Raided by the Feds

Three hours before The Stranger went to press on November 15, federal agents and local law enforcement launched a volley of raids on medical marijuana dispensaries throughout Western Washington—a federal crackdown that activists have feared for months. As of our print deadline, authorities were still mum on the details, but witnesses described teams of federal agents who, in some cases, took suspects away in handcuffs.

“When the employees showed up, the DEA swarmed them and forced their way inside,” says one person familiar with the Seattle Cannabis Cooperative raid in Rainier Valley. The person refused to be identified (for obvious reasons), but while we spoke by cell phone added, “The agents are hauling all of our shit out into a van.”

A preliminary tally by the Cannabis Defense Coalition found 14 dispensaries had been shuttered by law enforcement in Seattle, Tacoma, Puyallup, Olympia, and Lacey. Seattle city attorney Pete Holmes was not apprised in advance of the raids, according to his spokespeople, but had learned from federal prosecutors that “there were two ‘targets’ inside Seattle.” Approximately 100 dispensaries operate within the city limits, two-thirds of which have city business licenses.

Seattle DEA spokeswoman Jodie Underwood confirmed that federal agents were “operational at this point” but declined to provide any additional details. Likewise, US Attorney’s Office of Western Washington spokeswoman Emily Langlie would only confirm that “there’s some law enforcement activity under way.”

But many others confirm details of the crackdown. Medical marijuana activist Vivian McPeak reported that the G.A.M.E. Collective, Seattle Cross, Tacoma Cross, Lacey Cross, and Lacey Patient Resource Center had all been hit.

The Olympian reported that these raids are the “culmination of a five-month investigation,” according to Thurston County Sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin.

Lawyers have been expecting the raids since Governor Chris Gregoire vetoed most of a state medical marijuana bill in April, leaving a jumble of laws that further weakened criminal protections for dispensaries. But it has been unclear so far how that veto would affect Washington State. Under the Obama administration’s directive, the DOJ announced in 2009 that the Feds wouldn’t focus on people in “clear and unambiguous” compliance with state marijuana laws. Local DOJ representative Langlie pointed to a statement in April from US Attorney Jenny Durkan, who said, “The position of the Department of Justice… has not changed.”

But given Washington’s weakened medical marijuana law—which now technically only allows collectives of up to 45 plants grown by up to 10 people—the dispensaries being busted on Tuesday may fail the test of being in “clear and unambiguous” compliance with state law. After all, state law is nearly impossible for dispensaries to follow. (Of course, for people who are seriously ill, planting a cannabis garden is unrealistic—that’s why dispensaries have proliferated.)

So why the raids now?

“This is because Gregoire capitulated to federal law, in defiance of the state legislature,” says Washington Cannabis Association leader Philip Dawdy. “In addition to the Feds wanting to flex their muscles on this, we just have a vague state law. It is imperative that we have state law that has criminal protections for collective operators and patients.”

Still, others speculated that other law violations drew the federal scrutiny. Northwest Patient Resource Center’s John Davis said, “I don’t believe the raids are about cannabis—I think that business practices are being investigated. Not to make a comment on anyone else’s business practices, but cannabis is legal in Washington State. Money laundering, interstate trafficking, and tax evasion are not legal in any state.”

At least five raids were under way in the Olympia area by mid-afternoon, Cannabis Defense Coalition leader Ben Livingston reported. According to an eyewitness he spoke to, “two people were taken away in handcuffs” inside a police cruiser while patients were allowed to leave the scene.

“It seems like a waste of money that could be spent on more important things than arresting sick patients,” Livingston said.

One man who acts as a liaison between providers and dispensaries (and is a medical cannabis user himself) says, “It’s crazy—it’s a weird time to be alive in the cannabis world. My attitude has always been ‘come and get me.’ I believe in what I’m doing and I believe in the cause.” Asked what’s next for the medical cannabis industry: “People are probably just going to shut the doors until they see what happens—is this just the beginning or was it a one-day thing?”

Additional reporting by Eli Sanders, Cienna Madrid, and Brendan Kiley.