The Los Angeles Criminal Law Blog

Drug Crime in Los Angeles

Drug crime and drug laws have become very controversial in Los Angeles, especially when it comes to enforcing medical marijuana laws, drug possession and underage drinking. This is why state representatives are constantly looking to change drug laws and sentences for those convicted of drug crimes. Those who are convicted of drug crimes may even have to face non-criminal penalties such as ineligibility for student loans and qualifications for federal assistance programs.

If you need legal advice on any criminal law issue in Los Angeles, including drug crimes, you should speak with a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney. Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys can assess your legal issue and help develop a good defense strategy. You can find a local attorney by viewing FindLaw's directory of Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys.


Recently in Drug Crime Category

Alexis Neiers' Sister 'Pretty Wild' Too? Arrested for Drugs

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Tess Taylor, the equally-troubled sister of convicted thief and heroin user, Alexis Neiers, was arrested earlier this month on a felony drug charge, reports TMZ.

Taylor was allegedly in possession of a controlled substance and placed into custody on January 9. She was reportedly held on $10,000 bail and released two days later.

Taylor is a model and former cast member of the reality TV show “Pretty Wild,” publicized as “an unfiltered look at Hollywood via three sisters whose jaw-dropping looks and unstructured upbringing make them magnets for Tinseltown’s temptations.”

Cal. Supreme Court Tackles Medical Marijuana Dispensary Law

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Tackling an issue that many residents in the Los Angeles are familiar with, the California Supreme Court announced it will review city and county regulations banning medical marijuana dispensaries, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Several cities in and near the Los Angeles area have previously weighed in on the issue, with one of the most recent decisions coming from an Orange County Superior Court judge allowing Anaheim to ban the pot dispensaries.

LA Fire Captain Busted in LAPD Heroin Sting

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The Los Angeles City Fire Department is going to have to put out some major public relations fires after one of its captains was caught in a Los Angeles Police Department heroin sting, reports CBS Los Angeles.

Capt. Matthew Phillipsen was one of several people arrested on Wednesday afternoon for allegedly attempting to purchase heroin. The arrests went down as part of a sting operation conducted by LAPD narcotics officers and reportedly occurred one block from the fire station.

"They were posing as sellers of heroin, heroin dealers, and apparently an L.A. City Fire Dept. captain purchased this bogus heroin from one of the undercover officers," said Det. Gus Villanueva.

Rand Study: Less LA Pot Dispensaries Means More Crimes?

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Authorities are in a huff after a Rand Corp. study concluded that closing down Los Angeles pot dispensaries actually resulted in more crimes being committed in the area, reports the Los Angeles Times.

It seems common sense that stores offering jars of drugs and registers full of cash would be targets for criminal activity. But not so, says the Santa Monica-based researchers. Instead, crime actually increased in areas where hundreds of pot dispensaries were formerly located -- by 59 percent in some areas.

College Professor Accused of Leading Drug Ring, Devils Disciples

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It’s a story that could have been ripped straight from an episode of hit television show “Breaking Bad”: Cal State San Bernardino professor, Stephen Kinzey, is suspected of leading a drug ring and is now considered a fugitive, reports the Los Angeles Times. In addition to being the ring leader, Kinzey is also suspected of leading a chapter of the Devils Disciples motorcycle gang, making him a bit more hardcore than even Walter White.

Authorities are aggressively searching for Kinzey, who is ironically a professor of kinesiology, after they discovered a pound of methamphetamines, rifles, handguns and biker paraphernalia at his home on Friday, according to Sheriff Rod Hoops.

Anaheim Can Ban Pot Dispensaries, O.C. Court Rules

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Medical marijuana users in Anaheim may have to find other means to get their "OG Kush" meds besides pot dispensaries. An Orange County Superior Court judge ruled that Anaheim has the right to ban pot dispensaries within city limits, despite state law legalizing medical marijuana, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Anaheim's ban has been the subject of dispute in one of California's most-watched medical marijuana cases, according to the Times. It has gone back and forth between the appellate and trial courts for four years before Judge David Chaffee ruled that local ordinances regulating distribution were not preempted by state law.

It looks like the trustees deceased actress Farrah Fawcett appointed to look after her son, Redmond O'Neal, and his $6 million inheritance have been slipping on their duties; the 26-year-old was arrested on drug charges, again, reports KTLA News.

Santa Monica police reportedly found heroin in his car when they pulled him over for a routine traffic stop after he ran a red light on Tuesday, and he was arrested at the scene for narcotics possession.

We reported in an earlier blog post that former major league baseball star Lenny Dykstra was facing felony charges after allegedly embezzling money from a bankruptcy estate. Yet according to new reports, the athlete's criminal charges don't stop with just bankruptcy fraud.

According to KTLA, Dykstra is now facing 23 felony counts, the latest of which are for attempted grand theft auto and drug possession. The three-time major league All-Star outfielder has been accused of leasing various high-end vehicles from several dealerships in the Los Angeles area by allegedly providing fraudulent information. Following his fraud arrest last April, authorities conducted a search of Dykstra's Encino home and reportedly found cocaine, ecstasy and a synthetic human-growth hormone.

Canyon High School Teacher Arrested For Drug Possession

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A 29-year-old teacher at Canyon High School in Santa Clarita was arrested for drug posession on Saturday after allegedly providing controlled substances to an undercover cop at a Motel 6. Not only will this math teacher likely face criminal charges, but he may also face disciplinary action with his job at the school.

Ventura County Sheriff's officials say that Ashraf Hindi promised a female seeking companionship on Craigslist that he would bring cocaine, marijuana and alcohol to the hotel in Camarillo, reports KTLA. Yet it turns out that the female was working with sheriff's investigators all along. Authorities took Hindi into custody after the sting operation and counducted a search of his home.

Narcotics investigators are calling the recent Santa Ana marijuana growth operation one of the biggest drug busts that they've ever conducted, according to KTLA News. Officers with the Santa Ana Police Department can easily say that the warehouse had a high-tech operation of marijuana cultivation with an estimated $130,000 worth of marijuana being moved from the facility each month.

Officers investigated the marijuana growth operation after receiving an anonymous tip that a business in southeast Santa Ana was illegally growing marijuana. It does look like the "business" is not considered legitimate, since police say that the people operating the warehouse hadn't had a business license since 2009. On Thursday, the city's narcotics detectives were able to raid the warehouse in Santa Ana's industrial area after obtaining a search warrant.