Please be aware that in these turbulent political
times, a variety of scams are popping up. One of them involves people who may appear to you and represent themselves
as experts in the operations of collectives. It is NORML's position that you speak with an attorney regarding details
of legally operating a collective. People who appear to you claiming that they have run a collective and are experts on it
are not qualified to give legal advice. It is an automatic red flag when these individuals begin asking for pointed
questions about how you run your collective. Not only are such individuals not experts, they may be working as confidential
informants. Further information has turned up that money has been allotted to confidential informants "based on
the quality of their information". Regardless of how well you are following the law and the AG guidelines, you
are at some risk and should protect yourself. Due to the precarious nature of San Diego County's position on medical
marijuana, we advise that you err on the side of caution and discuss specific issues of YOUR collective ONLY with a qualified
attorney.
Further, you should protect yourself from potential
further harm by not allowing anyone other than your attorney, or yourself or working members of your collective to have access
to your computer. There have been reports of people who have frequented collectives to ingratiate themselves. They then
offer to "make sure the collective is doing things right". The next step is requesting access to your
computer to help you. They can easily install software that will allow them access to your computer from remote locations.
They also may be digging for information. You are placing yourself at extremely high risk by allowing people not directly
associated to your collective to have access to your computer.
Further, nobody in this community, other than law enforcement, and city or county officials can order you to comply
with their recommendations. We have also received reports of individuals entering collectives with an air of authority
and demanding compliance with what they deem to be offensive to them. People can make suggestions, and you can listen
if you choose, but there is no individual or group who has the right to "sanction" or "protect" you if
you do what they say. There are also reports of individuals offering monthly memberships for which they will "protect"
you from arrest. There is nobody who can offer that complete immunity from arrest.
We have also received reports that collectives have received payment demands that appeared to
be from the government, but were actually false letters from someone clearly committing fraud. And finally, please report
anybody who claims to guarantee that you will as some point receive a business license if you give pay them.
Again, we advise that you confer with your attorney on how best to stay protected.
If this has happened to you please contact Southern California NORML and report
these situations.
Sincerely,
Southern California NORML
619-467-1235
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