cannabisnews.com: DEA Raids 11 Marijuana Outlets





DEA Raids 11 Marijuana Outlets
Posted by CN Staff on January 18, 2007 at 06:24:39 PT
By Tami Abdollah, Times Staff Writer
Source: Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles -- Federal agents Wednesday raided 11 medical marijuana outlets in Los Angeles County, seizing several thousand pounds of processed drug, hundreds of marijuana plants, an array of guns and bagfuls of cash.The simultaneous raids, part of an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, were the largest such operation in the county in recent memory. Five dispensaries in West Hollywood were raided with the other six in Venice, Hollywood, Sherman Oaks and Woodland Hills.
The action by federal agents angered some local officials and was taken despite a state law permitting possession and cultivation of marijuana for qualified medical patients.Officials said that more than 20 people were detained for questioning but no charges have been filed. Authorities would not release information about any other people possibly detained at the dispensaries.Sarah Pullen, spokeswoman for the DEA's Los Angeles field division, said agents seized large quantities of marijuana-laced edibles that included "anything from ice cream bars to lollipops to cookies to candies and candy bars."In West Hollywood, agents in bulletproof vests, sunglasses, gloves and face masks piled out of the stores — four of which were on Santa Monica Boulevard — with boxes and black trash bags full of seized evidence while protesters booed and shouted, "State's rights!" and "DEA go away!" among other slogans.At the Farmacy, agents loaded three cars with bags as amateur documentary filmmakers and medical marijuana users pushed against police tape. The raid and protest clogged traffic, and motorists honked their horns to show support for the demonstrators.In all, Pullen said, agents seized well over 100 boxes of evidence and continued their work past 10 p.m. Snipped:Complete Article: http://tinyurl.com/2dht9aSource: Los Angeles Times (CA)Author:  Tami Abdollah, Times Staff WriterPublished: January 18, 2007 Copyright: 2007 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comWebsite: http://www.latimes.com/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #12 posted by Storm Crow on January 19, 2007 at 06:47:14 PT
We are falling behind on that poll!
Just voted it that poll that was mentioned and we are losing ground! The poll stands at 81% (1446 votes) for; 15% (263 %) against; and 4% (72 votes) don't know. Get voting folks! (I know we are at 81%- a landslide, but with the recent pot vs Alzheimer's report recently, I thought we might do a bit better!)Also, I have long held the idea that government STARTED as a bunch of neolithic hoodlums running a halfway honest "protection" racket! Our government isn't even halfway honest, lately. They ride in, take names and and anything not bolted down! Whatever happened to "We, the people"? And I, too, refuse to get a MMJ card for fear of my government. It ain't nobody's business but my own! 
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Comment #11 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on January 18, 2007 at 23:29:54 PT
"The DEA needs to be redeployed..."
I was thinking of saying something about how the troops in the War on MJ need to be redeployed only seconds before seeing BGreen's comment.That's what I love about this board. Lot's of times I'll be thinking of something to say, and then I'll see someone has already written almost exactly the same thing. Saves me the hard part of actually writing it down.
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on January 18, 2007 at 11:02:38 PT
BGreen
Now you're home and safe and that is good. You mentioned the rude people. I have always felt that Republicans just bullied their way and Democrats say hey if you want it that bad have it. That is how I am. Good kind people win in the end. You're a winner.
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Comment #9 posted by BGreen on January 18, 2007 at 10:54:10 PT
Yes, my homecoming has been less than fun
We left the resort in Mexico yesterday under a sunny sky and temperatures in the mid 80's, got to the airport and eventually figured out that American Airlines had canceled our return flight to Dallas without telling us or anyone else.I got suspicious when the flight just disappeared from the departure board, but then I couldn't locate anybody from my airline to find out anything.I finally found someone at another gate and they confirmed that our flight had been can celled due to ice in Dallas and we should wait for them to try to reschedule us.Very long story short, while we were nice to them and patient, some rude Americans came up yelling at them and they got rebooked before we even got a chance.We stood in a line and got boarding passes on a flight that had been delayed for several hours, and it was just starting to board so we were overjoyed.We were in Group 6, the last group to board, so the plane was almost full, and the gate agent came up and took our boarding passes from us. Crap!We asked another lady if that was good or bad and she said "bad." They had overbooked the flight and we no longer had seats. Double crap!We were finally apologized to and told that they'd try and see what flights they had on Thursday.NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!We were crushed! Those rude Americans, the same ones that give us a bad name all across this world, got on that plane and we were going to be stuck in the airport for at least sixteen hours?We sat for a while watching the last people board and the agent announced 3 names to report to that gate. I guess it was no-shows. There was a glimmer of hope.Then I heard "Green party" and we were going home!Our delayed flight arrived in Dallas about 4 hours late, but it was a mere 45 minutes later than our scheduled flight would have arrived, so we were set.Our connecting flight was delayed by 30 minutes so we split an $8 burger and each drank a $5 pint of Guinness, caught our flight and made it back to our car ... buried under a half inch coating of ice.We had to bang on the car with our fists just to break the ice around the doors before I could even get them unlocked.Here I am with nothing more than a "hoodie," jeans and socks under my Birkenstock sandals spending 25 minutes scraping ice off of our car, wondering what in the world our house was going to look like even if I did get the car clear.The drive home was slow, mainly because the ice covering the wheels was causing the tires to be out of balance, and the number of broken trees we saw was shocking.We saw ice covered trees all the way to our street, but we pulled into our driveway and we had very little ice covering our trees! Praise the Lord!Our power had been on the whole time and the protected valley we live in kept us warm enough to prevent the massive ice accumulations.I'll write more later.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on January 18, 2007 at 10:10:49 PT
BGreen
Welcome home. Bummer isn't it?
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Comment #7 posted by BGreen on January 18, 2007 at 10:07:59 PT
I agree, Patrick
Oh boy, Dear Jesus, look what I get to come back to the "land of the free" to find.I wouldn't tell the sacks of crap that work in law enforcement ANYTHING about my life, let alone about my health and medicine.The DEA needs to be redeployed to one of the four branches of the military, and then they can go murder some Iraqi and Afghani children just like el Presidente "Bobo" Bush enjoys.Oh, Dios mio.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on January 18, 2007 at 09:16:20 PT
Survey from NBC Washington, DC
California is one of 11 states that, to some degree, permit marijuana to be grown and used for medicinal purposes. Do you agree with these laws? Current Results: Yes -- 176 -- 88% No -- 18 -- 9% Don't know -- 5 -- 3% Please Vote: http://www.nbc4.com/news/10783659/detail.html
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on January 18, 2007 at 08:52:55 PT
goneposthole
Isn't that how the Mafia worked years ago? They would bust up a person's business if they didn't follow what they said. That's what I think of when I read about raids like these.
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Comment #4 posted by goneposthole on January 18, 2007 at 08:48:57 PT
they're criminals
They're stealing medical cannabis from the growers. That's what they're doing wrong.Nothing more than a den of thieves like Saddam and Osama.Send in the Marines to deal a death blow to the DEA criminal bums.Make America free again, overthrow the corrupted US government.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on January 18, 2007 at 07:40:06 PT
Patrick 
You are fortunate if you are healthy. I have been fairly healthy until recently and I realize how easy we can go downhill. It's time they stop this nonsense and let people have the medicine they need without fear from our own government.
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Comment #2 posted by Patrick on January 18, 2007 at 07:29:43 PT
Snipet from another article on this
Here's why I wouldn't register as a medical marijuana user even if I needed cannabis medically:"But obviously we are looking for marijuana and other illegal drugs, marijuana edibles and evidence of ongoing criminal activity and anything from paperwork to documents — you name it," Pullen said.It's a war and the DEA wants your name so they can come after you. It's a war they are waging on their own citizens. In relation to the kidnapped boys near St. Louis, CNN reported the other day that over 800,000 children go missing every year. The vast majority are found alive.However, I continue to find it disturbing our federal law enforcement people have the time to make these raids in California instead of doing real investigative work like locating those children? 
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on January 18, 2007 at 07:19:22 PT
Related Article from The Associated Press
Activists Protest DEA Raid On Pot Clinics In L.A.***January 18, 2007(AP) LOS ANGELES -- Federal drug agents raided nearly a dozen medical marijuana clinics, seizing several thousand pounds of processed marijuana, along with weapons and money, authorities said.Several people were detained, although no arrests were made after five dispensaries in West Hollywood and six others in Venice, Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley were searched Wednesday, said Sarah Pullen, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.Pullen declined to provide details of the investigation, saying the search warrants remained under seal."But obviously we are looking for marijuana and other illegal drugs, marijuana edibles and evidence of ongoing criminal activity and anything from paperwork to documents - you name it," Pullen said.City officials in West Hollywood said they were surprised by the action, learning of the raid as it was happening.West Hollywood spokeswoman Helen Goss said the city has a "long-standing commitment" to the use of medical marijuana for people suffering from illnesses like HIV and AIDS.Agents in bulletproof vests, gloves and face masks left a West Hollywood storefront with boxes and trash bags filled, as about 50 protesters booed and shouted "states' rights."At one dispensary, The Farmacy on Santa Monica Boulevard, amateur videographers and others mobbed officers filling three cars with evidence.California voters approved Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act, in 1996. It made marijuana available by prescription for medicinal uses.The DEA, which does not recognize California laws legalizing medical marijuana use, has recently increased its enforcement."Today's enforcement operations show that these establishments are nothing more than drug-trafficking organizations bringing criminal activities to our neighborhoods and drugs near our children and schools," said Ralph W. Partridge, head of the DEA in Los Angeles. Copyright: 2007 The Associated Presshttp://kutv.com/topstories/topstories_story_018090847.html
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