DEA, FBI, IRS raid two Los Angeles Medical Cannabis Collectives; officers shoot dog

2:04 PM | August 12, 2009

Federal authorities and local police agencies today raided two Westside marijuana dispensaries as well as the residence of the owners.

The raid occurred at facilities on Washington Boulevard in Culver City and on Overland Avenue in Los Angeles. Authorities recovered undisclosed items and are continuing their investigation, according to a Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman. The names of the owners whose homes were searched were not immediately available.

During one raid, officer shot a dog believed to be a pit bull, but the exact circumstance of the shooting remained unclear, a law enforcement spokesman said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Los Angeles Police Department, Torrance Police Department and Culver City Police Department took part in the raids.

Law enforcement has been cracking down on pot dispensaries for some time, but officials did not immediately say what prompted these raids.

-- Andrew Blankstein

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/08/dea-fbi-irs-raids-two-westside-pot-dispensaries-shoots-a-dog.html

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Feds raid 2 LA marijuana dispensaries

The Associated Press

Posted: 08/12/2009 02:16:21 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES—Federal and local agents are raiding at least two marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles but authorities won't say what they're seeking.

Officials say more than 20 people from various agencies served a state search warrant at around 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Organica Collective in Marina del Rey.

Los Angeles police, the FBI and DEA were still searching the distribution center three hours later.

DEA spokesman Jose Martinez says agents also served the warrant at the Overland Gardens Collective in West Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office says a residence also was named in the warrant.

Other details are not being released.

Calls to the two dispensaries weren't immediately returned.

Read More: http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_13046181

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