When the long arm of the law—clad in Phoenix Police black with a glove gripping an assault rifle—reached into the 2811 Club on Wednesday, Oct. 12, to “collect evidence,” it did little to dissuade the cannabis club’s operators.
They are going ahead full-steam with plans for 16 more clubs around the state, including in Tucson.
“We’ve been in contact with our partners, and all of them have decided to move forward,” said Allan Sobol, the marketing manager and idea man behind the clubs where patients exchange marijuana after paying membership fees.
Sobol is galled about the attack, calling it harassment and government abuse in the wake of a Maricopa County Superior Court judge’s order that the clubs remain open pending a decision about their legality. During the raid, police emphatically told everyone they weren’t there to arrest anyone (they didn’t), and they were just there to collect evidence (they did).
They took computers, projectors, books and a small amount of marijuana, leaving behind a battered shell of a club that reopened the next day—and remains open. It’s a small victory that the police technically obeyed the judge’s order and didn’t shut the club down.
But they threatened to, Sobol says. “They specifically said, ‘We’re going to shut you down one way or another,'” he said.
Sobol also claims the cops at the raid referred questions to the Attorney General’s Office.
State Attorney General Tom Horne issued a news release the day after the raid to say he had no involvement and has no influence with Phoenix Police.
“I have remained consistent in my position, waiting for a judge to rule on the legality of the clubs,” General Horne said.
But fear not! Sobol expects a 2811 Club to be open for business in the Old Pueblo by Christmas, despite the fact that one potential landlord bowed out.
Though the raid didn’t deter Sobol, the threat of boots-clad, weapons-bearing tough guys bursting into your place of business to shut you down (and maybe throw you down) does give some folks pause.
Arizona Patient 2 Patient, a nonprofit cannabis collective that has three clubs in the Valley, had planned several new pot spots in Tucson and Prescott. That’s not happenin’ anytime soon, in part due to the legal confusion, said the chief financial officer of the group’s sponsoring Arizona Cannabis Society, who asked to be called Damon Arizona.
“We’re basically all geared up. We don’t want to thumb our nose at anyone,” he said.
He points out that the Patent 2 Patient clubs are nonprofit, while the 2811 clubs are for-profit, which might be a reason the SWAT team came calling, so to speak.
“Everybody wants to help people. It’s just that some people have found a way to do that and make money,” he said.
It might be nice to let people make some green off the green, he suggests. Isn’t money where jobs come from? Jobs are certainly coming forth from the medical-marijuana mayhem—I got one. Maybe we shouldn’t stop that. Just sayin’.
Sobol, who founded the Arizona Cannabis University to teach patients about all things pot, invited the police, state attorney general, U.S. attorney, county attorney and Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office to tour the 2811 Club before it opened. Interestingly, only the Phoenix Police took up his offer.
“They didn’t have any problem with it then,” Sobol said.
He has been at the forefront of the medical-marijuana fight in Arizona. He is a party to two lawsuits over the issue. In July, he asked the Superior Court to rule that his clubs don’t violate the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. In August, the state asked the court to rule that the clubs do violate the act.
Ultimately, as Damon Arizona and Sobol agree, the conflict sparked by raids really only accomplishes one thing: Patients are hurt. It denies them a safe, consistent place to get medication. It denies them the rights the voters endowed.
It denies them access to the care their doctors prescribed.
This article appears in Oct 20-26, 2011.
Kindly refresh my memory: with the staggering amount of homegrown talent and can-do spirit right here in Tucson (it was Pima County’s votes that moved Prop 203 into the “win” column, was it not?), what do these outside operators think they can do for us that we can not do our own damn selves? Sorry, I seem to have forgotten.
Grow your own or have someone grow it for you like a caretaker. The greed of the “club” owners is pretty sickening. If it is patient 2 patient and someone is donating it why do the clubs charge street price? Whatever they call it donation club dues yada yada, it is sold at street price. I fully support Medical Marijuana but I do not support greedy shop owners that are taking advantage of the law. If it were sold at a real price then OK but these guys are working on pure greed.
If they ever allow dispensaries in Arizona they will take away the patients right to grow their own at hardly any cost. Jan Brewer did all the patients a favor by not allowing the dispensaries to exists.
The best model may be a cooperative of people who grow and share at no cost or implied donation.
Like Dude,
Sure seems alot of dudes need med get right in az.. lots of really sick people here in Dead End Az…
The President of Mexico said that Az needs to just legalize all drugs, help out our economy and theirs.
Seems some of tustoned az citizens are a little confused … Prop 203 was , the legal use of” Doctor Prescribed Pot” for Medical Treatment with amount limits … .. nothing in prop 203 about legalizing pot for every citizens consumption..
az population 4 million… 2.3 million adults approx
doctor prescibed medical pot is used by less than one half of a percent of the entire adult population of 2.3 million in az.. lets just say 125.000 az adults need med pot…
seems not much of a market for LEGAL MED POT….
another medbud selling drug thug shop gets busted.your just breaking my heart.they say they are “compasionate” and are providing [ripping-off] the very sick with medical marijuana.they could not care less about anything but the “green” filling their bank accounts.$20 dollars a gram or too bad.go die.it costs about $20 an ounce to grow medbud.this is fact.the law says NO SELLING. teach those who can grow how,to grow medical marijuana.provide seeds,clones and instruction.others unable to grow are to be provided with caregivers not drug thugs.marijuana can be provided between card holders.these “dispenseries” are sham to take advantage of the sick.they will destroy our law if they are not run out of state.Vicente Fox,former President of Mexico is a stong defender of total legalization of all drugs,as are 50% of Americans.Mexico has already de-criminalized all drugs.if Americans do not step up and show we can obey laws for medical marijuana,hope for legalization and stopping the drug war madness will become a lost cause.Stand up Americans.the sick need us.the young need us.Mexico needs us.show medical marijuana works,run the drug thugs out,show ‘REAL’ compassion for the sick.otherwise all hope will be gone, and we have none to spare.
I personally don’t have a problem with non-profit dispensaries but charging people/patients 75 dollars just to walk through your door EACH time seems overpriced and unfair. I also think its lame to see some joker on 4th Ave flipping around a big sign that advertises Medical Marijuana licenses bla bla. It gives an unprofessional and crooked facade to this emerging market.
The numbers dont add up…
The amount of Pot needed per month to dispense to legal med pot users is less than is being sold…
Until a legitiment accounting system is put into use , alot of people are going to jail and alot of people that really need med pot are going to suffer… Med Pot is taxed, Tax amount collected per total retail sale…..
The Gov dont like getting ripped off!!!
The stoned out addicts will again distroy a useful products reputation, as they always do, resulting in over kill regs for, med pot dispenseries, growers and doctors…
Pot Heads always say: “LEGALIZE POT AND TAX IT” sure thats a good idea???
another “drug abolitionist” to the rescue.Pot Heads,stoned out addicts.what a compassionate way to refer to the sick.tie them to a label,discredit them,then jail ’em all.that attitude is ruining our country.and “useful products” like alcohol and tobacco.
Just a technicality but doctors don’t prescribe marijuana; they recommend it.
It seems they ( the Government) just can’t seem to wrap their tiny little minds around this law that lets us medicate ourselves.
I can not believe these law enforcers have more important things to do.
No one can say exactly how much it cost to grow the highest quality cannabis for a patient! That depends on the expeirnce of the grower! Only 10% of the percent of cannabis industry can grow the highest quality meds. WE know this for a fact and seen with our own eyes and keep seeing it as growers follow our techniques. If they would let us move forward then we will start to release information that would move the industry into full gear. Untill then no one else will have the answers! You would be suprised on the research already know about cannabis and i dont mean from our government. This is something passed on with generations!
sometimes i wonder if the medical marijuana laws are just another trap for users.otherwise it would have been better written,and we would be discussing how much more beautiful the world was becoming.mabye someday over the rainbow.”i used to dream sex,now i dream dope,soon i’ll dream life,thank god there’s still hope.”quoting the late Abdul Mati Klarwein.marijuana will be legal again someday.we have hope.keep the faith good people.
The economies of State, US & County attorneys is the problem and also the solution.