4 FACE CHARGES AFTER RAID OF GREEN CROSS DISPENSARY

Federal agents raided the Torrance shop and jailed four who allegedly
tried to sell marijuana to agents from a countywide task force.

Federal agents seized about 70 pounds of marijuana along with nearly
100 pot plants, a shotgun and a small amount of cash during last
week's raid of a medical marijuana dispensary in Torrance, a Drug
Enforcement Administration spokeswoman said Monday.

Though the DEA claimed no arrests, police working for a county task
force jailed four people who arrived later that day to sell cannabis
to the co-op.

Authorities began their search about 2:15 p.m. Thursday in the 22900
block of Hawthorne Boulevard, where Green Cross of Torrance had been
in business since April.

Witnesses said police and federal DEA agents blocked the entrances of
Green Cross' parking lot before a half-dozen or so officers approached
the business with their guns drawn.

Marijuana-laced food was among the items seized, DEA Special Agent
Sarah Pullen said.

Following the raid, four people were taken into custody after they
allegedly attempted to sell pot to undercover detectives working for
LA IMPACT, a countywide task force with an emphasis on drug
trafficking.

"Within a five-hour time span, four people came in and essentially
offered to sell marijuana to the facility," Torrance police Lt. Rod
Irvine said.

That led to the additional confiscation of more than 20 pounds of pot
and more than 60 vials of hash oil, a concentrated form of cannabis.

Though state law permits the regulated growth of marijuana for medical
use, the would-be vendors were not authorized to cultivate or sell the
drug, Irvine said.

Investigators searched the dispensary because they suspect Green Cross
director Rafael Chavez and his brother, Edward Chavez, have been
illegally selling pot to customers with no medical conditions,
according to a DEA affidavit.

Chavez could not be reached for comment Monday, but he has repeatedly
defended his establishment, saying it offers "compassion" to patients
suffering from chronic pain and disease.

In 1996, California voters passed Proposition 215, allowing doctors to
recommend marijuana to patients afflicted with cancer, anorexia, AIDS,
glaucoma and other illnesses.

But the state initiative does not supersede federal law, which
maintains it is illegal to grow, possess or use the drug.

"For the most part, I don't know what's going on, but I do think it's
not good for all these patients that are relying on this," Chavez told
the Daily Breeze after the raid last week. "It's legal in California,
and I'm being harassed by federal agents."

Green Cross opened its doors in Torrance on April 20, prompting some
concern among local officials. On Aug. 1, the City Council responded
by passing an ordinance denying business licenses to marijuana
dispensaries and other establishments considered out of step with
federal law.

With its current license set to expire in December, the dispensary
remained open.

In the weeks prior to Thursday's search, investigators surveyed the
dispensary at least twice. According to the affidavit, a team of
agents and police officers watched 25 customers stop by the co-op
during a two-hour span on Oct. 10.

Police pulled over the customers as they drove away, and those who
were questioned admitted purchasing various types and quantities of
the drug, which ranged from $55 to $70 for an eighth of an ounce.

Pullen, the DEA spokeswoman, said Monday that no charges had been
filed as a result of the evidence collected during last week's search.
But, she added, the investigation is ongoing.

"Obviously," she said, "we build cases in an attempt to dismantle and
disrupt organizations."