LAPD role in marijuana-clinic raids questioned

LAPD role in marijuana-clinic raids questioned


BY RACHEL URANGA, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 08/14/2007 09:36:30 PM PDT



LAPD officers have participated in federal raids of California voter-backed medical-marijuana clinics, even though the department says it backs using marijuana for medical purposes.

Responding to Los Angeles City Council criticism that the LAPD was wasting resources aiding federal officials cracking down on dispensaries the city and state recognize as legal, Cmdr. David Doan told the Police Commission on Tuesday that officers served as security on search warrants but did not initiate investigations.

"The department is supportive of the use of marijuana for medical purposes," Doan said. "The department is supportive of the state law."

Doan said the department assigns one detective to a federal task force on asset forfeiture. The detective dedicates at least 20 percent of his time to investigations related to medical-marijuana clinics.

In 1996, California voters backed a proposition that allowed the use of medical marijuana and for nonprofit clinics to distribute the drug. But federal agents, who consider the cultivation of marijuana a crime, have been cracking down on the clinics.

Earlier this month, council members urged federal officials to stop the raids.

They also approved a moratorium on new dispensaries while they develop guidelines for the location of facilities and hours of operation.

Councilman Dennis Zine, who authored the bill, said the Los Angeles Police Department's participation "dilutes our relationship with legitimate medicinal facilities."

"We don't feel comfortable working with the (Drug Enforcement Administration) and raiding those places," he said.

Since 2005, more than 200 medical-marijuana clinics have popped up across the city.

The LAPD says some have created problems in neighborhoods, from loitering to theft to recruiting school-age children to use pot.

rachel.uranga@dailynews.com

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