The federal Drug Enforcement Administration raided El Camino Wellness Center at 2511 Connie Drive in Sacramento on 11 June 2012 and shut down the city’s first permitted medical-marijuana dispensary, which had served thousands of patients since 2008 with unionised staff.[1][2] No charges had been filed against the operators, but the Internal Revenue Service seized the facility’s bank accounts.[1][2] The dispensary had sued Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner the previous December, saying the federal crackdown violated patients’ rights.[1]
A wider crackdown
Since October 2011 the Justice Department had sent letters to more than 300 dispensary operators and landlords across California threatening prosecution and forfeiture.[1][2] In Sacramento County almost all of nearly 100 dispensaries in unincorporated areas had closed, and in the city only 18 of the original 34 permitted dispensaries remained, many under federal threat including El Camino.[1][2] Patient advocates organised a protest rally at the federal building, saying the administration was targeting state-compliant dispensaries despite public promises, while officials including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Board of Equalization member Betty Yee and state Attorney General Kamala Harris opposed the crackdown.[1][2]
