Marijuana clinics report two more burglaries

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Marijuana clinics report two more burglaries
County supervisors to discuss revising ordinance on pot clubs today
Ricci Graham, STAFF WRITER


In what is becoming a common occurence, the Alameda County Sheriff's
Department is investigating burglaries of two medical marijuana clinics in
unincorporated communities near Hayward.
The first burglary, at The Compassionate Collective, 21222 Mission Blvd., was
reported around 1 a.m. Friday, Lt. Dale Amaral, spokesman for the Alameda
County Sheriff's Department, said on Monday.

The second, Amaral said, happened Sunday around 4 a.m. at The Natural Source
at 16360 Foothill Blvd.

In Sunday's burglary, Amaral said, three unidentified suspects described as
African-American men smashed through the front door to enter the clinic.

The suspects then broke through the sheet rock to enter the back area before
making off with about

$15,000 in cash.

"Why they had this amount of cash inside is beyond me," Amaral said. "The
places have video cameras on, but they don't seem to care."

Also taken during the burglary, Amaral said, were a laptop computer, marijuana
cookies, tools, three San Francisco 49ers throwback jerseys and two cash
registers.

Amaral said the burglars also stole clothing and sweat shirts featuring the
club's logo.

In the burglary of The Compassionate Collective, an unknown suspect broke
through a skylight and dropped into a small room where the marijuana is
packaged for sale.

"He made his way through the business and found plastic trays filled with
marijuana," said Amaral, who was unable to estimate




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the club's losses.
The two burglaries are the latest in a series of incidents that have been
reported at area pot clubs in the past six months.

In a move that sheriff's officials hope will result in a reduction of crime at
area clubs, the Alameda County supervisors are poised to reduce the number of
clubs that do business in unincorporated areas from six to three.

When board members meet in Oakland today, they will be asked to revise an
ordinance, which originally was approved in June, that would give three
dispensaries in Ashland and Cherryland one more opportunity to apply for one
of the operating permits.

The other three clubs from the same communities submitted applications in
August.

Clinics that do not apply or qualify for one of the three prized permits will
be forced to shut down, although legal challenges could delay any closings.

Supervisors also have spent part of the past year trying to develop regulatory
guidelines for the clinics. Currently, the county has no such controls in
place.

Karen Holzmeister contributed to this

report.