Police raided 14 medical marijuana dispensaries across the county — including four in Pacific Beach — on Sept. 9 to gather evidence at stores suspected for illegal activity. Twenty-six people connected to the dispensaries were arrested, although only two people were arraigned. San Diego police led the four-month investigation with assistance from the San Diego County District Attorney’s (DA) Office, the San Diego County Sheriff and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The DA’s office continues to analyze evidence to determine if other storeowners will be charged. “The investigation shows that these so-called business are not legal,” said San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis at a press conference Sept. 10. “They appear to be run by drug dealers who see an opening in the market and a way to make a fast buck.” The DA’s office would not specify what law enforcement was looking for as part of the search warrants because the investigation is ongoing, according to Steve Walker, deputy district attorney for the Narcotics Division. “We can’t go into the specifics of the case yet because we haven’t arraigned anybody,” Walker said. “It’s too early to divulge any of that.” Walker said complaints from neighbors spurred the police to begin an undercover investigation and to obtain a search warrant, which has since been sealed. Four Pacific Beach cooperatives were raided, including Pacific Beach Collective at 929 Turquoise St., which opened in May; Total Herbal Care at 4667 Cass St., which opened in June; the Green Kross Collective at 3415 Mission Blvd., which opened in July; and Medicinal Solutions Patients Collective at 861 Hornblend St. Store owners did not return calls for comment, but Total Herbal Care posted a notice on its website, www.medicinalmarijuanasandiego.com, which stated: “Local collectives, including Total Herbal Care, have been unjustly shut down by the San Diego police against federal mandate! We urge our patients and the supporters of Proposition 215 to write to our City Council.” At the Sept. 10 press conference, Dumanis spoke about one marijuana dispensary that reportedly had $700,000 in receipts from business conducted over the last six months, which she indicated as evidence that someone was making a profit from the cooperative. State guidelines prohibit medical marijuana cooperatives from turning a profit. According to the California attorney general’s guidelines: “Members also may reimburse the collective or cooperative for marijuana that has been allocated to them. Any monetary reimbursement that members provide to the collective or cooperative should only be an amount necessary to cover overhead costs and operating expenses.” The attorney general defines a cooperative as democratically controlled, whose earnings and savings must be used for the general welfare of its members or “equitably distributed to members in the form of cash, property, credits or services.” Cooperatives are also not supposed to purchase marijuana from outside the collective. “Instead, the cycle should be a closed circuit of marijuana cultivation and consumption with no purchases or sales to or from non-members,” states the attorney general’s guidelines. “To help prevent diversion of medical marijuana to non-medical markets, collectives and cooperatives should document each member’s contribution of labor, resources, or money to the enterprise. They also should track and record the source of their marijuana,” continues the statement. The attorney general’s guidelines for medical marijuana outlets are vague. The guidelines instruct law enforcement to watch for signs of unlawful behavior, however, which include excessive amounts of marijuana or cash, illicit drugs or sales to non-members. The attorney general’s guidelines indicate that dispensaries are not recognized under the law, although a collective that dispenses medical marijuana through a storefront may be lawful. “For example, dispensaries that merely require patients to complete a form summarily designating the business owner as their primary caregiver — and then offering marijuana in exchange for cash ‘donations’ — are likely unlawful,” state the general attorney’s guidelines.