Looters will be aggressively targeting weed businesses throughout California this July 4th weekend, according to two prominent cannabis dispensary owners in San Fransisco. They warn that the same network of people that allegedly targeted cannabis businesses at the start of the protests over the death of George Floyd a month ago may use the same tactics of storming unsuspecting cannabis businesses this coming weekend.
A July 2nd Forbes.com article followed up on an Instagram post from June 29th where San Fransisco cannabis dispensary owner Alphonso Tucky Blunt warned that cannabis businesses should be prepared to be targeted over July 4th. Forbes cited several other dispensary owners who also heard the same information that Blunt was sharing.
Blunt posted a second Instagram video early Thursday with confirmation from his network of sources that “we did confirm that there is another threat this weekend for cannabis spaces to be beat up again, grows, deliveries, dispensaries, etc.,” Blunt warned.
He added that this time the Oakland Police Department “is ready for what is gonna potentially be going on.”
Just a few days prior Blunt posted a video message to urge the community to prepare to protect their businesses this weekend. “Everyone be prepared from what I’m hearing. A lot of the same stuff is going to take place on the fourth of July so make sure your business is boarded up, covered up, protected, whatever you need to do,” Blunt said in the video.
“I am hearing and OPD is confirming from their informants that they expect for large amounts of looting to go on again. They didn’t say they expect protests. They expect looting,” Blunt said in the video, adding that he wanted to get the word out to the community.
Blunt made clear that this was happening more broadly than just Oakland.
Forbes interviewed Shawn Richard of Berner’s on Haight, the Cookies brand dispensary in San Fransisco whose property damage and theft was captured on video. According to Richard, “It’s not just Oakland, they’re talking about hitting all the dispensaries all over Californai: Vallejo, Sacramento, LA, the Bay Area.”
According to Forbes, sources claimed that the city’s Office of Cannabis and the San Fransisco Police Department officers were in touch with local dispensaries to warn them and check in on their security measures, however the department wouldn’t confirm to Forbes that dispensaries were being warned.
Richard claimed that his dispensary had been cased by would-be robbers, and that he too was getting the word out about warnings that dispensaries are being targeted.
Forbes also quoted dispensary owner Ben Bleiman who claimed that he received information “word of mouth” from the industry and has “upped security” in response.
