collectives abound on the website, most are targeted at consumers who have a doctor’s recommendation and an identification card, as required under state laws. The men taken into custody in Santa Barbara County [...]
No Responses » Tagged with: Collectives, Law Enforcement, marijuana, mendocino, Santa Barbara
Though details remain sketchy, the Santa Barbara Police Department has confirmed they have raided at least three medical marijuana clubs and arrests have been made. “We did do an operation today,” Lt. Paul McCaffrey told the Santa Barbara Independent Wednesday, adding, “some parts of it are still going on so I cannot say much more at this time.” According to McCaffrey, the search warrants were served in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department but that federal agents were not involved, suggesting that this has more to with Santa Barbara-specific laws rather than at-large federal [...]
No Responses » Tagged with: Dispensaries, Government, Law Enforcement, Medical marijuana, Santa Barbara
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