Officers from the multi-agency Counter Narcotics Alliance swept into five Shop 420 certification centers, arresting 10 people, confiscating 14 pounds of the sticky and generally making a huge show of force right next door to Che’s Lounge and at three other Tucson addresses and one in Casa Grande, according to a Tucson Police news release.
After a month-long investigation, the officers descended on Shop 420 and charged the evil doers with planning and plotting and possessing (but not selling) marijuana. The 10 MMJ workers were also charged with money laundering, and the alliance officers confiscated some fake MMJ cards and equipment to make them. Shop 420 representatives were unavailable for comment two days after the raids.
The closed shops were at 5151 South 12th Ave., 3408 East Grant Road, 8250 East Broadway Boulevard, and 408 East 7th Street in Tucson and 1145 East Florence Boulevard in Casa Grande. The raids follow similar ones earlier this year at Tucson’s Green Halo Caregiver Collective and Tucson Arizona Collective.
Is this really necessary? I think not.
This article appears in Sep 13-19, 2012.
grown men going after a plant . to me this is a form of terrorism. who asked them to ?people voted for medical pot and soon it will be legal.then what will these evil men do for kicks?
”I never eat a pig cuzz a pig is a cop”
Now the police can ask for a budget increase, just look at that arrest count. Good job boys, keep it up. While Child Protective Services is a swamp of underfunded disaster, which harms our less fortunate children.
Oh and don’t forget to keep MJ unsafe and illegal, Mexico needs our dollars.
If they were producing fake MMJ cards then they should have been arrested for that, but I don’t know that it required a great deal of force.
If they were breaking the law, then I’d say it was necessary, yes. It’s not like the police just sat around and said “hm, let’s go crack us some pot-heads” and then went out that day. They investigated for a while and they busted a series of groups that were breaking the law (legal law). Do you feel you need to justify your position as MJ reviewer or are you tired of the the legal law justifying the amoral illegality of mj for medical purposes?
And my guess is that a fair share of those same law enforcement officials went home that same day, took a shower, kicked back on the sofa or patio, and toked up!!!!
If they did, I’m sure they have a valid prescription.
And if they did…there’s no place to fill it now….is there?
Yes, the irony has not been lost on me. And no one gives Tom Horne or Jan Brewer much credit, maybe that should change, eh?
Just what??? Can we as citizens do to help? (I’m not a patient, or user)
Craig,
Read the article. This place was not a dispensary. They were not permitted under the law to distribute or sell Marijuana. According to their website they were a “Medical Marijuana Arizona ID Card Certification Center.” Unfortunately they were selling fake MMJ cards and possibly distributing the drug illegally. I think the blogger “J.M. Smith” is ignoring the fact that criminals like these people are doing real damage and negatively affecting the sentiment towards people who really need Marijuana as medicine, which is what voters approved.
The day after this blog entry was written, this article appeared in the Star, (so yes legitimate dispensaries are trying to open);
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/medical-pot-shop-to-get-cit-of-tucson-approval/article_7f82c20b-624d-56c7-a8a5-398ca9ab115a.html
If you really support Medical Marijuana as passed by the voters in Arizona then we need to hold our elected official responsible for upholding and enacting the law (which they aren’t doing), but just as important is preventing criminals from taking advantage of the law just to make a profit.
For sure. The narcs are afraid they’re going to lose their do nothing taxpayer supported jobs so they’re doing their best to prove what they do is beneficial to the public….what a joke. Soon they’ll have to get real jobs instead of terrorizing the public at taxpayer’s expense.
J.M. Smith, this was a criminal enterprise, not an innocent business as you try to imply. They also recovered equipment to make phoney MJ cards and these 10 arrested were not upstanding citizens. Do some research before you give them your support.
It’s crap like this that’s going to hold-up the opening of any dispensaries.
The police were right, closing the 420 but I know nothing of what the others were doing in braking the law…..Mr.Smith this wasn’t even an Article….Please do some research and try and give us readers more than 3 paragraph’s. Thank You.
While the Eaarth warms up…
And fossil fuels are burned (the DIRTIEST to power Tucson) to add to warming…
And the overfunded, bloated military causes terrorism around the world…
And strips this nation of over 1/2 of its treasure every year…with more spending in the pipeline no matter which pResident is sElected…
The other phony war, the phony “War on Drugs(tm)” that creates rich/violent cartels, makes USAmerican banksters richer, helps elect egregiously mendacious politicians and justifies huge “law enforcement” budgets, courts, jails and prisons goes on and on and on…
this is b.s. everyone needs to vote out any politition that stands in the way of what the people have voted for.the state is happy to take your money for your id card but wont let you obtain your medicine!
Wow. I guess they do this because crime is non-existent everywhere else? It’s nice to know that my tax dollars are going towards taking away the people’s individual freedoms. Law enforcement needs to get a clue and focus on REAL crime.
Check out the link with much shots of Mr. Smith’s “credible” people and tell me they are there to perform a good service. http://www.kgun9.com/news/local/169574776.…
The 420 shops that were busted WERE breaking the law. Thank you very much guys! All involved with the shops or clubs or whatever we called them, that were making fake cards and acting like criminals have done so much harm to our cause. I know quit a few cops that are in fact pro legalizing marijuana. They would much rather deal with truly bad people, not those that use marijuana. They too see that there are much worse things out there. So please people, if you think that your medical marijuana supplier is not acting as “within the law as they are able” please find a new supplier that is above board. Check out different clubs, there are a few really good ones out there.
It is in the best intrest of us all.