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Opinion 8

The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton

Volume 112 Issue 6

Unlicensed cannabis dispensaries seek legal loophole

Police chief retires, again VANESSA SIGUENZA Asst. Editor

ROSEMARY MONTALVO / DAILY TITAN

Ash Organics, along with Fullerton Exotics, are some of the dispensaries the city of Fullerton is trying to eliminate.

SINCLAIR ANDRUSKA Editor

DILAN FARIES CARLOS CORDOVA Staff Writers

Fullerton has been playing hideand-seek with illegal cannabis dispensaries since it made the indsutry illegal citywide in Feb. 2021. On. May 10, one of these dispensaries, Fullerton Exotics, filed an appeal to remain open, despite the city determining it was not a valid dispensary. According to documents reviewed by the Daily Titan, throughout Dec. 2021, Fullerton issued multiple

citations to Fullerton Exotics’s property owners, Barry and Brenda Wilson Codispoti, the property managers, Clor Realty, and the business tenant Fullerton Exotics. Clor Realty called Cynthia Velazquez-Gil, Fullerton Code Enforcement officer, on bringing their property into compliance. However, no there was no action taken to stop the business. Despite multiple citations sent to the business tenant, property owners and property managers, the illegal business carried on. On April 24, Fullerton hearing officer John Van Doren determined in

a written decision that Fullerton Exotics was a public nuisance. When Fullerton Exotics filed the appeal in May, represented by Damian Nassiri, they claimed that they operate as a Primary Caregiver, a medical operation which provides cannabis to no more than five patients, according to state law. This distinction would make Fullerton Exotics exempt from the public nuisance code. The city countered this argument with evidence of human sign twirlers advertising the buisness and reports from inspectors showing customers enter the storefront empty-handed

and leaving with a small paper bag. A Fullerton code enforcement officer, Cecelia Vasquez, said she received a call from a father claiming his son had purchased mushrooms at Fullerton Exotics. Codispoti, Clor Realty and Nassiri didn’t respond to requests for comment. If Fullerton wishes to continue enforcing the public nuisance code, one potential solution to combat this is to become a charter city. Charter cities SEE GRASS

Broadcast program returns as club Al Día redesigns itself after faculty advisor resigns NOLLYANNE DELACRUZ Editor

Al Día, Cal State Fullerton’s Spanish-language news broadcast, will return this semester as a weekly, student run production. Three weeks before this semester started, it was announced that Al Día would not be offered as a class. Jesús Ayala, the former faculty adviser for the broadcast, resigned from his SEE COMEBACK

VISIT US AT: DAILYTITAN.COM

NOLLYANNE DELACRUZ / DAILY TITAN

Andres Martinez, Brenda Elizondo, Alan Ruelas, and Bey-Ling Sha, Dean of Communications attended the orientation on Friday.

Former Cal State Fullerton operations captain, Carl Jones, retired three years ago with hopes of more free time. However, once he received a call from CSUF President Virjee last year, asking if he would consider coming back as an interim chief of police until a search committee could secure a permanent chief, he weighed his options. Jones became chief of police once again, serving the Titan community since 1999. Before that, Jones served the United States Marine Corps for 20 years. However, after his year-long appointment as an interim passed, Jones said a new candidate will assume the chief of police position in mid-to-late October. Jones said his first position at CSUF was a sergeant, where he assumed the duties of patrol shift supervisor. He said he was on the front line of defense to crimes or incidents that strayed from good order and discipline on campus. He also became a member of the CSU Critical Response Unit as a lead instructor for defense tactics, impact weapons, tactical communications and crowd management, according to the university police website. “One of the things I’ve always practiced and I’ve always preached is our approach to policing whether it’s on a traffic stop or just walking through the quads on campus, meeting and greeting people or ultimately if there is a justification for a use of force there has to be a humanistic approach to doing that,” Jones said. “In other words, under those same or similar circumstances, treat people the way you would like to be treated. Don’t go overboard with it.” From July 2000 to November 2019, Jones became a part-time cadet counselor and tactical officer at the Rio Hondo Basic Police Academy. CSUF PD Captain Willey said that when he first crossed paths with Jones at the police academy, he was intimidated. But, overtime Jones became a mentor to Capt. Willey throughout his career. Lieutenant Robert Mullaney said that Jones has effectively taught him how to communicate regularly with his team, engage constituents and do SEE RETIRE