The success of illegal cannabis shops and the struggles of legal ones in the heart of L.A.’s Eastside offer a stark illustration of how California’s legalization of marijuana has gone wrong.
“The state has created a breeding ground for bribery and favoritism,” Romero said. “This is not hyperbole. These are facts.” Few cities in California were as bullish on pot as Lynwood, one of a cluster of small towns in southeast L.A. County that have long struggled with financial woes and municipal corruption.
Councilwoman Marisela Santana, who received $15,000, acknowledged signing the pledge. She said she already favored the association’s proposals because they were good for the city. “The best way to ensure that the cannabis industry grows in such a way that it doesn’t harm the community is to engage the industry and make policy decisions that benefit the Lynwood community first,” Santana said.
Interest groups are allowed to ask election candidates to promise support for legislative causes and to offer campaign contributions as long as there isn’t an explicit cash-for-votes deal, legal experts said. Aide Castro, right, at a Lynwood City Council meeting in 2019. Two years earlier, Castro was on the payroll of the giant dispensary tracking app Weedmaps, earning $10,000 a month as a consultant — income she didn’t report on her financial statements as required by state law until she was questioned by The Times.
“Maybe they’re completely ignoring their financial interests.... Maybe they’re making decisions that are not in the best interests of their constituents because they’re trying to put some money in their pocket,” said Tracy Westen, a government ethics expert and founder of the now-shuttered Center for Governmental Studies. “At the very least, it becomes a public confidence issue.”
four years ago that county and federal authorities launched criminal investigations of Pulido. He was never charged and denied wrongdoing.that while mayor he received a $10,000 consulting payment from Touchstone, a licensed cannabis company operating in the city. Pulido didn’t report income from Touchstone on his statement of economic interests.
Nobody saw this coming? 🥱
NEWS_MAKER Feature. Not bug.
So why repeat the mistake with ESG companies?
Compared to the corruption of Villanueva they're harmless amateurs
21st Century Tobacco, slavery again next
Soooo much cash
Politicians were corrupt long before weed was legalized so this headline is just utter nonsense.
so the problem with legal cannabis is that someone needs to regulate it, and the people that regulate it are often corrupt is this an argument against legal cannabis? because if so that's equally true of every other business venture and the problem lies with corruption of office
The state is $1 trillion in debt, mostly from unfunded pensions, so it's not exactly the epitome of honest business practices.
yeah! keep the politicians out of it!
But are they giving gun permits to their donors? 😙
But are they giving gun permits to their donors? 😙
CW1 was later identified as Melahat Rafiei, a high ranking official in the Democratic Party and influential political consultant who owns a cannabis-consulting firm WeCann – and Progressive Solutions Consulting , a political campaign organization deeply embedded in LB politics
What a surprise. Crooked people doing crooked stuff.
Just one that we know of…
Now do LongBeach.
Cash and carry
So like big pharma lobbyists?
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