Pubdate: Sat, 24 Nov 2007
Source: Long Beach Press-Telegram (CA)
Copyright: 2007 Los Angeles Newspaper Group
Contact:  http://www.presstelegram.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/244
Author: Tracy Manzer, Staff writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Proposition+215
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

DEA SAYS MARIJUANA RAIDS COULD CONTINUE IN LONG BEACH

Agents Say They're Probing Businesses

LONG BEACH - Tuesday's raid at a local medical marijuana clinic was 
the first of its kind for Long Beach, but it may not be the last, 
according to federal authorities.

Federal agents served the search warrant at Long Beach Compassionate 
Cooperative, 342 E. Fourth St., at about 11 a.m. Tuesday, seizing 33 
kilos of dried marijuana and about $10,000 cash, said Special Agent 
Jose Martinez, a spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement 
Administration's Los Angeles Field Division.

Agents also arrested a man listed as the dispensary's operator, Martinez said.

He was identified Friday as Samuel Matthew Fata.

Fata was booked on a charge of possession of narcotics for 
distribution and released the same day, Martinez said.

Control of the dispensary was turned back to the operator once the 
search warrant was executed, the agent said.

Since the search warrant, however, the dispensary's doors have 
remained locked and a sign reading "closed indefinitely," hangs in 
the front of the business.

Tuesday's raid was the first of its kind in Long Beach since the 1996 
passage of state Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act that 
legalized marijuana for patients with debilitating and terminal 
medical conditions.

Although state laws authorize the distribution of medical marijuana 
in certain circumstances, federal law still prohibits distribution of 
the drug for any purpose, Martinez explained.

Letters were sent to the property owners who lease space to all the 
dispensaries in the city a few months ago. In the letters, property 
owners were told illegal business was being conducted in the 
locations and must cease immediately, Martinez said.

Rumors were sparked by the warrant earlier in the week with several 
supporters of the medical marijuana initiative questioning the timing 
of the warrant and the selection of just one location.

"It's a very tedious process," Martinez said, adding that the agency 
has only a few agents to cover the entire Los Angeles County region.

Martinez said the warrant at the L.B.C.C. dispensary was the first 
for the area, but it will not be the last if any other dispensaries remain.

"We'll follow up on every location served (with notice)," Martinez promised.

Although the city does not allow business licenses for medical 
marijuana dispensaries, police officials recently identified 11 
dispensaries they said are operating throughout Long Beach. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake