PROSECUTOR: RETHINK MARIJUANA SEUZURES

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A prosecutor has asked the Drug Enforcement
Administration to rethink its campaign against medical marijuana providers
after agents searched a resource center and seized pot plans and patients'
records.

"I urge Administrator (Asa) Hutchinson to respect our city's approach to
medical marijuana, which has reduced crime, saved money and contributed to
public well-being," District Attorney Terence Hallinan said Monday. "Any
move to close the dispensaries will result in sick people trying to get
marijuana from street vendors, whose product may or may not be safe."

Federal agents searched the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center on Oct. 22
and seized computers, financial documents, 400 marijuana plants and medical
records of some 3,000 current and former patients, said Scott Imler, a
resident.

The DEA also seized thousands of records on Sept. 28 from the California
Medical Research Center in El Dorado County in what was portrayed as an
investigation into alleged marijuana distribution. The clinic owners deny
selling marijuana or certificates to buy it.

The medical marijuana movement began in earnest in 1996, when California
passed a statewide referendum intended to make it legal. The federal
government continues to outlaw the drug.