OAKLAND'S PLANS FOR MEGA-MEDICAL MARIJUANA GROWING GETS ATTENTION OF
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

OAKLAND -- The nation's top narcotics watchdog, the Drug Enforcement
Administration, has requested information about Oakland's ordinance
permitting large-scale medical pot growing facilities.

DEA spokesman Rusty Payne said agents wanted to know if the ordinance
on the city website was a draft or a final version.

He would not specify why the agency wanted the information, but the
inquiry raised speculation that the new plans have put Oakland in the
agency's cross hairs.

Payne downplayed the speculation but said, "Anytime there is
large-scale marijuana cultivation, it is something that would interest
us."

Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan said the DEA has sought information but
offered no feedback. She co-sponsored the ordinance with Councilmember
Larry Reid.

Agents requested copies of the ordinance from Kaplan's
office.

They then called for details and a timeline for the plan from Oakland
administrator Arturo Sanchez, who will oversee the permitting process
once the application process begins after September.

Kaplan said the DEA told her that the agency is collecting information
from other cities that allow medical marijuana in an attempt to review
the patchwork of laws in the absence of federal guidelines.

Marijuana is illegal under federal law.

But a 2009 memo by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder signaled that
going after medical marijuana users and growers is a low priority as
long as the local industry conforms to state medical cannabis measures.

There is some question about whether Oakland's industrial-level
cultivation violates California law and what it will mean for the city
if California voters approve a statewide measure to make marijuana
legal in all its uses.

Payne said the DEA is investigating Colorado dispensaries that are in
violation of the state's medical marijuana laws and have tried to use
them as a shield for illegal operations.