LONG ARM OF THE LAW

Police Raids of Medical-Marijuana Clubs Are a Deterrent--to Both
Providers and Patients

When the long arm of the law--clad in Phoenix Police black with a
glove gripping an assault rifle--reached into the 2811 Club on
Wednesday, Oct. 12, to "collect evidence," it did little to dissuade
the cannabis club's operators.

They are going ahead full-steam with plans for 16 more clubs around
the state, including in Tucson.

"We've been in contact with our partners, and all of them have
decided to move forward," said Allan Sobol, the marketing manager and
idea man behind the clubs where patients exchange marijuana after
paying membership fees.

Sobol is galled about the attack, calling it harassment and
government abuse in the wake of a Maricopa County Superior Court
judge's order that the clubs remain open pending a decision about
their legality. During the raid, police emphatically told everyone
they weren't there to arrest anyone (they didn't), and they were just
there to collect evidence (they did).

They took computers, projectors, books and a small amount of
marijuana, leaving behind a battered shell of a club that reopened
the next day--and remains open. It's a small victory that the police
technically obeyed the judge's order and didn't shut the club down.

But they threatened to, Sobol says. "They specifically said, 'We're
going to shut you down one way or another,'" he said.

Sobol also claims the cops at the raid referred questions to the
Attorney General's Office.

State Attorney General Tom Horne issued a news release the day after
the raid to say he had no involvement and has no influence with Phoenix Police.

"I have remained consistent in my position, waiting for a judge to
rule on the legality of the clubs," General Horne said.

But fear not! Sobol expects a 2811 Club to be open for business in
the Old Pueblo by Christmas, despite the fact that one potential
landlord bowed out.

Though the raid didn't deter Sobol, the threat of boots-clad,
weapons-bearing tough guys bursting into your place of business to
shut you down (and maybe throw you down) does give some folks pause.

Arizona Patient 2 Patient, a nonprofit cannabis collective that has
three clubs in the Valley, had planned several new pot spots in
Tucson and Prescott. That's not happenin' anytime soon, in part due
to the legal confusion, said the chief financial officer of the
group's sponsoring Arizona Cannabis Society, who asked to be called
Damon Arizona.

"We're basically all geared up. We don't want to thumb our nose at
anyone," he said.

He points out that the Patent 2 Patient clubs are nonprofit, while
the 2811 clubs are for-profit, which might be a reason the SWAT team
came calling, so to speak.

"Everybody wants to help people. It's just that some people have
found a way to do that and make money," he said.

It might be nice to let people make some green off the green, he
suggests. Isn't money where jobs come from? Jobs are certainly coming
forth from the medical-marijuana mayhem--I got one. Maybe we
shouldn't stop that. Just sayin'.

Sobol, who founded the Arizona Cannabis University to teach patients
about all things pot, invited the police, state attorney general,
U.S. attorney, county attorney and Maricopa County Sheriff's Office
to tour the 2811 Club before it opened. Interestingly, only the
Phoenix Police took up his offer.

"They didn't have any problem with it then," Sobol said.

He has been at the forefront of the medical-marijuana fight in
Arizona. He is a party to two lawsuits over the issue. In July, he
asked the Superior Court to rule that his clubs don't violate the
Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. In August, the state asked the court
to rule that the clubs do violate the act.

Ultimately, as Damon Arizona and Sobol agree, the conflict sparked by
raids really only accomplishes one thing: Patients are hurt. It
denies them a safe, consistent place to get medication. It denies
them the rights the voters endowed.

It denies them access to the care their doctors prescribed.