Drug Enforcement Administration agents raided 10 medical marijuana dispensaries across Los Angeles on Wednesday 25 July 2007, only minutes after the City Council placed a moratorium on new dispensaries so rules could be drafted to regulate them.[1] The Associated Press reported that agents served search warrants at 10 locations across the county the same day city leaders moved to restrain the crackdown on dispensaries allowed under state law.[2]
The largest raid hit the California Patients Group at 6208 Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood, where an estimated 200 people gathered to protest while Los Angeles police officers handled only perimeter control.[3] The collective served more than a thousand patients over the age of fifty and was a focal point of patient activism.[4] Staff and patients were reported held inside the dispensary during the raid, and agents broke down the front door though it was unlocked.[3]
Council against the DEA
Councilman Dennis Zine, a former LAPD officer, called the timing deliberate intimidation and demanded the DEA stop threatening landlords who rented to dispensaries.[3] Three weeks later the LAPD told the council it would keep assisting federal raids, saying it did not want to damage its relationship with the DEA, while the DEA spokeswoman said the agency would not reveal why it chose the ten facilities and that the warrants remained under seal.[5]
