POMONA MARIJUANA DISPENSARY SHUT DOWN BY POLICE

POMONA - Pomona police shut down a medical marijuana dispensary
Thursday just seven days after it opened when officers received a
complaint about the facility.

Police say the facility in the 100 block of West Arrow Highway was
operating without a business license.

Pomona police Sgt. Eddie Vazquez said detectives will examine the
state medical marijuana law along with the city's local laws to see
if the dispensary is in violation of either.

As of Friday, the facility had only been cited for operating without a license.

Lynette Cumberland was a patient of the dispensary, using marijuana
for her health problems caused by uveitis.

She wears thick glasses which allow her a little bit of sight. Her
disease, characterized by inflammation of the eyes and her joints,
keeps her in constant pain, she said.

"Without this, I couldn't eat, I wouldn't be able to tolerate foods,"
she explained of her marijuana usage.

Her husband Richard said she is on high doses of morphine and
occasionally steroids. The combinations of pills leave her nauseous.

"Because of the cannabis, she can cut those pills (usage) in half,"
he said. "Which is kind of a blessing."

A volunteer at the facility who did not give his name, said Pomona
police entered the facility about 3 p.m. Thursday.

Officers told the patients and volunteers there that they received a
report of people continuously entering and exiting the facility.

The officer explained that they were in the process of getting a
search warrant and that police were attempting to determine whether
the dispensary was legitimate.

The search warrant was served around 7 p.m. the volunteer said.

"We're just trying to help our patients," he said. "As a collective,
we are doing our best to comply with the law under (Proposition) 215."

Another volunteer said the police violated patient privacy laws by
seizing patient files.

They also detained people inside the facility Thursday without
telling them what laws they violated, she said. Officers did not make
any arrests and did not issue any citations, she explained.

"We have a lot of angry patients calling the p.d.," she said. "They
can't bully us when we have done nothing wrong."