Federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents raided two medical marijuana dispensaries in West Hollywood on Tuesday as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
The simultaneous raids occurred around 2:10 p.m. at Alternative Herbal Health Services at 7828 Santa Monica Blvd., and Zen Healing at 8464 Santa Monica Blvd. One unidentified individual was taken into custody, but was released Tuesday night, according to Sarah Pullen, a public information officer for the DEA’s office in Los Angeles. Pullen said some individuals who were at the dispensaries were also detained and later released, but no arrests were made and no charges have been filed. An undisclosed quantity of marijuana and cash was reportedly seized. The raids were conducted by a taskforce that includes the DEA and officials from the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
“There were two federal search warrants served, and both warrants are under federal seal, so I can’t get into any details about the cases,” Pullen added.
The search warrants are part of an ongoing investigation into the dispensaries, but Pullen declined to divulge who is named in the federal criminal complaints. She also did not have a timeline for when the investigation would be complete or when the criminal complaint would be unsealed.
The raids were not part of a general federal enforcement action against medical marijuana dispensaries, and only targeted the specific dispensaries, Pullen said. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder previously issued a directive stating that federal authorities would no longer target medical marijuana dispensaries that abide by state laws, but marijuana remains an illegal drug in the United States. Calls to the dispensaries went to voice mail, and it was unclear whether they would reopen.
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