MONTHS AFTER BUTTE COUNTY POT DISPENSARY RAIDS, STILL NO CHARGES FILED

CHICO -- More than seven months after Butte County law enforcement
coordinated raids on seven marijuana dispensaries, the sheriff's
office is still investigating the case, so the District Attorney's
Office has yet to file criminal charges.

A number of dispensary owners have since filed civil cases to have
their confiscated money returned.

On June 30, more than 100 enforcement officers served search warrants
on marijuana dispensaries and 11 residences in Chico, Forest Ranch,
Magalia and the Sacramento County town of Rio Lindo. The officers
confiscated marijuana, guns, financial records, computers,
Proposition 215 verifications, cash and more.

Investigating officer Jake Hancock, now with the Butte County
District Attorney's Office, said forensic copies of the computers
have been made, so those have been returned. Other seized materials
including documents, marijuana and money have not.

Hancock said he's hopeful he can soon turn over information for the
District Attorney's Office to file charges.

To secure the search warrants, Hancock provided a Butte County
Superior Court judge detailed information from undercover officers
who reportedly bought marijuana with fraudulent recommendations from
a number of the dispensaries.

Those dispensaries include Scripts Only Service, California Harm
Reduction Cooperative Inc., California Patients Collective,
Mountainside Patient Collective, Doctors Orders Cooperative, Northern
California Herbal Collective and Cascade Wellness Center.

Rick Tognoli of Scripts Only Services said there is no law that
requires collectives or dispensaries to verify medical marijuana
prescriptions; it just became industry standard.

"This goes back to the ridiculousness of dry counties in the South
where you can't buy beer," Tognoli said.

He thinks patients should be allowed to share marijuana, he said.

Hancock said he had no comment on whether prescriptions must be verified.

No other representatives of raided dispensaries could be reached for
comment by deadline.

Law enforcement hasn't given back "squat," according to Tognoli, and
he said they killed more than 100 marijuana plants from the club.

Tognoli shut down the shop, but about 100 members still come to the
collective for marijuana or get deliveries, he said.