Monday, September 22, 2008

RIVERSIDE SHERIFFS RAID MEDICAL MARIJUANA COLLECTIVE OF LOCAL PROP 215 ADVOCATES

RIVERSIDE SHERIFFS RAID MEDICAL MARIJUANA COLLECTIVE OF LOCAL
PROP 215 ADVOCATES
Sept 20th - Riverside Co. sheriffs raided the collective garden of
Martin & Lavonne Victor in Temecula, destroying their crop and
arresting Martin on $50,000 bail. The Victors were part of a
12-person collective including local MMJ advocates Lanny Swerdlow
and Dave Herrick.
Herrick & LaVonne Victor say the garden was compliant with the
AG's guidelines, consisting of 50 to 70 outdoor plants, mostly
small. The members had state ID cards, and their crop was guarded
by a security fence and cameras, which were seized by the cops. The
collective was well known in Riverside, having operated for eight
years. Sheriffs showed up at the Victors' door on Friday evening,
asking to inspect the coop. The Victors presented books and
paperwork to show they were in compliance with state law. The
sheriffs objected that they did not have a legal license as a
non-profit coop, and hauled Martin off to jail on three felony
charges. "This is BS' says LaVonne, "They knew we were legal." No
"license" is required for collective gardens under Prop. 215 or SB
420.
The raid appears to have been politically motivated, as the
coop's membership includes prominent Riverside patient advocates.
Lanny Swerdlow, director of the Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project in
Palm Springs, is presently facing trial in a dispute with a local
anti-drug advocate. The Victors were arrested in 2001 for
cultivation, but were dismissed from felony charges under Prop. 215.
Herrick was one of the first medical marijuana patients arrested for
assisting a patient coop in Southern California shortly after
passage of Prop. 215.
- D. Gieringer, Cal NORML

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