At about 2 p.m. on 30 August 2006, an undercover DEA agent carrying a fake prescription tried to buy marijuana inside the Trichome Healing Caregivers dispensary in Van Nuys, the first collective to serve patients in the San Fernando Valley.[1] A security guard who spotted the agent’s gun stopped him, the agent radioed for help, and nearly a dozen federal agents with guns drawn stormed in and held everyone on the floor.[1]
The agents had arrived without a warrant.[2] After several hours they obtained one from Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brett Klein and, with a safecracker, seized pounds of marijuana and other supplies along with cash, computers, records and the surveillance tapes that had recorded the incident.[1] Staff were held for the 12-hour raid without food, water or access to lawyers.[1] No arrests were made and no charges had been filed.[1][2]
DEA spokeswoman Sarah Pullen said the agent had been there on an intelligence-gathering operation and that no raid had been planned; it happened only after the agent felt he was not being allowed to leave.[1] Patient advocates protested outside during the raid, and on 6 September nearly 200 people demonstrated at the federal building on Van Nuys Boulevard.[1] The raid raised questions about cooperation between the DEA and local narcotics officers, which an LAPD spokeswoman denied, saying local police had no knowledge of the operation.[1][2]
