Feds bust med. marijuana operations, again

[OiledMandible]

Marijuana dispensary raided in Clearlake
By Elizabeth Wilson -- Staff writer
Article Last Updated: 05/30/2008 08:58:43 PM PDT

Holistic Solutions, a medical marijuana dispensary in Clearlake, was raided by... (The Record-Bee)

LAKE COUNTY -- The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted medical marijuana dispensary raids across the Bay Area Wednesday, according to Director of Cal NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) Dale Gieringer.

One of the dispensaries was Holistic Solutions in Clearlake owned by Hidden Valley Lake resident Ken Estes, 50, whose additional dispensaries in San Mateo and Richmond and grow sites in Oakland, San Leandro and Humboldt County were also raided. He said Friday he plans to either "reopen or relocate" the facilities, which are now shut down.

The raids in the Bay Area received widespread media coverage due to the fact that after the raid, two men allegedly broke into the facility in Oakland to apparently steal pot left behind, Estes said.

"I think something must be wrong when the public can get into the building after a raid. It compromises the security of the building it wasn't locked down. They broke all the doors open and tore a screen apart so you could just reach your arm in there and open it. They left bags of pot there," Estes said.

DEA officials could not be reached for comment Friday.

Gieringer called the raids "a slip-shod operation down here."

"The DEA bungled security during the raid. They hung around there for the better part of the day, with bags of pot lying around. A couple of kids tried to steal some," Gieringer said.

Estes said his sites in Richmond and San Mateo have 500 medical marijuana patients per day, while the one in Clearlake sees about 30.

Estes has been involved in medical marijuana dispensing for 10 years.

He said a pound of dried marijuana, $2,000 in cash was taken and a sign was knocked down at the Clearlake dispensary.

"It's very detrimental to patients. I've been watching a lot of patients, some getting out of wheelchairs, some crying and saying where can I go?' In Clearlake, they're going to have to drive 30 minutes or an hour to another facility to get medicine," Estes said.

While he had a dispensary in San Diego raided four years ago, he said "this is the first time I personally experienced a raid. It's pretty intimidating. It was pretty heavy-handed."


http://www.record-bee.com/ci_9433676

Aaaaaaand the abuse of state law by the federal govt continues...

The Man in charge honestly must get off on showing the state govts who's "boss." Disgusting.

[crunchyblack]

What else would you expect from the mentally deficient DEA.

[Lobsang]

Aaaaaaand the abuse of state law by the federal govt continues...

Are not state militias supposed to deal with things like this?

[Swift Serenity]

no i dont think so.. didnt the feds bust something else b4 that was much bigger than this?