FEDS RAID MARIJUANA BUSINESSES

A chilly wind blew Monday afternoon as Randy Leibenguth watched
federal agents haul away his life's work.

"It's just retarded; it's not even crazy," he said. "I think they're
just trying to strong-arm us."

Leibenguth's medical marijuana grow operation and dispensary east of
Belgrade was one of at least ten such operations raided by federal
agents Monday in a move the feds wouldn't talk about to the press.

Armed agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI and other
agencies stormed Leibenguth's MCM, Inc., facility at 11 a.m.,
handcuffed the lone employee and proceeded to pack up everything in
the building, Leibenguth said.

"They put my dispenser up against the wall and put her in handcuffs --
scared the crap out of her," he said. "They had guns drawn, the whole
nine."

The agents served a federal search warrant and began confiscating
"anything associated with the controlled substance marijuana,"
including product, tinctures, cannabis-spiked soda pop and related
growing paraphernalia, he said.

"They're literally tearing my grow rooms apart," he
said.

At 5 p.m. Monday, a large U-haul truck was parked behind the Dollar
Drive business, half loaded with the accoutrements of Leibenguth's
trade. The ground between the truck and the warehouse was piled with
hundreds of uprooted marijuana plants, their skunky odor drifting on
the wind.

Leibenguth and his wife, Stephanie, stood in a parking lot outside the
business, watching as 10 to 15 agents worked inside the building,
periodically carrying something out to the U-haul or to other vehicles
parked nearby. Leibenguth was not detained or arrested, but said
agents read him his rights and told him he "cannot enter the premises."

"They've left a lot of questions," he said. "I'm really frustrated
because how legitimate we were made us more vulnerable. Are we better
off going into hiding? We gave up all the negative stuff in our lives
to do this."

Leibenguth speculated that the raids involved medical marijuana
caregivers who provided product to other caregivers, as well as to
their own patients, but said he didn't know if that was the case. He
said he had arrangements with other caregivers in the state but that
under those circumstances, the caregivers were registered as patients
of his.

Raids took place at the same time Monday at two other medical
marijuana businesses in the Gallatin Valley and at least seven others
in Montana, according to the Associated Press and other sources. In
Gallatin County, Big Sky Patient Care near Four Corners was raided, as
was a Bozeman-area purveyor called Outlaw Hills, whose address was not
given.

A spokesman for the DEA did not answer a phone call seeking comment
for this story, but did leave a voice mail in response to our call
shortly before 5 p.m.

"I've been asked by the U.S. attorney's office in Montana to refer all
media inquiries regarding any of our activities there today to their
office," DEA public information officer Michael Turner said in a voice
mail.

Assistant U.S. Attorney for Montana Victoria Francis, who Turner
identified as the person "handling media matters" did not return a
message seeking comment before press time Monday.

Late Monday afternoon, a national medical marijuana advocacy group
called Americans for Safe Access, released a copy of the search
warrant executed at Big Sky Patient Care at Four Corners.

According to the warrant, signed Thursday by U.S. District Court
Magistrate Judge Jeremiah C. Lynch, authorities were authorized to
seize "items that are evidence of the commission of drug trafficking
offenses" under federal law, including marijuana; packaging materials
and related paraphernalia; cell phones, firearms; books and records.

"Books and records," include items and "papers with names, addresses
and telephone numbers, including but not limited to (those) of
co-conspirators and/or persons to whom dangerous drugs have been
delivered to or obtained from," according to the warrant. Also sought:
"documents and/or papers which may aid in the identification and
location of customers, suppliers and/or co-conspirators."

Medical marijuana, while legal under at 2004 state law, remains
illegal under federal law. On Monday in the state Legislature, a
committee deadlocked on a bill that would repeal the state's medical
marijuana law.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 6-6 on House Speaker Mike
Milburn's House Bill 161, which would repeal the law passed by voters
in 2004. Unless the deadlock is broken, the bill is dead.

A spokeswoman for Americans for Safe Access said Monday's raids were a
political effort to undermine Montana's medical marijuana law.

"By engaging in these raids, the federal government is complicit in
exploiting Montana's current political dynamic with the aim of
undermining the state's medical marijuana law," ASA spokeswoman Kris
Hermes said.

In addition to the local raids, agents conducted raids in Missoula,
Helena, Columbia Falls and Billings.