GO ASK ALLISON- WHY'S THE DEA SO HELL-BENT ON CLOSING CANNABIS CLUBS?

LA's Dopest Attorney Allison Margolin talks about what is motivating the DEA to go after cannabis clubs so aggressive

YESTERDAY'S LA DEA RAIDS SECOND BIGGEST ALL TIME

DEA raids LA medical marijuana clinics

By ANDREW GLAZER, Associated Press Writer Thu Jul 26, 2:41 AM ET

LOS ANGELES - Federal agents raided 10 marijuana clinics Wednesday, the same day city leaders introduced a measure calling for an end to the crackdown on the dispensaries allowed under state law.

The bust netted five arrests, large quantities of marijuana and cash, and was the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's second-largest since California voters approved medical marijuana sales in 1996. The drug remains illegal under federal law.

DEA spokeswoman Sarah Pullen said the timing of the bust and the city's action was "purely coincidental."

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Allison has been asked to represent five medical marijuana prostesters that were arrested during the raids.

MORE DEA CANNABIS CLUB RAIDS IN LA

The DEA at it again in LA!

The DEA raided several cannabis clubs today in Hollywood. One of those clubs includes the California Patient’s Group on Santa Monica Blvd and Vine St. As police officers stand by it's been reported that up to two hundred protesters have been gathering ouside the popular cannabis club to show thier support

Several members of the CPG's staff as well as some patients are being held inside the dispensary.

LINDSAY LOHAN ARRESTED IN SANTA MONICA

Another bust. Say it ain't so Lindsay Lo

Lindsay Lohan was arrested in Santa Monica this morning for allegedly driving under the influence, narcotics possession and driving with a suspended license. Lohan was reported to be chasing another vehicle drven by the mother of her personal assistant before she was arrested.

Not to overstate the obvious here but Ms Lohan should employ a full time driver right away.

Blair Berk, counsel to actress Lindsay Lohan, has released a statement following her arrest on DUI and cocaine charges early Tuesday morning.

“Addiction is a terrible and vicious disease. Since Lindsay transitioned to outpatient care, she has been monitored on a SCRAM bracelet and tested daily in order to support her sobriety. Throughout this period, I have received timely and accurate reports from the testing companies. Unfortunately, late yesterday I was informed that Lindsay had relapsed. The bracelet has now been removed. She is safe, out of custody and presently receiving medical care.”

GO ASK ALLISON - ALLISON ASKS BRUCE MARGOLIN ABOUT THE MARGOLIN GUIDE

ALLISON asks her dad BRUCE MARGOLIN a question concerning his "Margolin Guide". Bruce Margolin's guide covers pot laws of all fifty states.

The Margolin Guide is a must weed read!

LINDSAY LOHAN SURRENDERS TO BEVERLY HILLS POLICE

Police book Lohan on charges spurred by May crash

By Richard Winton, Times Staff Writer
July 20, 2007

Actress Lindsay Lohan surrendered to Beverly Hills Police Thursday in connection with a driving under the influence incident in May.

A Los Angeles County Sheriff's website record shows she was taken into custody at about 4 p.m. and booked 15 minutes later. She was released an hour later in lieu of $30,000 bail.

Lohan was initially arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in May after she crashed her Mercedes convertible in Beverly Hills shortly before dawn. Lohan, 21 was slightly injured after she lost control of her car traveling west on Sunset Boulevard about 5:30 a.m., Beverly Hills police said. The car ended up striking a curb and shrubbery along Foothill Road. Two other people in the 2005 Mercedes SL65 -- a car that normally seats a driver and one passenger -- were not hurt. The "Georgia Rule" and "Mean Girls" star left the scene of the crash and was taken by an unidentified associate to Century City Doctors Hospital, Lt. Mitch McCann told the Times at the time.

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DEA, CANNABIS CLUBS & LANDLORD LETTERS

LA Weekly helps hype Simpson's movie while LACityBeat gets down in the Grass

MORE LA WEAKLY COVERAGE ON DEA AND CANNABIS CLUBS
July 19th 07 By Jay Good

About ten days ago random cannabis club landlords began receiving forfeiture letters from the DEA causing the landlords to make a decision; possibly lose their property, or evict the cannabis club owners. For many it was not much of a choice and in no time cannabis club owners began getting thirty day eviction notices.

The news was kept quiet by the club owners so as not to cause a panic among the landlords …Some of the first people outside of landlords and cannabis club owners to hear about the DEA letters were the weekly papers who advertise dozens upon dozens of display ads for these cannabis clubs . Then Tuesday morning the story officially broke in the LA Times

For some strange reason LA Weekly the second largest alt paper in the country didn’t touch the DEA/Landlord letter story. So what’s up with that, I'd like to know? I like the LA Weekly and Allison Margolin occasionally places her LA’s Dopest Attorney ads with them but the people over at Village Voice/New Times blew it and get a great big fat “Doh!” for ignoring this one... The voice of the people...lately, I think not.

Thankfully LACitybeat saw the DEA Landlord letter story for what it was and is; big breaking news effecting thousands locally with huge national ramifications. In today’s LACityBeat issue they are running a four page feature called
“Stay off the Grass” Read it and weep...that goes for you too, LA Weekly. - Jay Good


Allison Margolin has been busy in court the past two weeks fighting a medical marijuana case and plans to have a few things to say about this unfolding event soon

DEA MAILS WARNING LETTERS TO CANNABIS CLUB LANDLORDS

DEA targets landlords of pot outlets

About 150 L.A. owners are told they could face jail and lose properties rented to dispensaries.

By Eric Bailey, Times Staff Writer
July 17, 2007

Raising the stakes in the federal government's war against medical marijuana, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has warned more than 150 Los Angeles landlords that they risk arrest and the loss of their properties if they continue renting to cannabis dispensaries.

The two-page letter sent last week by Timothy J. Landrum, DEA special agent in charge of the Los Angeles office, has whipped up worries among landlords and dispensary operators in a region that has seen a proliferation of the businesses in the last two years.

"I'm devastated," said Lisa Sawoya, who left her lucrative job selling high-tech hospital equipment to open a dispensary 18 months ago in Hollywood. "My landlord believes in cannabis as medicine. But they're taking the letter very seriously. So I'll be closing my doors at the end of this month."

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excerpt from landlord letter:

"The DEA has determined you own, or have under your management or control, a building located at [ADDRESS]. The DEA has determined there is a marijuana dispensary, [NAME], operating on the property.

This is a violation of federal law...."

ORANGE COUNTY ACCEPTS MEDICAL MARIJUANA

O.C. to license medical marijuana

In a switch from an earlier stand, the county will issue ID cards and validate prescriptions.

By Christian Berthelsen, Times Staff Writer
July 18, 2007

Orange County will begin licensing medical marijuana use and issuing identification cards to patients who are entitled to it under a plan approved by county supervisors Tuesday.

The decision marked a surprise turnabout from just three months ago, when the proposal initially seemed doomed to failure.

Under the plan, the county will create a system to identify patients eligible to use marijuana for medical purposes, and issue them identification cards, validate prescriptions and monitor the qualifications of care providers who dispense the drug.

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CATHOLIC CHURCH AGREES TO PAY 660 MILLION FOR CLERGY ABUSE

Lee Bashforth says the church settled at the last minute to avoid a public trial.

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A judge on Monday approved a $660 million settlement between the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and more than 500 alleged victims of clergy abuse, the largest payout yet in a nationwide sex abuse scandal.

Some of the plaintiffs sobbed as the deal was formally approved and a moment of silence was held for others who had died during the years of negotiations.

"This is the right result," said Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Haley Fromholz.

"Settling the cases was the right thing to do, and it was done by dint of a number of extremely talented and dedicated people putting in an awful lot of time."

The deal came after more than five years of negotiations and is by far the largest payout by any diocese since the clergy abuse scandal emerged in Boston in 2002.

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