What's the latest from Vegas?

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resinryder

resinryder

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LOL. Harry is my Shepard I shall not want. The Tea Party Express held their meeting on a piece of property that was right next door to Harry's property in Searchlight. Was really funny. Burning man is up in Norther Nevada, at least north from where I am...

Pat Robertson-think he must have bought a lot of shares in Philip Morris or Monsanto for him to change his mind about marijuana.hehe
 
sky high

sky high

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Nevada's Wild West spirit snubs legal marijuana

By CRISTINA SILVA

LAS VEGAS

Nevada is known for letting just about anything slide, whether it's booze, bets or brothels. But even here there are limits.

It has been OK to smoke pot to treat illness for ten years. But don't think about selling it. Lately, federal agents and local police have taken notice, raiding several pot shops in and around Sin City.

All of it has pot activists scratching their heads: How is a state that has long lured visitors with promises of unconstrained debauchery stricter with pot than its more wholesome neighbors of Colorado, Arizona and California?

"I really thought they would leave us alone," said Pierre Werner, whose family's pot shop was raided and who now faces federal charges. "No one should go to prison for a plant."

Political leaders and historians say these activists don't know Nevada.

Sure, they say, the state has libertarian leanings and is generally willing to prosper from activities that most states have declared repugnant.

For many, however, pot is for hippies.

And Nevada, borne in the rugged days of the Wild West, is no place for hippies.

"The attitude was real men drank, whored and gambled -- these are the vices of frontier men and women," said Guy Rocha, Nevada's former archivist.

"When it comes to drugs, Nevada has looked at it as, 'that's what those wild people in California do, or New York or Oregon,'" he said.

Nevada passed its medical marijuana law in 2000, four years after California passed its first-in-the-nation program. In all, 15 states and the District of Columbia allow it.

Advocates say the strict Nevada law makes it nearly impossible to legally smoke pot. Patients cannot buy or sell marijuana and can only grow seven plants for personal use.

Nevada's health department, which regulates medical marijuana, tells patients it cannot provide information about how to grow cannabis.

During the past year, at least 27 marijuana shops have opened in Las Vegas, according to weedmaps.com, an online dispensary and physician locator service.

The discreet outposts feature lengthy menus with whimsical names such as the Incredible Hulk, Purple Monster, Green Cheese and Pineapple Crack.

Transactions are called donations, not purchases. Customers are patients. Marijuana is medicine. Police, however, still means trouble.

The stores, many saying they are referral services for doctors willing to recommend marijuana, were largely left alone at first.

Then came reports that undercover police officers were making buys at the dispensaries.

In September, it was official. Local and federal investigators served search warrants at several marijuana shops in and around Las Vegas.

Law enforcement officials refuse to discuss the raids, saying the investigations remained open. They would not say what prompted the crackdown.

Federal law continues to classify marijuana as a controlled substance, prohibited from being prescribed by doctors.

Attorney General Eric Holder has said federal prosecutors will not pursue people who sell marijuana in compliance with a state law, but has warned that people who violate both federal and state laws will be targeted.

Nevada has long lured revelers from across the world with promises of leggy temptresses, modern gladiators and fertile slot machines.

Nearly a third of the state's revenue comes from taxes on casino winnings.

More than a decage ago, marijuana proponents enticed by Nevada's hedonistic reputation began targeting the Silver State.

Until 2000, Nevada had one of the nation's strictest marijuana laws, when possession of a single joint was a felony punishable by a year or more in prison.

The earliest campaigns to loosen such punishments were easy sells.

The medical marijuana law then removed criminal penalties on the use, possession and cultivation of marijuana by patients with written documentation from their physician.

Since 2000, activists have spent $12 million trying to make Nevada the first state to legalize pot and bring Amsterdam-style pot-smoking bars into casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.

The Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project lead five failed efforts to pass pro-marijuana laws in Nevada.

"Obviously there is legalized gambling and to a certain extent prostitution as well. It just seems like the idea of taxing and regulating marijuana could have worked," said Steve Fox, the group's director of state campaigns.

California, Arizona and Colorado, meanwhile, have become the darlings of the pro-pot movement, with voters and lawmakers in those states embracing dispensaries.

In Nevada, law enforcement agencies, anti-drug activists and politicians in rural northern Nevada have led the opposition against the ballot measures.

The state's mighty casino industry, long eager to portray a balance of propriety and rebellion, has remained silent.

Activists are expected to try again to legalize pot in Nevada in 2012, but politicians and marijuana lobbyists alike predict another loss.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, a martini-drinking advocate of sex tourism, said he is open to legalizing marijuana, but doesn't think voters are going to anytime soon.

"The people are not ready," he said, "no matter how we are characterized."
 
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humblefish

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a trip to vegas still sound pretty sweet if you can pull it off
 
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dailychronic

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Im heading to Vegas tomorrow for a bachelor party any locals want to party/help out a fellow of similar hobbies message me. I would be very grateful.
 
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BoCo Buds

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RR~ thank you for the heads up... I had no idea. Called a few friends down yonder, crazy shit. stay safe bro!


Also found the following on the DEA website, which is apparently public info regarding the case...? I'm posting it down below as all names are already out in the open.






FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 06, 2011
Contact: DEA Public Affairs
Number: 213-621-6827

Operation “Chronic Problem” Results in Federal Charges against Nevada Marijuana Dispensary Operators

JAN 06 - LAS VEGAS – Federal charges have been filed against 15 individuals alleging they were distributing marijuana in violation of federal and state law through the operation of storefront medical marijuana businesses, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada. Federal and local authorities arrested 12 of the individuals this morning.

The defendants are charged in four criminal complaints filed in federal court in Las Vegas on December 17, 2010, and unsealed today. Charges include conspiracy to distribute marijuana, distribution of marijuana, conspiracy to commit money laundering, distribution of marijuana near schools or colleges, possession of a firearm in relation to drug trafficking, and failing to disclose or concealing information concerning Social Security benefits. Businesses named in the criminal complaints include, The Happiness Consultant (THC), the Nevada Compassionate Center, Dr. Reefer, LV Fingerprinting, and Organic Releaf.

“I commend all the agencies assisting in this joint investigation for their outstanding efforts,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “The Department of Justice is committed to the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act. Prosecution of individuals, who operate commercial enterprises that unlawfully market and sell marijuana in violation of both federal and state law, will continue to be a focus of our enforcement efforts. Nothing in the Nevada Medical Marijuana Act permits the establishment of such commercial enterprises in Nevada. Yet, drug intelligence information indicates there are currently 45 to 60 of these marijuana trafficking enterprises operating unlawfully in the Las Vegas Valley alone. Our joint law enforcement efforts to apprehend these drug traffickers are ongoing.”

"Today's arrests were the result of a joint law enforcement investigation developed to identify those individuals distributing harmful drugs illegally under both state and federal law,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Landrum. “Marijuana remains a top revenue source for drug organizations, and young people are often misinformed about this drug whose potency has tripled in the past 20 years and sends more youth to treatment than any other drug. Accordingly, DEA will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and investigate those responsible for propagating this dangerous drug."

The criminal complaints allege that the defendants are owners/operators and/or employees of “medical marijuana” dispensaries in Las Vegas. The complaints state that these dispensaries are being established throughout Nevada with increasing frequency, and that the dispensaries are actually just storefront businesses operating to sell marijuana for profit. Storefront marijuana dispensaries are not recognized under Nevada law, and it is illegal to sell medical marijuana in Nevada. If you are a medical marijuana patient or caregiver in Nevada, you must grow your own marijuana. The dispensaries frequently seek protection under Nevada law by claiming they are primary caregivers to medical marijuana patients; however, they do not “consistently assume responsibility for the housing, health, or safety” of their customers as a primary caregiver is required to do under state law. The dispensaries also typically acquire the marijuana they sell from third-party vendors, and there is no state law in Nevada that allows for the production and sale of marijuana from third-party vendors to dispensaries. The dispensaries often claim that they are requiring “donations” rather than compensation in return for marijuana, in an effort to conceal the unlawful nature of their business.

The following defendants are expected to make initial appearances before a federal magistrate judge in Las Vegas on Friday, January 7, 2011.

Case No. 2:10-mj-1023-GWF
John BIRMELE, 36, aka Mr. Happy, of Las Vegas, NV
Kelly BIRMELE, 36, of Las Vegas, NV
Laura RHOADES-YOKOI, 36, of Henderson, NV
John Allen YOUNGBLOOD, 40, of Los Angeles, CA
Timothy HOUGH, 31, of Henderson, NV
Michael ELLSWORTH, 57, of Henderson, NV

Case No.2:10-mj-1024-GWF
Reynalda BARNETT, aka Reyna Barnett, 59, of Las Vegas, NV
Clyde BARNETT, 21, of Las Vegas, NV
Pierre WERNER, 39, of Las Vegas, NV
Ron TESTON, 57, of Las Vegas, NV
Kristen KRUSYNA, 21, of Las Vegas, NV

Case No: 2:10-mj-1025-GWF
Michael MCAULIFFE, 53, of Las Vegas, NV
Katree Darriel SAUNDERS, 30, of Las Vegas, NV

Case No.2:10-mj-1026-GWF
Chad UHL, 26, of North Las Vegas, NV
Caroline DELLAVILLE, 49, of Henderson, NV

The investigation is being conducted as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the Nevada High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program. Specific agencies investigating the cases are the DEA, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, IRS Criminal Investigation, the Office of the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and North Las Vegas Police Department.

The public is reminded that a criminal complaint is a preliminary charging document and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Further information on each case can be obtained through the federal court’s PACER system, https://ecf.nvd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
 
resinryder

resinryder

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And the indictments fall. Check out this link. it is the latest on the above post by BCo Buds. The link is to the Channel 8 news site here in Vegas that gives a complete list of all the charges-federal-for those involved.
I don't just willy nilly post links for people to check out but loading the complete story would take up A LOT of bandwidth.
 
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kinzla34

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I don't know how often these charges are filed but has there been history of these indictments? Do they usually settle or does fed go to trial to make a statement

Is this all being charged on a federal level? Is the state not throwing too? I see an excellent opportunity to go to jury trial over this and thrash out the ambiguities that keep business from being in 'compliance'.
 
resinryder

resinryder

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These are all federal charges. And the reason it was done by the feds is to definitely send a message.
That message? There will be no legal mmj dispensaries in the state of Nevada. State-Federal cooperation at its finest.
In a one sided process known as a federal grand jury hearing, the fed prosecutor presented evidence against the defendants according to federal law. State law does not apply in this hearing and is usually not even mentioned. They are in some serious trouble.
They will not be able to challenge the state law and the difference between what the state law says versus what the state constitution says regarding supply during their federal hearing. However I've heard recently that a federal judge in Cali allowed a mmj defense in their court which may allow these defendants to take advantage of that decision because it sets a president in regards to allowed defenses.
Short story is that they are seriously screwed and the state wanted it this way. By allowing the feds to issue the charges state leo is still in control of the mmj laws just like they want it.
Business as usual here in Nevada.
 
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BoCo Buds

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Kinzla~ RR has it going on... NV is definitely bumping it to the Feds in order to sidestep their medi laws... in no way whatsoever will they allow for any of these raids to go State prosecution... they absolutely do not want to deal w it... mmj that is. They just want to take assets & convict.

And just to add... based on the way the fed system is so very highly stacked against defendents... they basically slam dunk all the cases... you are totally screwed in the Federal system... totally ass fucked. Most will 'have' to take a plea, just because they have a 90%+ likelihood of being convicted & the sentences are so damn punitive... the 'reasonable' person has to take the plea.

Ask a lawyer... in the fed system, you have no real options. I feel for these cats, as much as their behaviors made it tough for em. These peeps are going to federal jail... can't wish that upon anyone, no matter how much they pushed the limits. They are screwed now.

Be safe RR~ kinda think peeps are even afraid to post in this section, or comment on what's going on down there. Scary shit.

Think of all the peeps pushing disp's in the medi states...??? The dea has cameras on them here in CO, and we have the laws setting the foundation. Pretty sure they aren't going to go quietly into that good night.

I'm curious to see what's going to happen in OR, just read the post on how the 'cannabis cafes/exchanges' are popping up & in legal limbo...???
 
resinryder

resinryder

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Be safe RR~ kinda think peeps are even afraid to post in this section, or comment on what's going on down there. Scary shit.

Think so too. LEO is defiantly on a mission here. And everyone that grows, med or not is fair game. Don't know what they are doing but they, leo, have really found a lot of grows this past year. Even using excuses such as smell and excessive power usage to get warrants for med patients. Some serious fishing for large grows going on.
 
resinryder

resinryder

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This happened this morning. The 2 children literally had to walk through the plants to get to their bed.
I removed the names of those arrested.
Metro stated that this is the 11th grow house they've busted since the beginning of the year.


Metro Makes Big Pot Bust
Robert Rytina

The KXNT Morning News, Headlines,Law Enforcement,Local Politics,News
1/23/2011
5:34 pm

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department made a large marijuana bust in the area of Charleston Blvd and Fort Apache.

Around 3AM Sunday Metro officers responded to a house in the 9500 block of
Rancho Palms for a report of a domestic disturbance between two brothers.

Shortly after arriving on scene officers discovered a 100 plant Hydroponic
Marijuana Grow. Officers also found two children, a nine-year-old boy and
an eight-year-old girl, sleeping in a bedroom on a bed surrounded by dozen
of plants and chemicals.

The approximate street value of the marijuana plants was $150,000.

The brothers, 23-year-old and 22-year-old
were arrested were both arrested for possession of marijuana with intent to
sell and domestic violence.

The mother of the two children, 42-year-old , was arrested
for possession of marijuana with intent to sell, two counts of child
endangerment and domestic violence.

The children were taken to into protective custody by Child Protective
Services.
 
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BoCo Buds

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Metro stated that this is the 11th grow house they've busted since the beginning of the year.


Passing to comment on the domestic issues... ;-) ... So, that's one bust every other day. Likely be around 150+ by the year end...?

Wonder if one of the casino hosts could hook us up w a few of the thousands of vacant rooms just sitting? Doubt we'd ever see a real cop there unless invited by the casino... we just need to work a fair & amicable deal with the right joint... any ideas? lol
 
resinryder

resinryder

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we just need to work a fair & amicable deal with the right joint... any ideas? lol

Maybe if all taxes on profits went into a police retirement fund??? They'd probably buy off on it now.

The domestic abuse charges came about on that bust because the law was called because a fight broke out between the 2 brothers that lived there. If you're gonna grow plants in your kids bedroom guess you need to keep your grievances very low or at least take your fight on down the road. Dumb asses
 
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CynicalOptimist

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Meanwhile, Nevada's Medical Marijuana Program has grown considerably since it was first started and continues to do so. That says a lot - unfortunately it falls on the deaf ears of those who could get things done as far as better legislation is concerned.

They say it pays to advertise - however in some cases that can be extremely counterproductive. I think recent events in this state have proved that out. If you're going to walk a slippery slope you better pay attention and watch your step. Stupidity should be eradicated before ever embarking on the journey.

Not sure if anyone would be interested in this but I found this pdf file regarding the marijuana program's budget [see link below] posted on the Nevada State Health Division website. It's part of the Nevada Health Division's budget presentation [here].
 
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smalltime99

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So has anyone heard the latest from Vegas? I have noticed that new clubs have popped up since 2011. I also see some getting store fronts? If a business license has been issued and taxes paid to open a business in 2011, what would the deal be? Has anyone takin work around lately to them? Thanks for any help?
 
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Sci-fi

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So has anyone heard the latest from Vegas? I have noticed that new clubs have popped up since 2011. I also see some getting store fronts? If a business license has been issued and taxes paid to open a business in 2011, what would the deal be? Has anyone takin work around lately to them? Thanks for any help?

LOL, They will give you a business license to sell White lady if you want to give them your $$. Mabey go pick up some of those drug tax stamps too while ur at it. LOL...
 
persiankid

persiankid

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Dispensaries, Collectives, and Commercial Grow Laws??

I was curious if someone could shine some light on the laws in NV for me. From what I understand the original law was being able to possess 1 oz of cured meds and 4 immature 3 mature plants? Only allowed to grow for either yourself or whomever your care-giving for?

The reason I'm asking is a close friend of mine is from Vegas and he wants to start up a collective and a commercial op down there.. I told him I didn't think that it was legal and after a little bit of research I think I am correct. I know that here in Washington State it's technically still illegal but they're everywhere and we have current legislation that is looking to make both dispensaries and commercial ops fully legal on the state level of course. Anway's I'd really appreciate it if an any of you NV farmers could shed some light on the situation. Thanks..keep tokin!!
PK
 
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CynicalOptimist

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I was curious if someone could shine some light on the laws in NV for me. From what I understand the original law was being able to possess 1 oz of cured meds and 4 immature 3 mature plants? Only allowed to grow for either yourself or whomever your care-giving for?

The reason I'm asking is a close friend of mine is from Vegas and he wants to start up a collective and a commercial op down there.. I told him I didn't think that it was legal and after a little bit of research I think I am correct. I know that here in Washington State it's technically still illegal but they're everywhere and we have current legislation that is looking to make both dispensaries and commercial ops fully legal on the state level of course. Anway's I'd really appreciate it if an any of you NV farmers could shed some light on the situation. Thanks..keep tokin!!
PK

You're correct. The lame laws are still the same. There are people trying to change that [see here and here] so hopefully things will move forward and improve but that remains to be seen. Best of luck to you. :-)
 

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