Redding Dispensary Busted

REDDING POLICE BUST DISPENSARY

(This is one of the rare cases in which local
police have busted a dispensary on state sales
charges. In most other dispensary busts, feds
have been brought in to do the arrest. No word
of such involvement in this case - DG).

http://www.redding.com for a news story on this.

Police find pot in herb shop
Chief says medical-marijuana law is for patients, doesn't allow sales

By Christina, Lucarotti-Stubler, Record Searchlight (Redding CA)
December 8, 2005

A small shop in Redding has been selling more
than holistic herbal medicine since it opened a
few months ago, police say.

After a 2½-month investigation, authorities
seized more than 20 pounds of processed marijuana
as well as scales and packaging material this
week from Dixon Herbs on Merchant Street.

"We're not going to tolerate blatant sales of
marijuana," Redding police Chief Leonard Moty
said Wednesday.

Store operator Ron Dixon, 53, could not be
reached for comment. One of his employees,
William Williams, 24, said Wednesday that the
shop, which also sold herbs and teas, was only
open to medicinal-marijuana patients. He said
valid identification, such as a driver's license,
was needed along with a doctor's prescription or
state cannabis card.

"If you weren't a patient, you wouldn't get in,"
Williams said. He declined to say how many
medicinal-marijuana users the store served. "We
weren't aware that we were doing anything wrong,"
he added.

In addition to Dixon, a Redding resident, and
Williams, who lives in Anderson, police arrested
employee Kristopher Hutsell, 28, of Anderson. All
were arrested on suspicion of selling marijuana.
Each was booked in the Shasta County jail and
released without bail.

Moty said Dixon Herbs was using the Compassionate
Use Act of 1996 to justify selling marijuana. He
described the store's actions as "no different
than selling (marijuana) on the street."

The Compassionate Use Act gives seriously ill
patients the right to obtain and use the
otherwise illegal drug.

"It doesn't allow someone else to sell
marijuana," Moty said, adding that officers are
not looking to arrest those protected by the act.

Moty said the Police Department received letters
and phone calls complaining about the shop after
it opened three or four months ago.

Redding police investigators, along with Shasta
County sheriff's deputies, a U.S. Treasury
Department agent, FBI Safe Streets investigators
and federal Drug Enforcement Administration
agents, served the search warrant at Dixon Herbs
on Monday morning.

Investigators also searched Dixon's home on Hurst Lane in Redding, Moty said.

The Police Department did not publicly announce
the searches until Wednesday because property
seizures were still taking place Tuesday, Moty
said.

Reporter Christina Lucarotti-Stubler can be
reached at 225-8215 or at cstubler [at] redding.com.

From: Dale Gieringer <canorml [at] igc.org>
To: padmd [at] foothill.net, shapatall [at] hotmail.com,
actionmerlot [at] whovian.hn.org,
berglaw [at] awwwsome.com, hamilton13 [at] earthlink.net,
spanorcal [at] aol.com, staffinchrist [at] yahoo.com,
jlpski61p [at] aol.com, dpfca [at] igc.org
Subject: Redding Dispensary Busted
Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2005 16:29:02 -0800

Dr Phillip Denney reports that Dixon Herbs in
Redding was raided by the Shasta County Narcotics
task force. They are thought to be facing state
distribution charges. No reports in the Redding
newspapers. Dixon herbs set up in hostile
territory, yet boldly located downtown with a
sign posted on their building. Still, it's
highly unusual for state cops to bust a
dispensary without using the feds.
- Dale Gieringer, Cal NORML
--
----
Dale Gieringer (415) 563-5858 // canorml [at] igc.org
2215-R Market St. #278, San Francisco CA 94114