LOS ANGELES, Calif. (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — It is said that Obama has stopped the economy from falling off a cliff, but in Los Angeles it is the Cannabis Industry that is saving landlords of commercial properties, says Pastor Craig Rubin. One year ago Rubin, founder of Craig X Academy, an on-line marijuana school that teaches students in a course called, “Profit from Pot,” rented an abandoned building in the SORO district to provide medical cannabis to qualified patients. Rubin has recently bombarded the Internet with ads for his service and is marketing the project under www.profitfrompot.com, but finds himself in a fight with the City of Los Angeles to save his pot club.
Medical marijuana is supposed to be not-for-profit and Pastor Rubin set up a not-for-profit religious group, Temple 420, to do just that. However, after an appearance on Showtime’s hit series Weeds where Rubin played the owner of a medical marijuana club Rubin’s house of worship was raided. Rubin and his wife lost their house and lost all their vehicles. The City of Los Angeles spent millions of dollars closing down Temple 420 where Rubin paid over $10,000 a month rent to be on the famous Hollywood Blvd.
After two years of economic struggling, Rubin and his wife have seven children, the judge in the case (Rubin was convicted of selling marijuana and sentenced to five years in jail, but since he had no prior criminal record the judge gave him probation), Judge Drew Edwards, ruled that he could, “Own and operate a marijuana facility (club).”
The City of Los Angeles created a moratorium on marijuana clubs, but created a hardship for people like Rubin who had previously owned a club and were shut down because of DEA letters to landlords. Even though Rubin had been arrested and was charged with selling marijuana he knew what he was doing was legal. He had only been in operation for 38 days when he was raided, but continued to operate on Hollywood Blvd. for months after the arrest until the DEA wrote a letter to Rubin’s landlord threatening to seize his mini-mall if Rubin was not evicted.
To view a video of Los Angeles District Attorney complaining that Rubin, while out on bail, continues to provide medical marijuana to patients six days a week (Rubin closed for the Sabbath Fri. Sundown to Sat. Sundown), visit: www.youtube.com/user/ProfitfromPot#play/all/uploads-all/0/z_cu8KZCk_w .
Rubin added, “I continued to teach the Ten Commandments, too, and the Testimony of Jesus.”
Rubin firmly believes the reason he was raided was because he was on the show Weeds. “When the cops came in for 30 minutes all they talked about was Weeds this and Weeds that. It was as they wanted to be on TV. In fact, I think one of the arresting officers worked on the show as a consultant, too.” Rubin not only acted on the show, but was a cannabis consultant who was complimented by star Kevin Nealon in numerous interviews as the real key to the show’s realistic approach to portraying the 420 Cannabis Culture.
This morning on Mancow’s show out of Chicago, and on KABC’s (790AM) Doug McIntyre in the Morning show, Rubin was interviewed and stated that he feels this might be “racially motivated on the part of the council who brought Rubin’s collective, The Beverly Hills Green Cross, before the council.” Herb Wesson is an African-American council and, according to Rubin, there is an African-American run dispensary across the street that came after Rubin, that is also operating under a hardship permit, but was not called before the council.
Here is a link to their application: http://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=05-0872-S583 .
The Home of Compassion is located at 2461 Robertson, the Beverly Hills Green Cross is located at 2370 Robertson. These two medical marijuana clubs are literally across the street and yet both are staying in business because they support different clientele and the tremendous demand for medical cannabis. “We like our neighbors and they send us business and we send them some clients. Beverly Hills Green Cross specializes in helping the elderly because of the way our place is set up so clean and friendly.”
Rubin says he has patients in their 70s and 80s who feel comfortable in his Biblical setting. Rubin runs his collective as a church and is dispensing not only cannabis, but the Word to patients who use cannabis. Rubin is not claiming the owners of the club across the street are acting in a racist way, but thinks “the council member violating the civil rights by not giving equal protection under the law as demanded in the 14th Amendment of the Bill of Rights.” Councilman Wesson claims to have thoroughly analyzed the neighborhood yet blatantly failed to mention in his report there is another marijuana club across the street owned by African-Americans that started after Rubin and his club.
Rubin took a building that had been empty for over three years and fixed it up with his children who now work at the shop. There are a total of five marijuana clubs on Robertson Blvd. with one directly across the street from a children’s pool, Beverlywood Swim School. There is even a medical marijuana evaluation place on the strip. One on the corner across from the Jewish Kabalah center and one next to a Jewish Schul. There has not been an increase of crime in the neighborhood and most complaints, Rubin says, “Seem to be coming from our competition trying to use the City to harass us, so they can have more of a monopoly on selling pot.” Rubin went on, “We are the most inspected building in Los Angeles with seven inspectors having been out to see me since April 1st when I put up my sign with the large green cross.”
Rubin, Patrick Duff of “Royal Temple of Zion,” another religious based medical marijuana collective and “Discount Relief Collective,” announced they would donate an 700 eighths of medical cannabis so that the first several hundred patients to speak will receive medicine to cover the cost of parking, gas and taking their time from work.
Los Angeles Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee will consider “hardship exemptions,” an application to operate for medical marijuana collectives. In order to receive the free medicine patients will need to fill out a card to address the hardship exemptions scheduled that day and speak for one minute. “We are doing this because sick people are not rich and it is costly to participate in democracy, to pay to park downtown, to take time off of work and many people are afraid to speak out for fear of retribution.”
Rubin claims, “We are simply taking a page out of ’60s activism. We need to clog the room with speakers, make it take an hour or two for each hearing instead of the 8-10 hearings an hour they have been doing.”
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