DEA AGENTS HIT 16TH ST. STORE IN MEDICAL POT RAID

Federal Officers Report Seizing About 22 Pounds Of Marijuana And
$48,000 In Cash In The First Such Raid In The Capital

For the first time in the city of Sacramento, federal drug agents on
Wednesday conducted a search of what authorities said was a medical
marijuana store.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents served a search warrant at the
store at 2020 16th St. about 9:30 a.m. Federal officers also served
two warrants at the homes of the store's owners, one in Citrus
Heights and one in North Highlands, said Gordon Taylor, assistant
special agent in charge of the Sacramento DEA office.

A small sign on the glass door identifies the store as Awakenings:
Books, Stones and More.

Ryan Landers, a medical marijuana activist, said the DEA agents came
in with guns drawn and forced the three people inside down on the
ground, pointing shotguns at their heads. The agents searched the
shop and seized computers, cannabis, pipes, scales and patient
records, Landers said.

"Now it's a waiting game to see if they file charges," said Landers,
wearing a black T-shirt with the word "voter" inscribed in bold white letters.

Shop owner Jenelle Daffron, 27, arrived at the 16th Street storefront
shortly after noon, still in the red pajamas she said she was wearing
when DEA agents burst into her home Wednesday morning. Daffron said
she was shaken and not ready to comment.

"It's all like a blur," she said.

No arrests had been made by Wednesday afternoon.

Agents seized 22 pounds of marijuana and $48,700 in cash at the
store, said Taylor, adding several firearms were found at the
residences searched.

"Many of these operators will say they're just concerned about the
seriously or terminally ill, but their true agenda is to line their
pockets with drug money," Taylor said.

Inside the Lynn Beauty Salon next door, owner Lynn Luong said she was
surprised to learn marijuana was sold at the shop.

"I had no idea," she said. "Every time I asked them, they said it was
a bookstore."

City Councilman Robbie Waters said he became aware of the store about
a year ago when neighbors alerted him. Waters contacted the DEA,
suspecting the owners might be selling marijuana, the councilman said.

"There were numerous complaints from the neighbors. I'm glad to see
that they were able to successfully execute their search warrant this
morning," Waters said.

The city of Sacramento does not have a prohibition banning medical
marijuana. But under the city's zoning code, medical marijuana
dispensaries are not an authorized use of property, Assistant City
Attorney Rich Archibald said.

As word spread of the raid, about 10 medical rights activists showed
up with signs in protest, chanting, "DEA, go away!"

Nathan Sands, chairman of the Compassionate Coalition, said the DEA's
efforts against medical marijuana stores was harassment. "As far as
we know, they (the store owners) are here for the patients and
operating a clean operation," Sands said.

He said he had purchased marijuana there to treat his chronic nausea.
He has been using medical marijuana for three years.

"I've tried a lot of different things; most of them didn't work," he
said. Sands said there are about a half-dozen medical marijuana
stores in Sacramento County, and another half-dozen delivery services.

As DEA agents finished their work inside the store, protesters grew
angrier. At one point, one protester lit a water pipe filled with
tobacco, taunting the officers inside.

Medical marijuana is legal in California under Proposition 215, a
1996 initiative permitting the use of cannabis for medical treatment.
However, under federal law, marijuana is illegal. In June, the U.S.
Supreme Court said state laws do not trump the federal government's
authority to prosecute marijuana users.

The 16th Street search was the third DEA operation at a cannabis
dispensary in the Sacramento region since the court's June ruling.
Federal agents seized more than 1,000 plants at Alternative
Specialties on Folsom Boulevard in July. The owner, Louis Wayne
Fowler, was indicted in federal court on three counts involving
selling marijuana, firearms and being a felon in possession of firearms.

A federal grand jury in January indicted Richard James Marino,
operator of Capital Compassionate Care in Roseville, on drug and
money-laundering charges. The indictment alleges Marino made about
$2.75 million in the time his store was open from January 2004 to
early September.