• Printer friendly
• E-mail to a friend
• 106 comment(s)
• Recommend

  ( 6 )

• 

Subject:

Body:

Poster:

Enter text seen above:

Correction : 6/12/2010

The HortiPharm has been opertaing no stop since medical marijuana became legal.

get it right! Stop the harrasment

: 6/12/2010

I like that way they describe this illegal drug dealing operation (isn't a licensed MM dispensary) as "dispensing medication". What a load of crap.

tall paul

dispensing medicine? : 6/12/2010

more like selling drugs large scale. Way to go SBPD! Mayor Schneider, wake up and realize you're just standing on the side of drug dealers. Give the community a ban. Now.

san roque

SBPD low point : 6/12/2010

It is shocking that the SBPD is harassing these people and their businesses. I am very disappointed in our police officers. I do, however, blame our elected city officials for not doing their job by creating workable --and enforceable -- ordinances around medical marijuana dispensaries. I hope the politicians can come to the table and work out a solution that will benefit everyone is SB/Goleta.
Shame on the SBPD for being a part of this.

Sane & Sober in Goleta

Go HortiPharm!!!!! : 6/12/2010

Please shut 'em down! : 6/12/2010

I am SO tired of these Pot Shop dealers and their "clients..." Let's be frank and cut the crap. They are selling drugs to drug users who elect to be stoned. THEY ARE ALL ABOUT MAKING $$$ and profiting while thay can, before being shut down. They are drug dealing opportunitsts.
The problem here in Santa Barbara is two fold. 1) There is a "transient voter" population of SBCC & UCSB students who have an influence on local elections and politics. They come here for a few years, vote liberal and leave. The homeowners and long term residents have to live with the consequence(s).
@) We have a City Council that is BEGINNING to change there out of touch outlooks. This last election proved it with Self, Hotchkiss and Francisco; Francisco would have been Mayor if it wasn't for the inflated ego of Steve Cushman, then we would have had these pot shops closed down before it has become this out of control issue that we are wasting our time and resources on. Wake up Bendi White: There is no hope for Grant House and the New York NON local Mayor Helene Schnieder.- Their heads are in the liberal ideology and apparently clue-less as to what residents want.

Send 'em back to Humbolt

If your not paying the city your gonna get busted : 6/12/2010

easy as that

Pizza Guru SUCKS! : 6/12/2010

Ever since they changed hands and buddied up to the pot shop, their pizzas were obviously a distraction to what they were really there for... Awesome job SBPD and THANKS SB D.A. for dealing with this issue!

SB born and raised

heroin marijuana same thing : 6/12/2010

yet if herb was legal this wouldnt be a problem, 10% unemployment is cool

The Compassionate Use Act is a law--not a profiteering venture : 6/12/2010

Thank you Bill Brown for "weeding" out those who choose to distort the letter and interpretation of this medicinally compassionate law.

re: shame on SBPD : 6/12/2010

Shame on them for not following the law.
Shame on you when you whine about getting a parking ticket.
Just follow the laws = no police contact Just try It, it is an amazing concept.

piggles to the wiggles

Parking tickets are to raise funds for the transit department : 6/12/2010

It does suck that they took advantage of the sick and if the charges are true then they should pay the people they stole from back

money hurts more then time

pot or porn? : 6/12/2010

With such vigilance against a market, you'd think they were monitoring crack cocain or heroine and even meth.
Yet pot is safer than alcohal.
This propensity to squander time, attention money and resources against this agenda qualifies liberal fascism.
Meanwhile, which agenda is being met while the Adult Book Store is just sitting there, high profile, exposing our kids, creeping our women out and where men wind up feeling, erm, reduced?
We need to getta clue and start offering healthy, high end boutique hookah pedicure lounge experience providing the best sativa in the nation. This would be great for local area economic and fiscal interests.. instead of championing something truly depraved like arcade porn venue no one really wants to be associated with.
So WHOSE agenda is being met by circumventing against what the people want? Apparently the lady who helped draw up and pass the referendum to pass legalized marijuana was sued for doing such by the City Attorney. City Attorney accrued quite a bit of additional liabilities against City Santa Barbara for advancing what can easily be concluded as coercion, intimidation and harrassment - and should be disbarred.
We can guess then where the intent behind the agenda to raid this business is all about oppression and interfereing with peace, prosperity and happiness among the local constituency. And, these disty antics aren't getting us any closer to economic recovery.
Conceived, born and raised local in Santa Barbara.

St. Godiva

What? : 6/12/2010

"But a majority of married women opposed the measure, a demographic that strategists for both sides agree will be crucial for political success come the fall." : 6/12/2010

In the meantime, the L.A. Times and USC released the results of a new statewide survey showing that 49 percent of respondents favored the statewide initiative on the November ballot that would legalize marijuana for recreational use and give city and county governments responsibility for regulating and taxing its sale. Forty-one percent opposed. Support was strongest among younger voters, males, and Democrats. But a majority of married women opposed the measure, a demographic that strategists for both sides agree will be crucial for political success come the fall.
http://www.independent.com/news/2010/jun/03/indecision-strikes-again/

What Does that Tell you

49% Favor it, 41% opposed it. : 6/12/2010

Thanks mom but i can vote now

proud to be 21 and educated

Pot Heads : 6/12/2010

Give up the "medical marijuana" guise...it makes you all sound ridiculous!
Maybe all potheads are not meth or coke freaks, but ALL meth freaks and crack fiends ARE potheads

Close them down

red sweaters : 6/12/2010

its kind of funny that local citizens think the city council has the authority to ban a right given by the voters of california. how long are these red sweaters going to play the "concerned for my children" card? children many of which are already overprescribed and well medicated on behavioral drugs.

What Does That Tell You? : 6/12/2010

According to your statistics, perhaps it's the married women looking to oppress men and expect them to lean on jack over there at the adult book store or something.
Or be held in risk for a DUI.
Or even, that the married women surveyed expect to get the house, the alimony, also.
If these ladies don't share the authority, they're bound to loose it.
Are these married women the same fembots that say there aren't enough trees to make paper ballots.. hence the electronic voting method?

Stop Prohibition

Study Shows Many High School Students Use Ritalin, Xanax, or OxyContin Without a Prescription By Bill Hendrick : 6/12/2010

June 3, 2010 -- Just over one in five high school students in the U.S. admits to having taken a prescription drug without a doctor's prescription, the CDC says in its National Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
Last year was the first time the survey, which has been conducted every other year since 1991, has assessed prescription drug abuse among high school students. The CDC says it found that 20.2% of high school students said they had taken a drug such as Ritalin, Xanax, or OxyContin without having a doctor's prescription.
The survey of more than 16,000 youths found that:
* Prescription drug abuse was most common among white students, at 23%, followed by Hispanics at 17% and African-Americans at 12%.
* Prescription drug abuse was most common among seniors (26%) and least common among freshmen (15%).
* There was no difference in prescription drug abuse by sex -- 20% for both male and female students.
"We are concerned to learn that so many high school students are taking prescription drugs that were not prescribed to them," Howell Wechsler, EdD, MPH, director of the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health, says in a news release. "Some people may falsely believe that prescription drugs are safer than illegal drugs, yet their misuse can cause serious adverse health effects, including addiction and death."
Drug and Alcohol Abuse
The survey asked a number of questions related to drug and alcohol use in its 2009 tally.
It found that:
* 72% of high school students said they had used alcohol.
* 37% said they had used marijuana.
* 6.4% said they had used cocaine.
* 4.1% said they had used methamphetamine.
* 6.7% said they had used ecstasy.
* 2.5% had used heroin.
* 8% had used hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD or mescaline.
Those percentages were similar to those found in 2007.
- http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20100603/survey-reveals-rx-drug-abuse-by-teens

Are these married women the same fembots that say there aren't enough trees to make paper ballots.. hence the electronic voting method? : 6/12/2010

Most likely sheltered ladies that have everything handed to them on a silver plate

Here in CA Most likely

Proibhibition ended in the 30's : 6/12/2010

What we have now is federal drug laws, and a majority of citizens who are just fine with them as they stand, thank you.
Here's another news flash for you: 49% in favor of legalizing pot this close to the election is a death-knell. You need to be @60% to be assured of passage.

Sick of pot movement's lame sloganeering

Fembots? : 6/12/2010

Aren't you people supposed to be liberals, and thus enlightened and kind to the sisterhood? If we want sexism, we can go hang out with Republicans and Joe Nascar. Oh, but wait, is this the 'bros before hos' set we met during the Obama election? And wait, aren't more conservative women running for election this year in true positions of power? On second thought, maybe I'll go hang out with the Republicans. Thanks for giving me such a good reason to leave.

Empowered Female Voting Against Legalization

when to say when : 6/12/2010

Josh braun has been capitalizing off the sb community for years.Hes got more money than god and hes sure to let you know it.Leave the dispencing to the legitimate bussiness owners with ethical and moral responsibility.After all if you thought your bussiness was legitimate would you the need to bury all your money in your back yard.NO because thats what drug dealers do.

me

Something About Fembots : 6/12/2010

"Fembots" is a term made up by women to describe other women who don't use the brains god gave geese. They tend to wield much authority over men and other women. They're the first to spawn something like the Salam witch trials and convince people that they're the parasites of the earth, and not worthy for peace liberty or happiness. Fembots cause much confusion in this day in age where conservatives think they're liberal and liberals SAY they're conservative! Very matrix. And extremely mechanical, these fembots.

"Hortipharm serves 5,000 people" what happened to capitalism? : 6/12/2010

The number of recommendations seized in this raid needs to be considered by the morons on city council that want to cap dispensaries in Sb to 5. maybe they could ask the doctors who write the majority of the recommendations in town to give them an idea of how many legal users they have served before they come up with the arbitrary # of dispensaries.
As i have said in the past-----capping the number of dispensaries is creating overnight multi millionaires of the ones on the inside track. where is the law of supply and demand, fee market, competition. how come i am being excluded from providing a better product to the consumer. this is no different than the number of mexican restaurants in this town. if a business is operating in full compliance of the law, than too ******* bad if city council doesn't think someone should open another in that area. how bout the 4 different establishments to buy pizza @ cliff and meigs before deanos was run out, or the 500 licensed taxi's?
these idiots need to step back. it is illegal to operate store front dispensaries for the time being and this makes them no different than the "drug dealers" that are getting arrested. it's not ok for them to say it's ok for some and not others. guaranteed if they continue to do anything less than shut them down now, they are creating more problems than they are capable of dealing with when it all becomes legal in november.
why does someone open a "non-profit" dispensary? if anyone thinks that the dispensary is not or should not make a profit needs to pull their head out of their ***.

i want my piece of the pie.

Empowered Female Voting Against Legalization : 6/12/2010

I am a Republican

I win either way, i just dont let my wife speak for me but i will put sara palin out there to take the fire

When to say when... : 6/12/2010

I couldn't agree with you more. Those who know Josh and Dayli know this to be true. I say when, let people know the truth.

Me too

as a republican i believe in a free market but and the right to choice : 6/12/2010

either tax medical marijuana and open it up to free market like they did in Montana and charge a nice premium the tourism and you think people drink wine i well people will pay more to smoke weed. All of the people who feel negatively act like my step grandma never had to work for nothing and got everything from my grandfather no education and what little education she did have didnt seem to help.

a commodity is a commodity when south africa has gold we got the green herb

Ignorance cultivates hatred. : 6/13/2010

First off I am not some pot head or drug addict. I am a mother and I believe in being a positive part of this community and living my life like the Dayli Lama says "It is necessary to help others, not only in our prayers, but in our daily lives. If we find we cannot help others, the least we can do is to desist from harming them. What so many of you are saying is sick and ignorant. You should all be ashamed of yourselves. HortiPharm is known very well for being a stand up business in our community, they have always followed by the book and have been very respectful to this community with how they conduct their business. Do I know this from buying marijuana from their shop, no. Am I friends with the Brauns, no. To be honest I have met them and know of them and personally am not fawned of them but only because of personal reasons. But unlike most of you I am an honest and good person who doesn't hide behind an image while being full of such hatred and ignorance, wanting people to suffer and a business that has been beyond helpful and needed by so many people of this community that with out will suffer so much shut down... ALLLLLLL BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH EASIER TO HATE, TO JUDGE, TO COWER, TO ENVY AND WANT OTHERS JUST TO SUFFER. First off I must say the Brauns are beyond loving parents with two beautiful children. This is coming from someone who doesn't even like them. If you dont care for them because you know them then you can agree that Josh might be a cocky douche bag but he is a young successful man living in SB, you tell me what young man even with out the finances Josh has isn't a douche bag. Being jealous is pathetic, instead focus your energy on improving your self or helping others who are worse off. Having two parents arrested, taken away from their children, their lives turned upside down all over a business our community has needed, supported and allowed is the crime!! I believe a lot of those "pot clubs" that dont respect any of the laws and allow any person to walk in and buy their marijuana like its a convenient store for pot heads should be shut down and reprimanded. In every type of business there are going to be people who dont follow the rules and are running their business for illegal or unmoral reasons and are hurting our community one way or another. I understand if you dont like marijuana or have not been educated on the medical purposes of it so your uncomfortable with the whole idea of these types of businesses. But if that is the case and you are an educated or lets just be honest, a thinking person, your first action should be to consume all the knowledge you can from all different sides of the spectrum. "We fear what we do not understand, we hate what we understand even less, we condescend to what we understand least of all". How can you speak of something with such hate and enthusiasm when you know nothing or very little of the topic at all? For you extremely pathetic ignorant people who want to shut all of the good and honest marijuana dispensaries down claiming the "clients" are just "pot heads.. drug addicts...criminals" and all the other trash spewed out like poison, you all obviously have no idea what it is to see someone you love or yourself be so sick, in so much excruciating pain that quality of life is out the door, losing pound after pound from not being able to eat or keep food down, not being able to relax or sleep because of the chemo, the sweats, the medications... sadly the list goes on and on. You people have no idea and for the few that do and are still so stupid FYI that medical marijuana can and is every day nothing short of a pure miracle for those who are the victims of their sicknesses. There are no other legal medicines that compare to the benefits that marijuana does to help those people. NONE!!!!! You tell me if your child, adult or not, you parent, your lover, your bestfriend, sister or brother, whomever it is that you truly care about is in such agony being in pain or sick and you have to sit there watching them suffer day in and day out, you watch how medicine after medicine fails that is given by their Dr.s in attempt to help ease the pain and suffering done by what ever awful disease that is attacking them... or their Dr.s are in attempt to fight off the crippling side affects often caused by the medicines/chemo thats needed to keep that person alive. And you tell me HONESTLY if smoking a little dried plant could significantly improve your daughter, your brother, your mother... whomever lives that you would rather watch them suffer then give them the ONE NATURAL drug that could ease their suffering. Instead of fighting to criminalize people like the Brauns or the respectful marijuana businesses you should be fighting to legalize marijuana so the issue of the wrong people buying it would be decreased and it could receive the the respect and gratitude it deserves. I believe in Karma and I know if I were one of you fools Id start educating myself and change my attitude, Id support these types of businesses or atleast the idea of it becoming legal in every form because one way or another in the end we always have to face the truth... I know Id rather do it that way then myself or someone so special to me be diagnosed with such hell and have to learn the hard way.... Oh and didn't your mothers teach you if you dont have something nice to say dont say anything at all??? Rather then spending our tax payers money, our time, our energy on this why dont we protect our children and go after the real criminals.... the ones preying on innocent lives, the ones raping and molesting our babies, our children!!!!!!!!!

A part of the solution, not the problem

fembots rant : 6/13/2010

Wow, way to tell it. Put sexism right back where it belongs. On the left. Thanks!

real feminist quickly becoming conservative

get real! : 6/13/2010

It truly is unfortunate to see the idiotic rants of people who have no problem with having a liquor store or porn shop in the neighborhood and yet fight tooth and nail to keep marijuana from being legally distributed and taxed. Marijuana use leads to other drug abuses? Maybe so, but alcohol use is even more likely to lead to other "drug" use. I don't see anyone begrudging the pharmaceutical company ceo's or management from making millions of dollars, I don't see anyone begrudging the acting directors of Red Cross or other NFP's for making hundreds of thousands a year and yet we still have these lame arguments over marijuana and its availability. If any business is acting outside of the law then they should be prosecuted (ie: tax evasion or money laundering), but this battle is wasting my tax $ just like bombing innocents in other countries. Go ahead and try to push the "pot" shops out of town and see where that leads. I'm 100% behind taxing legal pot shops as apposed to wasting my tax dollars on trying to bust pot smokers. Finally, if we are sooo concerned about our children then maybe we should stop shoving the idea down their throats that its ok to take a prescribed pill to calm their overactiveness (which is just as mind/body altering as marijuana). Great way to really confuse our youth!! I wonder how many of these mothers that oppose marijuana also have no problem with sending children away to the military to kill other people. I'm sure the mothers in these other countries wished we had our priorities straight as well.

jonecat

Raid : 6/13/2010

This is nothing but a witch hunt. Board members who are friends with a few san roque people. This dispensary is the best, most by the law, run dispensary. The City is just waisting tax payers dollars to try shutting down and make this a no dispensary town. Wright the city counsel with your disproval!!!!! Go after real drug dealers, rapist, murders and gangs not innoscent people

stop waisting money!

Money laudrering and Drug dealing... : 6/13/2010

A witch hunt huh...? Maybe you should clue in that laws were broken; This and the other "dispensaries" are nothing more than a front to sell recreational drugs to whom ever has the cash;Sanctioned by three out of touch City Council Memebers, one of which gets BIG MONEY from the marijuana coalition... Das Williams, Helene Schieder and Grant House have all had their hand out.
Let's call it what it is here people. Drugs and Money mixed with local politics

Show of force : 6/13/2010

Tape your support on the Pharm's window and show up at the City Counsil Meeting, June 15th at 2:00p.m. for a silent protest! Signs ok!

Want to help

Yay SBPD and SBSO! : 6/13/2010

Thank you for doing what the city council lacks the cojones to do - shut down these illegal operators! 5000 'patients'? Give me a break. 5000 stoners is more like it. And there are 8 of these around this little city! I always see young, fit men going in and out of there. Just ban this crap, and be done with it.

uptown resident sees the truth

Thank the SB County DA Office : 6/13/2010

Thanks to the D.A.'s Office as well... Get rid of the Santa Barbara City Attorney who is afraid to handle this out of control situation here in town.

Look at the vitriol the pot head show : 6/13/2010

We don't want our kids getting the message that pot is medicine and is good for them. We're pretty sure all the healthy young men we see going in an out of dispensaries are not sick, but are recreational users. We're not ok with open selling of pot in our city.
Your response:
"your kids are all taking oxycontin!"
"Fembots are responsible for Salem witch trials!!"
This is hardly reasonable. A recent study (12/2009) showed that smoking marijuana is becoming even more popular among U.S. teens and they have cut down on smoking cigarettes, binge drinking and using methamphetamine, according to a federal survey.
The increase of teens smoking pot is partly because the national debate over medical use of marijuana can make the drugs seem safer to teenagers, researchers said. In addition to marijuana, fewer teens also view prescription drugs and Ecstasy as dangerous, which often means more could use them in the future, said White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske.
Sorry folks, but vitriol is not going to win this day. 10% of people in the US smoke pot recreationally. So all this vitriol is being spewed so 10% of people can get high? I appreciate that for a minute there, it looked like pot was legal in this state and town. But you went too far, and now you've generated a huge backlash. This is setting your movement back years. Trotting out thugs and homeless to shout down concerned citizens, some of whom lost their children to drugs, and those kids started out on marijuana...that was not smart. Telling us our kids are doing hard pharma drugs, that alcohol is worse...these are also not winning arguments. They don't equal 'I should have the legal standing to get high.' Clinton just went down to Mexico to tell their president to stop shipping drugs up here, and she got sent away with her hat in hand. His response was 'you people quit buying, and we'll quit dying.'
It is the Americans that want to consume drugs that are the problem here, and are responsible for many deaths, both in Mexico, and the woman who was run down 2 weeks ago in Montecito.
You don't have a winning case here.

downtown voter

storefront dispensaries are just a pilot program : 6/13/2010

when the hippie lettuce becomes legal in november all this nonsense of capping the number of dispensaries becomes mute.
we should praise those like hortipharm that have the balls and took a shot in effort to do the right thing amongst the grey laws passed in the compassionate use act. they are paving the way.
it is their deep pockets that will determine what the laws will be in relation to how we deal with pot shops.
city council should all be tied in as co-conspirators to all crimes charged the dispensaries as they licensed them to begin with. STOREFRONT DISPENSARIES ARE ILLEGAL. how did a NY JAP become our mayor anyway?

just another concerned citizen

Head in sand : 6/13/2010

There has been a President who has smoked-he ran the country. How many high powered, high paid people who smoke for medical reasons are out ther. Many I know of. How many health looking people park in handycap parking places. Are the missing limbs or what is there health problems. Working with people with AIDs and canser, by smoking the keep food down and their weight up, making them look healthy. Maybe those of you who do not believe mj works for these humans, should volenteer your time into helping them. Thank the good Lord, that more and more people will be voting to legalize pot now that dispensary's are being shut down. Most of the caregivers I have talked to-i belileved that as there permit is being aproved, uncaring people with there head in the sand, are pushing the police waisting our tax dollars, which the budget cannot afford, by trying to impress parents of the UCSB graduating calss, are donating to council members and who are friends of the cops, to crack down on Legal dispensaries that are not near school or rehab places, sell to minors, who run the business legally .

Get real... : 6/13/2010

There are people in jail and prison because of Josh. Innocent people with families and children of their own and the Brauns didn't think twice about them. There is no question the brauns love their children, I don't think that is what they were arrested for. Yes they provided a fancy place for people to get thier MM. People don't be fooled, Josh is a business man with one thing on his mind $$$$$. I'm about 99.9% sure we're talking millions and millions and millions of dollars my guess is around $9 mil. I know this because as you said Josh is a Cocky Douche and would spew about his money all over town. Brag about his home being completely gutted and remodeled with drug money.
What exactly are we supporting by taping our "support" on the Pharms window? as long as you provide a fancy place for us to get our medicine we'll look passed you money laundering and shady BS?

enough is enough

pot shot? : 6/13/2010

Why?

Joe Smyth

support hortipharm because: : 6/13/2010

it will take a bunch of $$ to clear up the ambiguities and holes in the compassionate use act, and local laws.
regardless of how you feel about josh, the city council set him up as they have with all the dispensaries by licensing them to begin with.
5,000 clients is just the tip of the iceberg.
those with problems against MM can just say no for themselves, and quit trying to deny AMERICANS legal access as hortipharm tried to do.

another concerned citizen

Support a great idea : 6/13/2010

I will tape a letter of support to the employes, patients, and even the Brauns, who have been running hortipharm since voters approved medical marijuana. Better to get SAFE marijuana in a safe, clean, dispensary than on the street where it could have been tampered with. If parents are worried about there kids on drugs, they shoul look at themselfs and there medican cabinets or cleaning supplies, which is where most of the kids drugs comes from. All our prayers are for those who were arrested My God's love shine on you in your time of need, and bless you for helping others.

support a great idea : 6/13/2010

f.y.i. many dispensaries have no control of where or how their products are grown, therefore tamper proof is non existent even from a fancy clean and safe storefront like hortipharm.
just like any other horticulture product some are grown with less chemicals than others.
LEGALIZE IT, TAX IT, REGULATE IT, vote again in november

concerned citizen

Why? : 6/13/2010

Why can't the city appoint one individual to provide a safe place for patients to get thier MM? One person with the patients best interest at heart. Tight security, reasonable prices, clean and by the books. For those patients that are terminally ill, confined to thier bed or older they can provide delivery service. This way patients have safe access the city can monitor them as they wish and everyy
I vote Mark Russell!

Solution

I always see young, fit men going in and out of there. : 6/13/2010

have you ever thought medical marijuana was stopping them from shooting up your work??

You cant see mental illness USSF army first class

as long as we out live our grandparents we will see marijuana legal : 6/13/2010

if not now less than 20 years

downtown voter : 6/13/2010

20.2% of high school students said they had taken a drug such as Ritalin, Xanax, or OxyContin without having a doctor's prescription. 20% are taking drugs that can kill them and think that synthetic heroin is safe medicine, only 17% more are smoking marijuana, you complain about "pot shops" but 3 ot of 4 students are getting drunk at your house or their friends house. hey lady i put a study from June 3, 2010 -- Just over one in five high school students in the U.S. admits to having taken a prescription drug without a doctor's prescription, the CDC says in its National Youth Risk Behavior Survey and it is more up to date than your study. It was old married women who did cause the Salem witch trials but the men got the witches land after they killed the witches. yes 10% get high the 89% here know the therapeutic medical use that it has. but people like you wont let anyone else try medical marijuana because their blasted by you old ladies im mean downtown voters before they even get to see the benefits. Silver spoon still stuck in your mouth

Get educated and if you are to bad you dont know how or you never had to apply

WHO MAY CULTIVATE UNDER PROP. 215? : 6/13/2010

As an alternative, SB 420 allows patients to grow together in non-profit “collectives” or cooperatives. Collectives may scale the SB 420 limits to the number of members, but large gardens are always suspect to law enforcement.

http://www.canorml.org/prop/patientsguide.htm

Hey Solution : 6/13/2010

Why dont we make BP our only gas station cartel

dont be an idiot cartels are good for no one

Talk to the man who had polio how mmj works for him : 6/13/2010

Drug dealing and Money laundering... : 6/13/2010

This and the other "dispensaries" are nothing more than a front to sell recreational drugs to whom ever has the cash;Sanctioned by three out of touch City Council Memebers, one of which gets BIG MONEY from the marijuana coalition... Das Williams, Helene Schieder and Grant House have all had their hand out.
Let's call it what it is here people. Drugs and Money mixed with local politics

They have to use cash and you cant get extasy at a mmj shop : 6/13/2010

Lobbying by Americans for Safe Access resulted in 15 members of Congress asking the Treasury Secretary to help protect banking services for medical cannabis providers. After receiving dozens of reports of banks closing the accounts of state-qualified medical cannabis providers, ASA worked with members of the House of Representatives to draft a letter to Secretary Geithner. The letter, signed by 15 members of Congress, urges him to provide "written guidance for financial institutions," assuring them that the Treasury Department would not target either the institutions or account holders who are in compliance with state medical marijuana laws.
"[L]egitimate state-legal businesses are being denied access to banking services, which does not serve the public interest," says the letter authored by Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) and co-signed by representatives from Arizona, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. They point out that the denial of financial services produces "an increased risk to public safety with potential theft or robbery that any cash-only or cash-reliant business faces," and is "an affront to fundamental fairness." Federal law technically considers the deposit of any reimbursements or other money related to medical cannabis to be "money laundering." But many states with medical cannabis laws expect patients and dispensaries to pay sales tax, with the state of California estimating it has collected in excess of $100 million this year alone.
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/182/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=1181418

The DR's are writting these recs not the dispensaries : 6/13/2010

you people dont even know who is the problem
what about salvia have you ever asked your kids if they tried that stuff i think it is still legal online so kids order salvia until you can drink

How can you really be that out of touch

Starve the black market : 6/13/2010

If Braun and co. was breaking the compassionate use law, then they should be held accountable because they are harming those who they are supposed to help.
But if this is thinly disguised bigotry and ill-information, then we should hold our horses before "banning" compassionate cannabis use.
Regardless of your personal opinion of the substance, it should be apparent that we can either 1) keep the status quo and thus continue to fund drug cartels. The other option (2) is to benefit from this plant as responsible adults. We can regulate it as other adult substances, and not have to worry if someone is abusing the compassionate use law. Simple equation: support or starve the black market.
Visit www.taxcannabis.org to learn how we can take control of this market and protect our cities.

farrell

Iam for STARVING the Black market : 6/13/2010

A ban on dispensaries is NOT a ban on compassionate use : 6/13/2010

Voters approved medical marijuana use for seriously ill patients whose (personal) doctor recommends it for them. They are allowed, by law to grow for themselves, or have their caregiver grow marijuana for them. they are also allowed to collectively cultivate marijuana in case someone doesn't have land or a green thumb. That's the state law. A ban on dispensaries doesn't change that at all.
Getting doctor's recommendations over Skype, skateboarding up to the local pot shop to buy your weekend stash, and making huge wads of cash as a storefront drug dealer....none of that was authorized by the state law. THAT is what ban proponents want to stop.
Those who are ill, and it benefits you, by all means, exercise your rights under the state law. Grow your own. Have your caregiver do it for you if you're too ill. Find a guy with some land and a green thumb, and collectively associate to do it.
All the recreational users here screaming about witches and oxycontin and other hate speech - your time is quickly coming to an end. We're going to get a ban, whether the weakling mayor, 2 whack job council members, and 'Bend-over' vote for it or not. If they stick it on the ballot, we're ready to pass that ban. More than ready.
A ban on dispensaries does not affect compassionate use at allt. It merely says we're done with this playing-at-helping-patients-while-we-make-kajillions-illegally-selling-pot scheme.

downtown voter

To: Ignorance Cultivates Hatred : 6/13/2010

Did you even read the article? You're as bad as the people complaining about Arizona's Immigration Law! What part of "MONEY LAUNDERING", and "ILLEGAL" do you not understand? And you're seriously calling other people's comments ignorant?! You're the most ignorant person here! You can talk about what great parents they are, but parents that love their children put the welfare of their children before their own greed! Last time I checked, money laundering and criminal activity didn't qualify anybody for the "Parent of the Year Award!" And by the way, it's spelled f-o-n-d, not f-a-w-n-e-d. Your comment shows how highly intelligent you are - NOT!

Sick of DUMB A's

MORE WHITE CRIMINALS!!! : 6/14/2010

DEPORT ALL WHITE PEOPLE BACK TO THEIR MOTHERLAND!!!

how would you know : 6/14/2010

My question is for all of you who have seen health men/women and kids going into this place. Do you sit in you car in a parking lot seeing who goes in and out? Are you some peeping tom or stocker? They do not sell to minors! Many people look younger than they are, some like this some dont. Some even put makeup to look older. Those who are sick and look well, im sure they would like this complament. So dont go by looks. Thats just wrong. For those who are complaning about money-do you know the kind of rent they pay? What their bills are to keep it open and running, clean and safe? I would hate to guess at this. I do know they are caring, freindly, confidential, clean, respectiful.

bail : 6/14/2010

Who did Josh and Daley kill to recieve this high of bail.

Logic LOL : 6/14/2010

"Maybe all potheads are not meth or coke freaks, but ALL meth freaks and crack fiends ARE potheads".
Maybe all PEOPLE are not meth or coke freaks, but ALL meth or coke freaks ARE PEOPLE.
See what I did there? See why you're wrong yet?

baers

Maybe all PEOPLE are not meth or coke freaks, but ALL meth or coke freaks ARE PEOPLE. : 6/14/2010

Yikes. That sounds like compassion.
The self-righteous, fist-shaking, red shirts have no idea what you're talking about.

Santiago

Mug Shots : 6/14/2010

Why no mug shots? Because Dayli and Josh are just nice lookin' white folk? I seem to recall mug shots in the last raids and every crime in between. Shady.

Simon

Blah, blah, blah... : 6/14/2010

I use to go to HortiFarm all the time. Great products, and a friendly staff. I noticed the doors closed on Saturday night, so I went over to Pacific Coast Collective, and was surprised to see that they're prices were $5 less for their Blue Cheese. They have a new customer...and if they close...well I'll just find another place. Plus if they shut them all down, I can always call my friend who sells. Where there is a will, there is a way.

MesaMan

One more thing... : 6/14/2010

Oops....I should put the bong down before I spell check...
their = they're

MesaMan

Dealing and Laundering... : 6/14/2010

This and the other "dispensaries" are nothing more than a front to sell recreational drugs to whom ever has the cash; Sanctioned by three out of touch City Council Mem bers, one of which gets BIG MONEY from the marijuana coalition... Das Williams, Helene Schieder and Grant House have all had their hand out.
Let's call it what it is here people. Drugs and Money mixed with local politics

downtown voter : 6/14/2010

a vote on a ban is a vote against compassionate use I am 70 years old and i do not know how to build pot and the only one else i know that can get marijuana are my grand kids

dont support the black market

Something to Think About : 6/14/2010

I don't understand prohibitionists. I never will. All drugs should be legal. Every last one of them. PCP, Crack, Heroin, Datura, all of it.
This is why:
* Harm Education: most drugs are unregulated and are not what they are advertised to be. A lot of the harm caused by a lot of drugs is due to people taking split or mixed drugs without any knowledge of what they are ingesting. Being an informed consumer is the most powerful way to prevent medical issues. You cannot force drug suppliers to honestly state what's contained in the drug if there's no official regulation. Therefore customers cannot make decisions that fit their health goals, life expectancy goals, etc... People should be able to pick their poisons.

* Reduce Confusion About Harm: Currently our society is all sorts out of whack on what we think is harmful. People tend to think that most legal drugs are no big deal in terms of harm, and that illegal drugs are a big deal. Furthermore our system criminalized marijuana possession and use worse than say, cocaine usage and possession. Many people look to government to lead and the government is sending the wrong message. Tobacco and alcohol are worse for you than pot or ecstasy or LSD for that matter. Cocaine is worse for a person than pot. When you have so many "authorities" other than hard science telling the populace what is bad or worse for them, people get all kinds of bad info, and make decisions based on that bad info. When the government decides that Tobacco and Alcohol are ok, marijuana is worse than coke, and they design "educational" programs based around this, you get a lot of kids doing some really dangerous and stupid stuff. How awesome it would be if American teenagers favored pot over say, binge drinking. Do you have any idea how many lives that would save?

* Make Production Safer: If meth could be created in a lab with all the proper safety measures take, maybe meth dealers wouldn't make the production process as dangerous as it is. Just a thought.

* Crime: right now, like with prohibition, we're putting all the money in the hands of criminals. Drug Manufacture/Distribution is the 3rd largest industry in the world behind oil and weapons. And all of that money could be in the hands of regulated and taxed businesses. Instead it fuels gangs, it corrupts our cops and our politicians, it empowers drug lords, etc... Why not get it in the hands of legit businesses, that have to answer to government regulation? Where it could be taxed and that money spent of rehabilitation facilities? Furthermore, drug addiction is not a criminal problem - it's a social one and a medical one. You do not build healthy societies by taking drug addicts and tossing them in prison. They are not going to come out of prison or jail a better person because of it. I would say the same about non-violent drug dealers as well. Yes they do exist.

* Addiction Related Crime: Drugs, especially the harder variety, are rather expensive. Just look at pot, it has roughly a 500% markup. Cocaine, Heroin, and others can exceed that. The fact these things are on the black market drives the cost up. Farming, refining, distribution, all become very dangerous and those in the business are going to ensure what you are paying will make it worth their while to put so much at risk. If this was legalized and regulated the price would hit the floor. The whole idea of this scares the drug lords. Their profits would drop significantly. But let’s look at this from a more personal stance. You hear stories of addicts stealing money, checkbooks, cars, holding up stores at gun point, so they can get their next fix. All these petty crimes would drop, not end, but drop significantly if the cost wasn't so high.

* Fiscal Waste: It's not like the "drug war" has stopped more than %1 of the drug trade, it's a failure of a program and a money waster. We incarcerate more people than any nation in the world. This costs the tax payer a ton and feeds the prison industrial complex and it needs to stop. If you follow the paper trail the private prison industry have been huge supporters in ensuring our politicians lean towards even stricter drug policies. Why not? The more prisoners, the more prisons, which means they get more of our tax money.

* Lies: Many drugs are simply lied about; ecstasy and weed are great examples of this. The American (and other) governments were simply scared people were getting high on something that had no immediate negative effects so they lied about ecstasy putting holes in your brain. Marijuana was made illegal by a racist cultural campaign ran by DuPont and Dow Chemical who saw Hemp as a threat, so they pushed the idea black men used pot (along with Jazz) to seduce white women. Anytime the government has rallied to make another drug illegal it has gone on a slander campaign full of falsehoods rather than scientific evidence.
* Racism: Beyond the fact that marijuana was made illegal on a racist campaign against black men supposedly using the drug to seduce the precious white wimminz, the modern day drug war disproportionately attacks racial minorities and the poor. Even though whites tend to do drugs MORE per capita than blacks and Hispanic, minorities are incarcerated at insane rates over this false war. Rates far higher than their white counterparts (who are more likely to use.) The scheduling of drugs falls into this as well. Cocaine being more expensive tends to fall into the hands of whites and middle and upper class far more often, while marijuana is cheap and is heavy used by poorer communities. Even though cocaine is lethal and marijuana is not, marijuana is a Schedule 1 narcotic carrying a much heftier penalty for possession and use. Frankly, this has created nothing short of a gang war, cops vs the poor.

* Civil Rights: this one is my favorite. If you don't own your body, who does? What right does anyone have to say what you can put in or do to your body? I reserve the right to take acid, to suspend myself from meathooks, screw whoever I want that is consenting, and to kill myself if I so chose. None of these things are anyone's concern but mine.

* Proof: Portugal decriminalized all drugs and to a good effect. There has actually been less drug use, more people seeking treatment for serious addictions. While this is not the same as making drugs purely legal, it's a good first step.

* Myths: Let me hit these up one by one real quick.
MYTH - Drugs are not a victimless crime, they hurt families.
Addiction to anything hurts families. Tobacco, food, alcohol, gambling, sex, World of Warcraft, there's any number of addictions that tear families apart. It's sad. But we can't ban everything people grow addicted to. Just because some people take things too far doesn't mean everyone or even the majority do. I've done heroin, meth, and coke. The only drug I have ever been addicted to is tobacco. I know plenty of other people who have done the same. My usage never hurt anyone.
MYTH - People high on drugs get in the car and kill people. Or they get into violent fights and hurt people if they're on PCP. People on Datura have done some crazy harmful stuff.
This is a no-brainer. People who drive drunk kill people too, but again, alcohol is not illegal. And we don't charge these people with drinking. We charge them with driving under the influence. If a drunk man gets into a drunken brawl, he gets charged with his acts of violence, not his alcohol consumption. The reality is, you need to be in a safe environment when you do any substance, you have to know your limits, and you have to take responsibility for yourself. If you know you might be too inebriated later, then make the appropriate preparations for that while you are sober.
MYTH - If drugs are legal, then everyone will rush to do them.
Look, even in drug using circles most people stay away from the really bad stuff. People regulate their meth use if they use at all, most drug users steer clear of heroin, crack, and PCP. Most people have no use for datura. Just because crack becomes legal doesn't mean the nation's children are going to turn into Richard Pryor's, running down the street with their hair on fire. Nations where the government turns a blind eye (like in Amsterdam), or where decriminalization has occurred, drug use GOES DOWN. Not up. Besides, do you think for one stinking second that all these laws, all these tough prison sentences, all these scary disinformational campaigns, have kept people from doing drugs? Of course not. People are going to do them regardless. Except now you have the classic hand-in-the-cookie-jar scenario. People want to, just because they're told not to. To rebel. There was a time, the "Great Binge" where hard opiates were sold over the counter as remedies for all kinds of ailments. While people didn't exactly understand what they were putting in their bodies back then, even THEN, when all these substances were perfectly legal, society was not in a state of breakdown and moral decay. It's funny to me when we talk about complete legalization of all drugs how much people who make excuses for pot, tobacco, and alochol become fear mongers when other substances are brought up and apply the same intellectual laziness when it comes to analyzing the situation. They just hear about some drug they've never done, heard some horror stories about, and then freak out. The paranoid hysteria really serves no useful function here.
* Middle Finger to Moral Conservatives: Just an added bonus as my favorite reason to allow drug use.

Get off your soap box people!!! : 6/14/2010

This shop got raided because Josh and Dayli were corrupt. And, if you've noticed in recent months many of their former co-workers have been arrested and released under similar circumstances. I'm guessing that a few of those guys gave up inside info on Josh and Dayli. In fact...I bet they jumped at the chance! Josh and Dayli are big-mouthed, self righteous jerks and they flaunted their money as if no one knew how they were getting it. Do you rejects know that these pot shops aren't supposed to make a profit? This is not an anti-weed witch hunt. The fact is...the majority of these shops are engaging in illegal business and they're STUPID! They are under a huge spotlight and they can't run a legit business. The whole recommendation/prescription process is a joke too. The whole industry is completely incestual. They all work with each other, for each other and against each other. They make the cops' work easy breezy because they leave an easy trail. Good riddance to all of these shops and shop owners if they can't work under the guidelines provided.

Midnight Toker

Real Police Work : 6/14/2010

I have to ask the SBPD to do real police work. How about focusing our tax dollars on the rampant meth problem that's taken over our beautiful city?

A Local

what you talking bout? : 6/14/2010

This is the first time any of the employees have been arrested. Midnight toker must own another shop and is starting vicious rumours off the top of his head. Get your facts right about the employees. Cops had been watching the place for a while. They are the peeping toms. there the ones stating false facts about minors and all the healthy men. No one deserves to be in jail for selling medical mj as long as it is by the book as this place is!!!! This is where most shops model after. documentaries are made of this place

Thanks to : 6/14/2010

The County D.A.'s Office, SBPD, SB CO Sheriff's Office and D.E.A. for going after these clowns... Please continue the good work!

You're an idiot : 6/14/2010

I don't own a shop. And YES...former employees of Josh and Dayli have been nailed in prior months. Hortipharm is not by the book. They are shady as the real Slim Shady and they got locked up. Richard Nixon was a U.S. President and that didn't make him any less corrupt...you know...just to dispute your "documentary" theory. Go back to school fool. I know people in this business and EVERYONE knows that Josh was a money launderer. He wasn't shy or quiet about it. And he's stupidly trusted people with very sensitive information and then crapped all over them and their families. Dayli was no better. Although she is awful purdy. Can't wait to see how day-glo orange suits her stunning complexion.

Midnight Toker

don't support the black market : 6/14/2010

I am sorry you don't know how to build pot. The state didn't provide for people like you, except to say you could find others like you and grow it together, with limited defense from prosecution. They didn't provide for a convenient retail distribution. If you don't like that answer, you have to work to change the state law. What we are doing in having pot stores is far outside the state's authorized model.

downtown voter

midnight toker is a joke : 6/14/2010

FACT: no one, while working at the dispensary has ever been arrested for any thing doing with this place.
FACT: if you have information about Josh or Daly that was told to you as a friend-you are a backstabber and should me know to everyone not to trust you. I hope your friends know who you are, and follow this advise.
FACT: Josh is not charged with money laundering, just possesion to sell with a 1,000,000.00 bail while a rapist is only 250,000.00
FACT: Dayli is not the smartiest-stuckup maybe-1,000,000.00 is way to much bail.
FACT: If you are in need Josh would help you, unless your the backstabber
LAST:if they had the money do you think that they would still be in jail?

SORRY : 6/14/2010

Your right FORMER employees have been arrested, after they were let go of for doing stupid things.
I still believe your a former friend who is backstabbing

so honest : 6/14/2010

Why was he arrested if he was so honest? why was he found with steriods for sale in his car? Why should Josh take the blame?

Honest : 6/14/2010

Well he was arrested because he worked for a dispensary that broke the law and even though he was only there for two months, he worked there he was included. No denying a bad choice on his part. Fact- the steroids were not in his car for sale (not sure where your facts are coming from). The Steroids were in fact prescribed for medical use. What was found in his car was his pain medication in a prescribed legitimate bottle from a neurologist at UCLA. This is why I am curious to see how this turns out. They aren't giving us details and what is printed is not always the situation. Anyone that would like to know the truth can go to his court date it's open to the public. Josh should take the blame because Josh broke the law. You do the crime you do the time.

Ponder that

Money : 6/15/2010

Dispensary and there cost- Most pay additional rent for hazzard pay - for raids
Employees salaries - hazard pay- medical coverage State fees for them
Unemployment tax, workman comp,
Sales tax
Utilities
permitting fees which can run in the 100,000.00 range if you are fighting the city
attorney's fees
Even CEO and other high ranking employees draw large salaries in all non-profit

Ploy : 6/15/2010

Is this City Council way of getting rid of dispensary by raiding the largest right before the last meeting on Dispensary before the people vote?

downtown voter : 6/15/2010

you want me to suffer i dont know how to build it but my grandkids do or at least they know where to get it and i just dont want to get in trouble buying it of some 16 year old street punk that thinks its cool because they selling to some one's grandpa

70 year old that doesnt care throw me in prison

its not a store i give money so i dont have to pant wait 3 monthts and ge 20 grams of low thc : 6/15/2010

They are not a store i just choose to give money because im to old and can not garden yet i am too proud for a home care nurse and even if i did i dont know any home care company that has nurses that also took a marijuana building class

70 years old and fed up with the BS

I dont go in a buy drugs i DONATE money is stead of labor and that is legal : 6/15/2010

i am disabled and can barely take care of my self let alone me and a plant i cant remember if i washed my hair when i am in the shower how can i remember to water a plant? you well able body people make me sick see you on judgment day were god will take pity on because he made me suffer so during this life.

yet you people want me to suffer well i hope to see you in hell where you will suffer may Jesus of Nazareth save you

Woah : 6/15/2010

Maybe try putting the plant in the shower with you. Or give a visit to Jesus of the lower East side and buy a little satchel of chronic. You rusty old devil you!

Rabi

I know that former employee! : 6/16/2010

Midnight toker- If he Jumped at the chance, he wouldn't be fighting his own charges right now in court! They woudl have given him a deal n he would've been out! Josh knows about "deals" didn't he get busted by the feds like 7or 8 years ago with like 20 or 30 pounds and not do any time?
People that know thats employee know that he would never give info no matter what.

SB420

SB420 : 6/16/2010

You may be right. But, it would make sense if he did because Josh ruined his reputation (or at least tried to) around town. I don't know the guy well...he looks like a tool. But, he has a valid reason and I'm sure plenty of ammo against Josh to return the favor. If Josh did to me what he did to the unnamed ex-employee...I'd enjoy doing my part in taking him down. Maybe he's just too stupid to make a deal...maybe he just handed over the info for free. He looks like he's taken a few knocks to the head.

Midnight Toker

SB420 : 6/16/2010

okay bro. Calm down. lol

Midnight Toker...Joker

Josh & Dayli : 6/16/2010

Smiling away in their mugshots on edhat. That just screams of "we're in deep caca and we just got our two young kids ripped from our arms". Oh wait...no it doesn't. What's wrong with them?

Amasayamasamamakoosa

Midnight Joker : 6/16/2010

You should say those things to his face. They're in the middle of a lawsuit, Jail is the last place he wanted Josh.

500 people only are sick in santa barbara : 6/16/2010

according to city counsil there are only 500 people in all of santa barbara that are sick, this according to a doctor who got his degree on line. Of the 500, 300 have hiv/aids and the rest who knows. That means that there are less than 200 who have canser. Praise God! everyone has been healed

busted : 6/17/2010

Why don't the police and district autorney go after serious drug dealers like the mob that operate in this city.Busting a pot dispensery is a cake walk and looks like your really going after the bad guys,load of !@#$$%^&^&*. Gangs with Mexican Mafia and The real Mafia are so much nastier and dangerous to confront .Votes and revenue thats what really matters,and nobody gets hurt thats the Santa Barbara good old time way.Chicken!@@#$$%.

Big money say's shut em down : 6/17/2010

Beatiful Santa Barbara cannot become the new "Amsterdam" of the western hemisphere we must attack an iliminate with extreme predjudice(thats right predjudice).If the Montecito homeowners & Hope Ranch Association could join forces like a pair of tweezers we can sqeeze the zit of stoners of the ass of Santa Barbara forever!!Yeah we will need to replace all the carpenters and workers on our estates,wait we allready did scratch that off the list!And if those Piasas burn we can deport their butts too.Yeah we can hire moslems they don't burn ,if they do we can cut their heads off like they do back east.Yeah it's all coming together the great master plan .

To bad they smoke too : 6/17/2010

and dont want people coming to there house

Love all the doctors on here : 6/18/2010

I love how people say they see healthy individuals going into the dispensaries. How many years of medical school did you attend to make those assesments? Can you see my brain tumor from across the street? Can you see my Chron's disease from your car?

Sick individual

Woodstock's Pizza Sucks : 6/19/2010

flavorless

You would think that pot was a black man or a woman in the 1970's : 6/21/2010

sad choices : 6/22/2010

I knew Dayli when she was little and I can't believe how far she has come from her upbringing. Her boys are adorable and I hope and pray that this family will be able to be reunited and begin to make good choices that will allow them to be together again. This is an extremely tragic story. No amount of money will make up for not one but two parents in jail. Nothing is worth this terrible thing.

Teri

Ignorant People : 6/22/2010

Its odd how you all cheer on the SBPD, most dispensaries I have been in have plaques saying thanks for the donation, FROM THE SBPD!!. California Voted for this, dont cry over democracy, just move.

Dizzle

Open Letter From Joshua Braun : 6/23/2010

Hello, and thank you to all of our supporting commentors here. My name is
Joshua Braun, and for those who don't know me, I was one of the founders of
Hortipharm, and the Executive Director of the collective when it was raided.
Last week I was released from County Jail after six days of incarceration
stemming from last Friday's raids. It was an interesting week, to say
the least, but I want you all to know that I am in good spirits. I hope I
can say the same for my co-defendants. I love all you guys, and I will do
what it takes to see to it you don't pay for mistakes you did not make!
During my stay with the County I was able to squeeze a few moments into my
busy schedule there to think of how something like this could happen after
all the extraordinary steps we went through as an organization to ensure the
highest level of integrity and transparency for our patients, my co-workers,
and the community at large. As this is an ongoing investigation, I will not
speculate publicly as to the answer to this question. All I will say is
that if more could have been done to ensure compliance, it would have been
done. We set out to create a model dispensary, and despite recent events, I
humbly hold my head high as I consider the work put in by our Horti team a
complete success in this regard. It pains me greatly to see the public
humiliation and criminal charges that have been put on my co-workers, who
dutifully carried out their jobs with the utmost integrity. Equally so,
it devastates me to see what they did to my innocent wife, Dayli, who is not
involved at all with the collective. Her strength over the past week was
inspirational. A bail hearing was set for Monday to reduce the excessive
bail set for us, but an unfortunate "mistake" that sent us to the Santa
Maria Courthouse instead of the SB Courthouse, coupled with a court furlough
on Wednesday, kept society safe from us until late Thursday evening when our
$1,000,000 bail was reduced to release on our own recognizance. I have yet
to be informed as to why a charge with a bail schedule of $20k-$60k reached
such astounding heights, or how, specifically, we were "outside the scope of
the compassionate use act," but over time those details will emerge and the
case against all employees and volunteers of Hortipharm will be vigorously
defended.
Regarding the allegations of money laundering through Pizza Guru, there is
simply no truth to them. The prosecutor has informed me through my counsel
that they have developed evidence that Pizza Guru was "not an ongoing
concern," and rather a shell through which we would route skimmed funds from
Hortipharm. All one needs to do to learn that this is patently false is to
go sit at Guru for an hour from 7-8pm or so. The lines speak for
themselves--Guru's fresh, local, and organic ingredients, along with
sustainable business practices and vegan and gluten free specialties have
helped to raise the bar for pizza in Santa Barbara. I am proud of my wife,
and her involvement in this hot mess is unconscionable. For her, Pizza Guru
is a mission to provide better diet alternatives to those who care how they
feed their body.
I regret to inform our patients that one of the conditions of our release
was that Hortipharm is not to reopen until the outcome of the trial. That
stipulation, coupled with the new storefront collective ordinance,
effectively marks the end of Hortipharm. Thank you all for your loyal
support over the past five years, and I hope that when Cannabis becomes
legal in November all you displaced patients will regain access to quality
medicine. In the meantime, if you haven't already, come give Pizza Guru a
try. Though our bodies are innocent until proven guilty, our finances are
not. Law enforcement has frozen each and every personal and business
account we hold, and we can use the support of our community to help rebuild
what they have unnecessarily crushed, and to pay for the defense we will
require to see this through to the end.
Any patients who would be interested in supporting us at trial through
letters or testimony can email me at 3domfighter@cox.net. Even opponents of
the Compassionate Use Act can feel free to email me your questions,
concerns, comments or complaints. I'd love to hear from all of you, and I
will miss the amazing things we did together as an organization over the
past five years.
Keep up the good fight in Peace and Light!
Yours Truly,
Joshua Braun

Joshua Braun

Good old boy's win again : 6/24/2010

it is a shame that the GOOD OLE BOYS win again. The city counsil, police dept do not care about the sick. It is an injusted to all that needed a safe clean area uptown where you felt comfortable to get your meds. This is a sad day in the history of Santa barbara. Good by old friend!

YOUR LIVING IN A CAVE : 6/25/2010

So what we do is Shut Down all the medical marijuana dispenseries and force all lets call it 20000 patients to start buying from the underground Drug Market....Then The gangs and drug dealers will seize control of another 10 million dollars in profit (not to mention all the legitimately sick people who need marijuana), and gain an even stronger foothold in our community...WHY IS IT THAT ALL YOU NAYSAYERS CANT SEE THAT MAKING DRUGS ILLEGAL IS THE ONLY THING THAT CREATES THE UNDEGROUND DRUG MARKET which fuel every gang in existance. Sell all drugs in stores then the real hardcore drug addicts will die off and the rest of the normal world that just likes to take some drugs sometimes can live in peace without DRUG MONEY FUELED GANG VIOLENCE RUNNING RAMPENT

OPEN YOUR EYES

CAN'T WAIT FOR LEGALIZATION IN NOVEMBER : 6/25/2010

So these stupid police officers and ignorant city officials can stop wasting our tax dollars enforcing the consumption of a plant that makes people mellow out.
If it was legal across the board, we wouldn't have "drug dealers", people would not have to be criminals for using something that does have a lot of beneficial affects.
GET A LIFE PEOPLE. LET PEOPLE TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN LIVES.

REALIST

tsk.. : 7/2/2010

for those who believe this is just a shop selling "drugs" it may be, but for many it is also a pharmacy.. how the patients take their medication is the choice of each, further.. does this truly cause the problems of say a local bar? has a stoned driver taken out a busload of school children?? surely we should ban pot before this happens, right? pfft.. without the hortipharm, my life is much less comfortable and much more expensive which is a huge burden on my already limited income.. i cannot speak for everybody who was/is a member in good standing, but i do hope they return, their presence is missed by me as im sure many others who use marijuana as a medication without hassling others.

Brian

What happening : 7/17/2010

You heard of other arrests that were to be made. Did they happen? What is happening incourt to all these innocent people? Have we stop the harrasment and waisting money my procuting them? Were are all the sick people going? By only haveing 3 dispensary prices will go up, employees should make more money for hazzard pay against the cops. We do not need a new jail, just stop arresting dispensary people and that will free a lot of room. Also pot dealers, if legal, will not be in jail, so no new jails. Save on police cost as they will not be able to raide dispensarys as legal and kids will not be as interested in the stuff as it is not taboo,