By Phillip Smith
In the latest round of the federal assault on medical marijuana in Washington state, the Cannabis Defense Coalition reports that the DEA conducted a Wednesday afternoon raid on Medical Herb Providers, one of the few dispensaries left in the city after a flurry of federal raids last month. It’s not clear whether any other dispensaries are being targeted.
According to the CDC, a Medical Herb Provider manager reported that one employee was arrested.
The raids today and last month come as the state legislature and Gov. Chris Gregoire are struggling to come up with legislation to provide some sense of what is and is not allowed under the state’s medical marijuana law. It currently does not explicitly allow for dispensaries, but that hasn’t stopped dozens, perhaps more than a hundred, from opening.
Late last month, at least two Spokane area dispensaries were raided. Those raids came three weeks after the US Attorney for Eastern Washington, Michael Ormsby, warned the then 40 dispensaries in the area that they should shut down or face federal action.
The letter from Ormsby and a similar one from his counterpart in Western Washington, were crucial in persuading Gov. Gregoire to veto the portions of a medical marijuana patient registry and dispensary bill. They warned that state employees who licensed or registered medical marijuana businesses could be subject to federal prosecution.
Now, as Gregoire and the legislature tussle over what to do about medical marijuana, the feds are reminding everyone that they haven’t gone anywhere.
Artilcle From StoptheDrugWar.org — Creative Commons Licensing
