Sheriff Says Pot Dispensaries Have Become Crime Targets

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca will join Sen. Dianne Feinstein in spearheading the campaign against Proposition 19, which aims to legalize marijuana in California. (Nick Ut, Associated Press / August 11, 2010)

By Richard Winton, Los Angeles Time

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca on Wednesday took aim at the medical marijuana industry, citing last week's triple murder in West Hollywood as an example of how enterprising criminals have infiltrated some of the dispensaries.

Baca said the dispensaries have strayed from their original mission — to aid the seriously ill — and are now the target of criminals who see an easy way to make money and get drugs.

"The medicinal marijuana program that voters authorized years ago has been hijacked by underground drug-dealing criminals who are resorting to violence in order to control their piece of the action," Baca said.

The sheriff did not provide any specific examples, although there have been several high-profile killings this summer tied to medical marijuana businesses. In addition to the West Hollywood killing, which detectives said was tied to a scheme to buy pot from medical dispensaries and resell it on the streets, workers at dispensaries in Echo Park and Hollywood were killed during robberies in June.

There has been much debate about whether the proliferation of marijuana dispensaries has resulted in more crime. But Baca is emerging as a vocal critic of liberalizing pot laws, particularly a state ballot measure that would legalize marijuana use. The campaign to defeat Proposition 19 announced Wednesday that Baca and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) will head up the effort against the marijuana legalization measure on the November ballot.

Baca said he's concerned that the hundreds of medical marijuana establishments around L.A. County are making it easier for people to access the drug — and that is attracting criminal elements as well as patients with legitimate needs for the drugs.

"There are predators armed and seeking easy dollars in sales of marijuana," Baca said.

The sheriff spoke at a news conference announcing the arrest of a suspect in the West Hollywood fatal shootings. Authorities say that two of the victims, Pirooz Moussazadeh and Bernard Shahriar, both 27, bought marijuana from local dispensaries and other locations and then resold it for a profit.... Full Story

Source latimes