back to the street

Officials suprised by DEA raid on pot clinics
Tami Abdollah, LA Times, 01/17/07

Federal drug agents raided eleven medical marijuana outlets in Los Angeles Wednesday afternoon, seizing several thousand pounds of processed marijuana, along with weapons and money, as part of an ongoing investigation, a Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman said.

At least three people in West Hollywood were taken into custody in a raid of five outlets there. Six other outlets in Venice, Hollywood, Sherman Oaks and Woodland Hills were also raided.

In West Hollywood, agents in bullet-proof vests, dark sunglasses, gloves and face masks piled out of a storefront with boxes and black trash bags stuffed full, as 50 protestors gathered, booing and shouting "States' Rights". The evidence was loaded into dark blue SUVs and vans.

At one dispensary, The Farmacy on Santa Monica Boulevard, amateur videographers and others mobbed officers piling three cars with evidence.

West Hollywood city officials said the raid took them by surprise. The West Hollywood Sheriff's station was not notified until 2 p.m., a half-hour before the raid began, said Lt. David Smith.

City spokeswoman Helen Goss said West Hollywood has a "long-standing commitment" to the use of medical marijuana for people suffering from illnesses like HIV and AIDS, and city officials said they were taken by surprise, learning of the raid as it was going on.

California voters approved Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act in 1996, which made marijuana available by prescription for medicinal uses. The federal drug agency, which does not recognize California laws legalizing medical marijuana use, recently stepped up enforcement, contending that the amount of money involved proves that the burgeoning dispensaries are nothing more than fronts for high-stakes drug dealing.
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Federal law does in fact supersede state law. We fought a war (at least in part) over that one in the 1860's.

Prop 215 was passed over a decade ago. The wheels of federal justice grind slowly.

I wonder if this is just an intimidation tactic or if there will actually be any prosecutions as result of the raids. The last federal prosecution, U.S. vs. Edward Rosenthal, ended with Rosenthal receiving a one day sentence for his crime, a sentence which was subsequently overturned. Fear not though, the federal government is gearing up for a retrial. Much like today's raids an excellent use of government resources.