FEDS DIGGING DEEP IN POT-DISPENSARY BLITZ

Tuesday's raid on a marijuana dispensary in Corona is part of broader
law-enforcement efforts to shut down medical-pot outlets throughout
Southern California.

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration earlier this month
threatened to seize the property of about 150 Los Angeles County
landlords unless they stopped renting to marijuana dispensaries.

Building owners in other counties may be targeted next, said Special
Agent Sarah Pullen, of the DEA's Los Angeles office, which oversees
Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The landlords are breaking
federal law, she said.

"Anyone who owns property where ongoing criminal activity -- whether
it's a crack house or a marijuana dispensary -- takes place are
possibly subject to asset forfeiture," Pullen said.

The Corona raid and arrest of its operator follows the closure of pot
dispensaries in Riverside and Norco earlier this year.
Marijuana-patient advocates and law-enforcement officials said they
believe there are now no more than three marijuana dispensaries
remaining in the Inland area, none outside the Coachella Valley.

State and Federal Laws

Dispensaries distribute marijuana to people who have a doctor's
recommendation to use the drug to relieve pain from cancer,
AIDS-related complications, multiple sclerosis and other diseases.
California voters legalized marijuana for medical use in 1996.

But federal law prohibits possession of marijuana for any reason, and
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that medical-marijuana outlets
and patients can be prosecuted under federal law.

The only reason more marijuana dispensaries have not been shut down
is that federal officials don't have the resources to investigate
every violation, said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's
office in Los Angeles.

Federal prosecutors and the DEA must amass enough evidence to
convince a judge to grant a search warrant, he said.

The Corona dispensary, Healing Nations Collective, was targeted in
part because of the large amount of marijuana that it sold, Pullen
said. Healing Nations had sales of more than $1.2 million between
July 2006 -- when it opened -- through March 2007.

"Just like with other drug traffickers, we concentrate on [operators]
that have the most impact in the community," she said.

The DEA is aware of at least 300 marijuana dispensaries in the seven
central and Southern California counties that it covers, Pullen said.

Corona Charges

A federal indictment charges Healing Nations operator Ronald Naulls
with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, and
of causing others to illegally sell marijuana. Naulls was transferred
Wednesday from the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside into
federal custody, Sheriff's Department officials said.

Former Riverside County District Attorney Grover Trask last year
issued a report stating that dispensaries in the county are illegal
because they violate federal law; his successor, Rod Pacheco, agrees,
district attorney spokeswoman Ingrid Wyatt said. The district
attorney's office has prosecuted dispensaries that allegedly violate
state law, she said.

San Bernardino County is part of a lawsuit challenging the state
medical-marijuana law. Riverside County tried to join the suit too late.

San Bernardino County spokesman David Wert said he is unaware of any
pot dispensary operating in the county.

Impact on Patients

With the Corona dispensary closed, medical-marijuana patients must
now travel to the Coachella Valley or Los Angeles to get pot, said
Summer Glenney, Inland Empire field coordinator for the Patient
Advocacy Network, which assists medical-marijuana patients. Glenney
said she was a Healing Nations patient.

"There are so many patients who are not going to make it out to LA or
Palm Springs," she said. "They're not physically able to do so."

Glenney said she supports state and local crackdowns on any
dispensary that violates state marijuana laws that limit pot use to
people with a doctor's permission. Such marijuana outlets taint
dispensaries that serve only people with legitimate medical needs, she said.

A Palm Desert dispensary will be allowed to operate only until
September, when its lease expires, Palm Desert City Attorney David
Erwin said. Palm Desert outlawed marijuana dispensaries in May.

A man who answered the phone at the dispensary, CannaHelp, declined
to say whether the dispensary plans to move and if it does, whether
it hopes to locate elsewhere in Riverside County.

The owner and two employees of CannaHelp are facing felony drug
charges. City officials have said that undercover officials were able
to buy marijuana from the dispensary without proper credentials.

Wyatt and Palm Springs officials said they did not know if the two
pot dispensaries that had operated in Palm Springs are still open.
Glenney said she believed at least one was still operating.

One of the dispensaries, Palm Springs Caregivers, was raided twice
last fall after authorities said a man connected with the dispensary
left food containing marijuana as a tip for a Palm Springs hotel
employee. There was no answer Wednesday at the Caregivers phone number.

Riverside police raided a dispensary in May for allegedly violating
state medical-marijuana regulations. The outlet was shut down.

In March, a Riverside County Superior Court judge shut down a Norco
dispensary after granting a city injunction against the outlet.