Pubdate: Thu, 25 Aug 2011 Source: Sacramento News & Review (CA) Copyright: 2011 Dave Mapes Contact: http://newsreview.com/sacto/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/540 Author: Dave Mapes Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n522/a07.html IT'S A SHAKEDOWN Re "A waste of resources" by Jeff vonKaenel (SN&R Greenlight, August 18): Nobody missed the point but the [Sacramento County] Board of Supervisors. Mr. vonKaenel hit it on the head. The board and their "special teams" are walking into fully legit collectives (which have been established in the county for a long time) and telling them that they have to pay a fine to keep operating, yet the county has no ordinance on paper or in effect. What is that called? Oh yeah-a shakedown! Better yet, let's just call it what it is: organized crime. If I was not too smart, I'd say the county is acting like a bunch of Mafia strong-arms telling business owners they must pay to stay, without anything to back their demands. If you are so concerned about the collective owners acting inappropriately and opening without an ordinance in effect, ask yourself this: How can they open in Sacramento County without the county's approval? The answer is: They can't! The county must approve their business application-license-permit to operate. On top of that, the collectives must pay special assessment fees to the county just to open. So the club owners get the green light to open (after paying out the ass), only to turn around and see all that money is likely going toward paying a bunch of attorneys to shut the clubs down! Call me crazy, but this is ass-backwards. I live in chronic pain after nine operations in three years-including recalled implants that caused paralysis-and I'm only 30 years old. Who is going to tell me I do not have the right to medicine access? Not a damn person. The only people behind this massive move in the wrong direction are politically motivated and want the bottom dollar to be their bottom dollar. Dave Mapes Sacramento - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom