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Sheriff Lee Baca says Most Medical Marijuana Dispensaries are Criminal
Los Angeles County's elected Sheriff today upped his fight against marijuana, calling most medical marijuana dispensaries criminal enterprises. "Millions of dollars are being made for profit, and it's all illegal," Lee Baca said, according to the Associated Press.
Baca said there could be as little as 3% of dispensaries that are legitimate. The rest are likely criminal and could be obtaining the plant from Mexican cartels and selling it to customers with no medical need for it.
"Baca presented no evidence to support his claim," noted the AP, which did mention the sheriff said a chemical analysis of pesticides on confiscated marijuana from street dealers and from dispensaries were similar and shared characteristics.
The sheriff, however, did admit that California's medical marijuana law did have good intentions behind it, but it has been corrupted a surge of healthy people obtaining licenses from doctors.
This week it was announced that he and Senator Dianne Feinstein would co-chair the campaign against Prop 19, the ballot initiative to legalize the drug.