MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATES PROTEST LAKE FOREST RAIDS

LAKE FOREST - Two raids conducted at Lake Forest medical marijuana
dispensaries Friday afternoon have owners and volunteers at other
dispensaries on high alert. Advocates for the centers argue the raids
and subsequent arrests are connected to attempts by the city to
strong-arm the facilities into shutting down.

The searches of 215 Agenda and The Health Collective, conducted by
the narcotics division of the Orange County Sheriff's Department,
were "completely separate" from the city's attempt to shut down 22
Lake Forest medical marijuana dispensaries through a lawsuit that
alleges the businesses violate the city's zoning code, said City
Attorney Scott Smith.

"Our lawsuits remain on track and still pending," Smith said in an
interview before Tuesday night's City Council meeting.

At the meeting, about 10 people - patients who use medical marijuana,
the owner and an employee of 215 Agenda, and other advocates of safe
access - urged council members to safeguard Lake Forest medical
marijuana storefronts.

"This is medicine that's affordable, that works for me, that provides
me quality of life," said Jacob Davis, an 18-year-old nursing
assistant currently in a wheelchair because of a head-on car crash last July.

"I don't have insurance, so I have to pay all this out of my pocket,"
said Davis, who uses medical marijuana to ease the pain from his
accident. "If you close these storefronts, I don't have access to
this medicine."

Daniel Hewitt, an employee of 215 Agenda working at the time of the
raid, said he asked to see a search warrant five times to no avail.
He also said police duck-taped the store's cameras before searching
the facility and that customer Lawrence Fox was injured by police
during the raid.

Councilmember Richard Dixon requested a memo from the sheriff's
department about the issues raised by Hewitt.

Mark Moen, the owner of 215 Agenda, also spoke out during tonight's
meeting, telling council members the dispensary is a non-profit.

"The reason I got into this business isn't for money," said Moen, who
went on to share his need for medical marijuana after chemotherapy
treatments. At the time, Moen said, "there was no access anywhere."

Investigators with the sheriff's department searched 215 Agenda and
The Health Collective Friday afternoon, two of at least 22
dispensaries operating in Lake Forest. Authorities also searched the
homes of dispensary owners and managers in Westminster, Rancho Santa
Margarita and Mission Viejo.

Moen, 50, Robert Adams Moody, 23, and Steven John Wick, 26, were
booked on suspicion of marijuana sales, said Jim Amormino, spokesman
for the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Moen and Moody were
released after posting bond. Wick was later released.

Sheriff officials said search warrants that were served on two
dispensaries and the homes of three owners of the collectives on
Friday were the result of a lengthy investigation into the two
establishments, and that city officials were not involved with the
decision to search the two locations. Smith, the city attorney,
declined to comment on whether city staff knew about the criminal
investigation of the two dispensaries.

Medical marijuana proponents are concerned the raids could be part of
an effort by the city to force dispensaries into closing, even though
California law allows marijuana sales to people with a doctor's prescription.

"These were legal collectives," said Marla James, board member for
Americans for Safe Access, an organization that supports the use of
marijuana for medicinal purposes. "Rumors have spread that the
sheriffs have more warrants planned."

The search warrants stemmed from a "months long" investigation into
the two dispensaries and are not related to the lawsuit filed by the
city, Amormino said.

But Christopher Glew, an attorney representing six of the
dispensaries named in the city lawsuit, said the dispensaries are
following California law. Glew described the sheriffs' decision to
raid two dispensaries involved in a civil suit with the city as more
than just a coincidence.

"It's just getting to the point of ridiculousness," Glew said. "It's
become a matter of harassment."

Sheriff officials provided few details on why the search warrants
were served, citing an ongoing investigation, but said it included
the use of undercover operatives. Officials with the District
Attorney's office were also present during the searches, Amormino said.

"(The investigation) revealed they were operating outside (state)
law," Amormino said.

After California voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996, raids were
often conducted by federal officials who said that although state law
permitted the dispensaries, marijuana remained illegal under federal
law. But earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice said it
would stop pursuing federal drug cases against dispensaries that
abide by state guidelines.

Since the U.S. Attorney General made the announcement, many
dispensaries in California have operated with relative ease, but
Friday's searches have led owners and volunteers in Orange County to
express concern over what justifications were used by sheriff
officials to search the dispensaries and seize its goods, said James
of Americans for Safe Access.

"What it appears to be is there is pending litigation, they tried to
evict them, now they're trying to strong arm these people out of
here," Glew said. "What they're saying is, 'If we can't beat you in
court, we're going to keep arresting you.'"

Sheriff officials said that is not the case.

"Ultimately it's going to be settled in court," Amormino said. "We
have to provide information to the court in order to obtain a search warrant."

Farrah Emami, spokeswoman for the District Attorney's office said no
charges have been filed against the three men as of Tuesday
afternoon, though the case is still under investigation.

Glew said the searches and seizure of the dispensaries' marijuana
seem to be part of an effort to pressure dispensaries into shutting down.

"It's very selective prosecution. I think it's very targeted," he
said. "They just suddenly happened to pick two in Lake Forest? You
have to start reading between the lines."

For proponents of medical marijuana vying to keep dispensaries open
in Lake Forest, it's another chapter in their fight against the city.

In September, city officials filed a lawsuit naming 35 defendants,
including dispensary owners and landlords who leased office space to
the businesses.

In a ruling of a separate case last week, a judge found that one of
the city's dispensaries, Earth Cann Wellness Center, was not in
violation of the city's zoning laws and ordered its landlord to stop
efforts to evict the dispensary. But city officials said the ruling
would have no effect on their legal effort to shut down 22
dispensaries, and an attorney representing the city said the
dispensaries would be shut down by February.

Earth Cann Wellness filed a lawsuit in response to the city's case,
alleging the city's efforts to prohibit dispensaries through
municipal code conflicts with state law.

James said proponents of medicinal marijuana want to work with the
city to regulate the dispensaries and make sure they are abiding by
state guidelines. But their efforts have been rebuffed by the city, she said.

"I know they are concerned with the number of dispensaries," she
said. "We're offering to help regulate them, but they ignore us."