Pubdate: Tue, 27 Oct 2015
Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Orange County Register
Contact:  http://www.ocregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321
Authors: Scott Schwebke and Alma Fausto

SANTA ANA MARIJUANA DISPENSARY TARGETED AGAIN BY POLICE

SANTA ANA - An embattled medical marijuana dispensary where Santa Ana 
police were filmed during a May raid purportedly eating pot edibles 
was searched by officers again Monday and ordered to close.

Santa Ana police carried out a search warrant at Sky High Collective 
on West 17th Street, Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.

"They continue to operate illegally," Bertagna said. "They don't have 
a permit."

Marla James, a volunteer at Sky High, provided the Register with a 
copy of the search warrant, which indicated that police had 
confiscated about 22 pounds of marijuana edibles, computers, 
electronic tablets and digital video recorders from the dispensary.

Santa Ana Code Enforcement Department officials "red tagged" Sky High 
and a smaller dispensary several doors away, meaning both 
establishments are prohibited from operating.

Southern California Edison cut off electricity to Sky High, Bertagna said.

Several Sky High customers who went to the dispensary Monday were 
disappointed to find it had been shut down.

"It's like your favorite store getting closed," said Christian Vasquez.

Omar Tawil of Tustin, another customer, expressed similar sentiments.

"They've already closed it a couple of times, but they open back up," 
he said. "I guess it's on to the next one."

Santa Ana voters approved Measure BB last year, which enables the 
city to allow and regulate medical marijuana dispensaries. The city 
had a lottery to select 20 dispensary operators. Sky High was not 
among those chosen.

So far, three licensed dispensaries have opened in Santa Ana.

Monday's incident marks the fourth time in five months that Sky High 
has been the focus of legal action from the city.

Santa Ana police went to Sky High on Aug. 6 to support city code 
enforcement officials for an unspecified administrative action.

On July 8, police briefly detained Sky High employees while executing 
a search warrant.

On May 26, several officers brandishing firearms, some wearing masks, 
stormed the dispensary.

During the raid, officers removed several video cameras but failed to 
find one that later recorded them purportedly eating pot edibles and 
making derogatory remarks about James, who is an amputee and uses a wheelchair.

Matthew Pappas, a Long Beach attorney who represents Sky High, has 
provided the Register and Santa Ana police with two versions of the 
raid footage, a highlight reel with subtitles and what he says are 
unedited video clips. The clips have been widely shared on social media.

Santa Ana police launched an internal affairs investigation into the 
actions of three officers who participated in the raid.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom