Police and federal agents in Santa Barbara, California have executed raids on 4 medical marijuana dispensaries in the area in the last couple days. The operation was spear-headed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the I. R. S.

As usual, no arrests were made but cannabis, money and property were seized. Dispensaries raided include Miramar Collective and Pacific Coast Collective. PCC’s operator is already faces separate charges involving the dispensary, and his home was visited by law enforcement as well.

Sgt. Riley Harwood, a spokesperson for the Santa Barbara Police Department, said, “Detectives have used a variety of means to investigate these locations, including interviewing customers, conducting undercover purchases of marijuana, and searching facilities. In every instance thus far,” he said, “their investigations revealed that these storefronts were operating as for-profit business enterprises; conducting retail sales to customers, or ‘members,’ and purchasing from wholesale vendors bulk quantities of marijuana grown outside of the region.”

These allegations have yet to be proven, but if they are true they point out one of the flaws in CA Proposition 215, and that is this whole concept of “non-profit” businesses.

Yes, it makes medical marijuana dispensaries seem like charities or benevolent medicine fairies. But it’s time to step into the real world. The U.S. economy is stagnating and profit creates jobs. People need jobs to make money and put food on the table for their families. Profits spur efficiency, innovation and most importantly, expansion.

Without people striving for profits this country wouldn’t have had the greatness that is now slipping away. It’s time to get the feds out of medical marijuana and stop treating California like it’s some sort of hippie commune. Let’s bring marijuana into the 21st century and fuel the engine of growth.

For now the federal government is making sure many dispensaries and collectives in CA are the purest form of non-profit businesses: businesses that don’t function at all.

Source: http://independent.com