AUTHORITIES CALL SAN FRANCISCO POT CLUB RAIDS A 'FIRST STEP'

SAN FRANCISCO - Authorities described this week's raids on San
Francisco pot clubs as one of the largest drug crackdowns in the area
in recent memory, and said the arrests were the first step in
uncovering a major international drug operation.

U.S. Attorney Kevin V. Ryan said agents raided three pot clubs that
operated as fronts for marijuana and Ecstasy trafficking, and warned
that federal drug laws would be strictly enforced even in cities
tolerant of medical marijuana.

"We're empathetic to the ill and to the sick, however we cannot
disregard federal law," said Drug Enforcement Administration Agent
Javier Pena. "We have the power to enforce federal drug laws even in
areas where it might not be popular."

Twenty people were indicted on federal drug charges in court documents
unsealed Thursday, and an arrest warrant has been issued for another.
Two others face state drug charges, and more arrests are pending, Ryan
said.

Following a two-year investigation dubbed Operation Urban Harvest,
officials searched a total of 25 homes and businesses throughout the
Bay Area on Wednesday. They seized some 9,300 pot plants with a street
value of more than $5 million, said Ryan. He said the pot clubs were a
base of operation for a larger drug trafficking organization importing
and selling large quantities of marijuana and Ecstasy, and engaging in
money laundering and cash smuggling.