MEDICAL POT STORE CLOSES IN OAKLAND

Problems of Affiliate in Los Angeles Lead Sanctioned Club to Shut Its Doors

OAKLAND - One of the city's four sanctioned medical marijuana outlets
quietly closed its doors this week; not because of a negative Supreme Court
ruling but because of problems with one of the organization's sister pot
clubs in Los Angeles.

The doors to Compassionate Caregivers, at 2135 Broadway, were locked
Wednesday afternoon, and a tersely worded notice in a related facility two
doors down was dated June 6 and stated it was "Temporarily closed" and
apologized for the inconvenience.

Compassionate Caregivers staff did not return calls seeking comment, but a
story posted on WeHoNews com, an online newspaper for the West Hollywood
community, stated that the Compassionate Caregivers' "Yellow House" pot
club on La Brea Avenue in West Hollywood had been raided by the Los Angeles
Police Department and IRS agents a month ago, the culmination of an
eight-month investigation into money-laundering and selling marijuana for
profit - in violation of state health and safety laws.

According to the story, there were several arrests, and 800 pounds of pot
and $300,000 to $500,000 in cash were seized.

Deputy City Administrator Niccolo DeLuca said Oakland was aware the local
club had closed but did not know for how long.

"If they are in fact closed (for good), they were one of the four
permittees (under Oakland's medical marijuana ordinance), and the city
would have to look at replacing them," he said.